• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sweet T Makes Three logo
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home

    How To Freeze Squash

    Published: Jul 22, 2021 · Modified: Jul 22, 2021 by Jenn · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Freezing squash can be a necessity if you have a garden that’s overflowing. Squash tends to grow in abundance during the summer and I haven’t met a gardener yet who didn’t need to store the surplus.

    Two bags of prepared yellow squash ready to go into the freezer.
    Bag it, freeze it and enjoy summer squash year-round!

    Even if you’re not a gardener you may want to take advantage when summer squash is in season and priced accordingly. Learning how to freeze squash will allow you to stock up when the price is right and have plenty of summer squash for winter soups!

    Ingredients

    Summer squash – This process will work for any summer squash including the most common: yellow squash and zucchini. In my example, I’m using yellow, crookneck squash straight from the garden.

    Water – Pretty self-explanatory. You’ll need boiling water for blanching* and tap water for washing the squash.

    Ice – An ice bath is required to prevent blanching from turning it into full-blown cooking!

    *Enzymes and bacteria found in fruits and vegetables will break down the nutrients over time, changing not only the color of food but also its flavor and texture. For example, frozen squash requires a brief heat treatment called blanching to destroy these enzymes before being stored for long periods of time so that it doesn’t go bad too quickly or spoil any other foods close by on an icy freezer shelf.

    Yellow summer squash in a purple colander being rinsed off in the sink.

    Tools

    Stockpot – The larger the pot the more squash you can blanch at once. If you don’t have a large pot use a smaller one and do several small batches instead of one large boil.

    Freezer bags – The day I froze this squash I was fresh out of freezer bags and used regular sandwich bags instead. Since I used the squash just a couple of weeks later this worked fine, but if you’re freezing squash for long-term storage (3 weeks up to 6 months) you’ll need to use actual freezer bags so that the squash doesn’t get freezer burn on it.
    These are readily found at the grocery store and I recommend using quart-sized bags. You’ll rarely need a whole gallon of squash unless you’re cooking for a crowd.

    Tea Towels – I like to lay my squash slices out on tea towels when it comes time to dry the squash slices after blanching. This is to avoid the lint that comes with fluffy kitchen towels or paper towels. Dinner napkins or layers of cheesecloth will work well too.

    Colander or Slotted Spoon

    Directions

    Why do you need a whole tutorial for this? That’s a great question. It seems like you could just slice ’em up and freeze them in a bag, right? It’s almost that simple but not quite. Let’s get started!

    Step 1 – It’s time to get your hands dirty! The first step is rinsing the squash in plain cold or lukewarm water using your hands or a gentle brush. A potato brush will be too harsh. You want something softer like what you’d use to wash dishes.
    Store-bought squash is usually clean enough that you can get away with using your hands to wash it. Garden-fresh squash might be a little dirtier and require some gentle scrubbing.

    Step 2 – Take a sharp knife and cut off both ends of the squash. This will help you slice it more easily for blanching later on, as well as make sure that your pieces are all about ¼ inch thick.
    If you leave it sitting out without cutting up at least an hour before using, discoloration can occur so be mindful not to start slicing until you’re ready to complete the process from start to finish.

    Step 3 – Slice each squash about ¼″ thick. No need to deseed or peel them.

    A whole yellow squash being sliced into ¼ inch round slices.
    Slice, not dice.

    Step 4 – Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the slices. They will float to the top so there’s no point in trying to add enough water to cover, just try not to overcrowd. Boil for exactly 3 minutes. Any longer and the squash will start to cook. Any less and enzymes might remain.

    Squash slices being blanched in a large pot of boiling water.
    Blanching

    Step 5 – While the squash is blanching, prepare an ice bath to transfer the slices to after the three minutes is up.

    Step 6 – If you blanched all your squash in one go, it’s ok to pour everything in the pot into a colander to drain. If you’ll be blanching more, use a slotted spoon to remove the squash slices so that you can use the same water for more batches.

    A slotted spoon is being use to remove yellow squash slices from the pot of boiling water.
    Colander or Spoon? It depends!

    Step 7 – Place blanched squash into the prepared ice water bath to reduce the temperature and stop the cooking process.

