I keep finding this wonderful bag of fresh broccolli florets already to eat. The bag is so big that I would like to freeze portions sizes. Do I need to par boil the broccoli first then freeze. Or can I freeze the broccolli completely raw?
Any information would be helpful of the correct way to freeze.
Thank you
Lisa Y
I just bought a whole bunch of broccoli that was on sale a couple weeks ago. I blanched them very quickly before freezing. Bring pot of water to a bubbling boil. Drop prepared broccoli in boiling water for a few seconds. I let them dry out on clean kitchen towels and when dry, put in freezer bags.
I know a lot of people put the blanched veggie in cold water to stop the cooking process, but my grandmother has always used this method for string beans and has always worked well.
I would recommend the cold water after blanching, it stops the cooking process and does not leave you with over cooked veggies.
If you have a vaccum sealer, I also would use that, just don’t vaccum until flat… follow the directions with your machine.
We freeze broccoli ever year from our garden with great success.
Hi KW!
Do you really blanch your broccoli for 3 minutes? When I did mine, the first batch I put in the pot, I waited until the water started to come back to a boil. When I removed the broccoli, I found that it was too long. We like our broccoli al dente. Maybe it was because my water was at a very high heat. I would drop the broccoli in the boiling water for about 10 seconds, just enough for it to change color and scoop them out. This way, they were blanched but not cooked. Froze them in single layer first. Have steamed some since for a meal, and they were nice and al dente!
Could be that my broccoli florets were small too! I guess that would make a difference as well. Right? Reason I ask is because this was my first time freezing broccoli. I’ve only frozen string beans and carrots before.
Thanks for the info. Never even thought about pot size or the amount of water! I just used big pot and lots of water. LOL 
Thank you so much for all the info!! What I did the first time was froze them raw! It seemed ok. I hope I didn’t give our bellys some bacteria or something! The second time I blanced for only 1 min.
From now on I guess I will do the 3-4 min blanch since I cook them til there mushy anyway. I love mushy broccoli. That is how my little Italian Grandma does it! And you should taste her fried zucchhini! they are almost carmelized!
Thank you
lisa Y
I never boil my vegies I am going to freeze, I steam blanch them for the same times KW mentions, less loss of vitamins and not soggy.