How to Freeze Garlic (3 Ways)

This recipe is a little different; instead of teaching you how to make a meal with garlic, it will teach you how to freeze garlic for many uses later on. It’s helpful for faster cooking and preparation but also to help preserve garlic at peak freshness in case you find yourself with more garlic than you know what to do with.

How to Freeze Garlic

Here’s what you’ll need to know in order to freeze whole garlic cloves:

• Prepare the baking sheet. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Arrange the garlic. Arrange the whole garlic cloves in a single layer on the baking sheet.
• Freeze. Freeze the garlic for 6 hours.
• Transfer. Transfer the garlic to a ziplock bag.
• Label. Add today’s date and place the garlic back in the freezer.

And here’s how to freeze minced garlic:

• Mince. Mince the garlic cloves.
• Seal it up. Transfer the minced garlic cloves to a freezer-safe ziplock bag and flatten to squeeze out the air.
• Label. Add today’s date and place the garlic in the freezer.

Last but not least, here’s how to freeze garlic paste:

• Blend. Add the peeled garlic cloves, vegetable oil and salt to taste to a blender and blend until smooth.
• Freeze. Spoon the garlic puree into small ice cube trays and place in the freezer until frozen (about 2 hours).
• Transfer. Once the cubes are frozen, release them from the tray and transfer the garlic to a ziplock bag.
• Label. Add today’s date and place the garlic paste in the freezer.

How to Prep Garlic for Freezing

You can safely ignore the following information if you’re planning on freezing entire garlic bulbs (or whole unpeeled cloves). Otherwise, read on to find out how simple it is to prep garlic for freezing:

• Remove the cloves. Separate the cloves.
• Remove the skin. Carefully peel off the outer layer of papery skin.
• Freeze. That’s it! You’re all set to freeze the garlic from here; either flash freeze on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or transfer the garlic to a freezer-safe ziplock bag.

How to Use Frozen Garlic in Your Cooking

One of the great things about using frozen garlic for cooking is that you usually don’t have to wait for it to thaw out or defrost. You can simply remove the garlic cloves or minced garlic from the freezer and throw it right into soups or stews.

The garlic may not have the same texture as it would have if it were used fresh, but you’ll still be able to enjoy the strong and robust flavor that frozen garlic can add to your dishes as it heats up.

(Learn more: How to Freeze Green Beans)

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