How To Freeze Squash From Your Garden

I love the ease of freezing squash. And let's face it -- when your garden starts making zucchini, yellow squash, pattypan squash... you're loaded with them.

Follow the directions below, and you'll be able to enjoy all of that fresh squash goodness year-round.

a large kettle of boiling water

a baking sheet, lined with paper towels

a slotted spoon

freezer bags (I use quart-sized)

This is all you need!

Bring a large kettle of water to the boil.

Meanwhile, prepare your squash: after washing your squash (any type can be used, by the way -- zucchini, yellow squash, pattypan, ball squash, etc.) cut off the blossom and stem ends.

Cut the squash into rounds about 1/4 inch thick.

Drop the squash into the boiling water, and blanch for about one minute. You'll know the squash is ready when it takes on a bright color. DON'T LEAVE IN THE WATER TOO LONG. Squash are a delicate vegetable, and they cook quickly. The goal is to simply blanch them, not fully cook them.

Why is blanching important? The process destroys an enzyme so that your squash will remain fresh and delicious in your freezer for months. You have to blanch squash before you can freeze it.

I usually drop approximately 3 cups of squash at a time into the boiling water. Using your slotted spoon, remove the squash to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. After the squash have drained, then put them into your (already labeled) freezer bags.

I label my bags with the date, and the type of squash. If a friend gave me squash, I'll write their name on the bag, just so I'll know. Once the bags are frozen, it's hard to tell which ones are from your garden, and which are gifts from gardening friends.

I've not mentioned how much squash you can do at a time because this recipe allows a small amount (I've put up as little as 9 cups of squash, and as much as 15 quarts of squash at a time.) That's what I love about this method -- it allows me to put my squash into the freezer as soon as I pick it -- whether that means a couple of handsfull, or a bushel full.

Clear out a space in your freezer where the bags of blanched squash can be carefully stacked. This is important! You want your bags to freeze in neat stacks.

Once they're frozen, you can then move them to another part of the freezer. When I first put squash into my freezer, I put the bags willy-nilly into the freezer, and ended up with frozen bags that were oddly-shaped, and difficult to store. You'll be glad you took the time to stack the bags, so that they will take up as little room as is necessary.

After all, as any gardener knows, squash plants are quite prolific, and once you start harvesting squash, you've got tons of squash. You'll be glad you took the time to make neat bags that store easily.

So... how do you prepare squash that comes out of your freezer?

You can't fry it, unfortunately. However, there are lots of ways it can be prepared that are really delicious.

Click the recipe below for some great ideas for preparing the squash you defrost from your freezer.