    Blanched squash slices placed in an ice bath to cool.
    Time to cool off.

    Step 8 – Place individual slices on a tea towel to drain and gently pat them dry with another tea towel on top. Note that the chartreuse color after blanching is normal. If you ask Google why your yellow squash is green, it’s going to come up with Cucumber Mosaic Virus which is a disease that affects the outside of yellow squash making them mottled with green. It doesn’t apply to the chartreuse color yellow squash can turn on the inside when heated. (And even if it did, Cucumber Mosaic Virus is harmless to humans so no worries!)

    Blanched yellow squash slices drying on a tea towel.
    Chartreuse is summer’s trendiest color.

    Step 9 – Once the slices are dry, place them in freezer bags and squeeze out as much air as you can. Store them flat in the freezer for up to 6 months.

    Tips

    • Before bagging, you can flash freeze the individual slices on a cooling rack by laying the pieces on the rack without any of them touching and place them in the freezer for 5 minutes before bagging the slices. This will prevent them from sticking together in the bag.
      This is a nice option if you want to use gallon freezer bags and take out individual slices as you need them.
    • Squash, like any veggie, will have a mushy texture when thawed from frozen. This is fine as long as you’re using it in a cooking recipe that requires baking, stewing, roasting, sauteeing, or pan-frying. Just don’t expect to thaw your squash and have something nice and crisp to dip in Ranch dressing.
    • If you have a vacuum sealer and can use vacuum bags, you’ll be able to store squash in the freezer for longer without degradation or freezer burn.

    Squash Recipes

    Now that you have a stockpile of squash to use, here are some recipes you might find useful.

    Gluten Free Summer Squash Bread

    How to Freeze Butternut Squash

    Butternut Squash Soup

    Two bags of prepared yellow squash ready to go into the freezer.

    How To Freeze Squash

    Jenn
    Learn how to freeze squash for later use.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 7 minutes mins
    Cook Time 3 minutes mins
    5 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Cuisine American
    Calories

    Equipment

    • Pot for boiling
    • Freezer bags
    • Tea towels, cheese cloth, or cloth napkins

    Ingredients
      

    • summer squash
    • water
    • ice

    Instructions
     

    • Trom the ends off each summer squash and slice into ¼" thick slices.
    • Boil water in a large pot.
    • Add sliced squash and boil, uncovered for 3 minutes to blanch.
    • While the squash is blanching prepare an ice bath. Once three minutes is up, drain the squash and transfer it to the ice bath.
    • Drain squash and lay out on tea towels to dry.
    • Place the dry slices in a freezer bag and squeeze out as much air as possible.
    • Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.

    Notes

    I like to lay my squash slices out on tea towels or cheesecloth to avoid the lint that comes with regular kitchen towels and paper towels.
    You can also flash freeze the individual slices on a cooling rack. Lay the pieces on the rack without any of them touching and place them in the freezer for 5 minutes before bagging the slices together. This will prevent them from sticking together in the bag.
    Keyword freezer food, prepping, summer squash
    Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or share on Pinterest

    More Side Dishes

    • An iron skillet full of fried cabbage with a wooden spoon.
      Southern Fried Cabbage Recipe
    • Layered Mexican Cornbread Salad Recipe
    • A loaf of homemade garlic bread still in the bread pan topped with fresh basil.
      Easy Homemade Garlic Bread
    • Two servings of Mexican elote arranged on a wooden cutting board and topped with cilantro.
      Elote Recipe (Mexican Street Corn)

    Reader Interactions

    5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

    What's on your mind? Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    picture of Jennifer sitting in a green chair.

    Hi, I'm Jenn, a Southern food blogger and mother living in Alabama. After having my wonderful daughter, I decided to embark on a journey of sharing my Southern cooking recipes with the world.

    More about me →

    Recent Recipes...

    • How a Well-Designed Kitchen Boosts Cooking Inspiration
    • cornflake cookies cooling on wax paper.
      Cornflake Candy
    • Three pint mason jars filled with overnight oats and topped with strawberries and blueberries.
      Vanilla Overnight Oats (Vegan)
    • A bowl of prepared guacamole garnished with cilantro with chips in the background.
      Easy Guacamole Recipe

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2024 Sweet T Makes Three

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.