This is not going to be a how-to. Those things exist all over the internet already. I do not really have anything to bring to the table for instructions on freezing beans. I found the instructions I used at Better Homes and Gardens, and they were easy to follow.
The basic instructions are:
- Trim the ends
- Cut the beans into bite sized pieces
- Blanch the green beans
- Prepare the beans for freezing
- Freeze the beans
I am posting to say that this is such an easy process that anybody with extra green beans can preserve some for later in the year. Our bean plants were going crazy, so I had to do something with the extra beans. I was able to prepare and freeze enough beans to fill up a quart bag in about a half hour. This process was probably one of the easiest and fastest preservation techniques I have ever done. Now we have some beans ready for the winter when they do not grow well here.
The beans I am growing are not technically green beans, though the process was the same. I am growing Purple Teepee Bean and Red Swan Bush Bean. Both of them do cook green, so that explains the color change in the pictures.
If you have never tried to preserve green beans, I encourage you to give it a try.
-Joshua
I will definitely try this method with my beans. Thank you so much for sharing this tip!
Not a fan of green (or yellow) beans but canning is a very practical thing to do for someone with a large(r) family.
Green beans are great because they are versatile. They can be eaten plain or cooked in many things. I understand that many people do not like the yellow version. I actually planted some of this last week.
I don’t like the taste of either.
I’ve always been afraid of pressure canning, bad bean incident when I was a kid. So I don’t can non acidic foods. I’ve been thinking about freezing, but I honestly have not frozen anything but fruit. It seems pretty straight forward. Thanks.
Freezing is very easy. The only issue is you need a decent sized freezer to hold them if you get a lot.
Our freezer never has room. And we have a large standup freezer. I generally can everything I am able to. 🙂 Pressure canning isn’t all that scary, just takes getting used to. I used to fear that the cooker would blow up, but all modern pressure cookers and canners have release valves to vent pressure if it gets to high. 🙂
I typically can all my overharvest. In fact I canned 11 pints of green beans just last Sunday! 🙂 But it is always good to know how to freeze as well. If plan to use your produce soon, but not soon enough. 🙂 Thanks for posting!