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When zucchini decides to make its appearance in the garden, it comes in fast. Just a few zucchini plants can turn into mounds of zucchini on your countertop.

And while this can give you plenty of inspiration for sauteed zucchini and onions, fresh zucchini muffins, and grilled zucchini, you may eventually burn out on zucchini recipes. So, how do you freeze zucchini for use later? I've got the best way to save your abundance of zucchini for use later in the year.

Why Freeze Zucchini at Home

Learning how to freeze zucchini is perfect for those large summer harvests, or simply too many purchased at the grocery store or farmer's market. If you're planning to grow your own, here are some helpful zucchini growing articles:

• How to Plant and Grow Zucchini and Squash: Everything you need to know from planting to harvesting.
• How to Avoid Squash Vine Borers: Tips for keeping those pesky worms from ruining your harvest.
• Recipes to use for Large Zucchini: if you accidentally forget to check your zucchini plant and end up with a mammoth zucchini, all is not lost. Here are a ton of my favorite zucchini recipes that need big zucchini!

Unfortunately, zucchini isn't as easy as some other summer favorites, like blueberries, which you just drop and freeze. Learning how to freeze zucchini requires knowing about enzymes that will cause your frozen zucchini to discolor. 

To be sure this doesn't happen, dropping chopped, sliced, or grated zucchini in boiling water for a few minutes ensures your zucchini will be lovely and green when you pull it out of the freezer. 

This simple blanching process is used for many vegetables before they can be stored in the freezer. So let's get started freezing zucchini to use later! (Be sure to check out the video at the end for the full process!)

If you're interested in learning more about the freezing process for more fruits, vegetables, and herbs, check out my book Quick and Easy Freezer Preservation. I have instructions for freezing this versatile vegetable along with so many others. 

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Supplies for Freezing Zucchini

Here's what you'll need for freezing, whether you're dealing with lots of zucchini or just a larger harvest. 

• Large bowl (I love this oversized metal bowl from Amazon.)
• Large Stockpot or dutch oven
• Strainer
• Freezer bags or Freezer-safe containers 
• Sharpie
• Food Saver system (optional)
• Food Processor (optional)

How to Freeze Zucchini Step-by-Step

1. Get a large pot of water (unsalted) on to boil. (I love enamel coated cast iron dutch ovens, but if you need something lighter, go for it!) While waiting for the water to boil, go ahead and chop up, slice or shred your whole zucchini, removing any large seeds if necessary. If making zucchini slices or shredding, a food processor can make this much faster.
2. Once your water has reached a boiling point, drop in your raw zucchini and let boil for just 2-3 minutes. You're not trying to cook the zucchini, just kill off those enzymes. 

3. While your zucchini is in the pot, prepare a large bowl with ice cold water and set to the side. Drain zucchini in a colander and then immediately dump into the ice bath. Give the zucchini five minutes or so to cool completely in the ice water.

4. Drain zucchini in the colander to strain off any excess moisture. While zucchini is draining, go ahead and prepare your freezer bags or containers by marking with the date with a permanent marker. This way, you'll know just how old the zucchini is and what bag/container you need to use first. If you have a food saver, you can also prepare your bags the same way for vacuum sealing. 
5. Optional Step: After draining, lay the zucchini out in a single layer on several clean kitchen towels. This isn't required, but it helps to draw out a bit more moisture, especially if you're freezing large amounts of zucchini.
6. Use a large spoon and transfer zucchini from the colander or kitchen towels into freezer bags/containers. I like to put enough in each bag for a single meal use, this way I'm not trying to thaw out a partial bag. 
7. Place your bags flat in the freezer for easier storage, and be sure they're label side up! 

When to use Frozen Zucchini

Zucchini from the freezer won't be as versatile as fresh zucchini, so skip trying to make zoodles, fresh zoodles are best. But here are some good uses for frozen zucchini:

• Soups and stews in the winter: Use zucchini slices or cubes in your winter soups. Try this recipe for Easy Minestrone by Two Peas and their Pod. 
• Breads and Muffins and Cake: Use frozen shred zucchini in quick bread and muffins like my Whole Grain Zucchini Bread Muffins, or in zucchini pancakes. Also consider frozen shredded zucchini in chocolate zucchini cake!
• Casseroles: If a casserole calls for zucchini or other summer squash, then you can opt to use some of your frozen zucchini in these. 

How Long Can you Freeze Zucchini

The classica answer is "it depends." And that's because it truly does depend on what you use to store your frozen zucchini. These times are guidelines for best flavor. 

• 3-6 months if stored in an airtight container in the freezer. 
• 6 to 12 months if using a Food Saver or similar vacuum seal system.

FAQ's on Freezing Zucchini

• Can shredded zucchini be frozen? Yes, follow the same process above. Just be sure your colander has small enough holes. Frozen shredded zucchini is perfect for muffins and breads. 
• Can zucchini noodles be frozen? Yes, but don't expect the same texture from frozen zoodles. Most frozen vegetables that have a high water content, like zucchini, will lose some texture. This is why using them in baked good and soups is a good option.
• Can you freeze zucchini without blanching it? Yes, you can, but the texture of the zucchini pieces with not be the same. I prefer blanching for best results, but you have to do what works for your family. Per the Center for Home Food Preservation, they recommend blanching summer squash before freezer preserving.  

And freezing zucchini to use later in the year is just one of the garden goods I like to store for later. Here are some more ways to preserve the harvest:

How to Freeze Blueberries

How to Freeze Okra

How to  Freeze Green Beans