Tutorial and tips for how to quickly and easily freeze snap peas without blanching – or snow peas – to be able to enjoy them longer than their short season.
A few years ago I shared a harvest photo of our three types of peas, and I realized I needed to find a way to preserve them. The window for fresh peas is typically short – hopefully three weeks to a month before the hot weather does them in. But freezing is a way to be able to have garden peas a little longer.
When I experimented with freezing green beans without blanching first (with great success!), I didn’t have enough peas to try the method (or anti-method, ha!) right then – we just ate the few that we harvested. As soon as we had a decent harvest, though, I experimented with freezing peas without blanching, too.
But because of the success of the green beans – and all the emails and comments on the green bean post from people who:
- Tried it and liked the results, OR
- They, their parents, or grandparents always did it that way.
And because of the popularity of that article, I went ahead and froze the snap and snow peas without blanching.
How did freezing snap peas without blanching turn out?
We tried them after a week of being in the freezer and liked the results better than the wimpy, over-cooked, squeaky blanched snap peas of my past (similar to the beans…).
We then also tried them at 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months before we ran out of frozen peas and they were still better in my opinion, though they were a bit more soft.
Since snap peas do seem to have more water content than beans, the pods do not come out crisp like fresh, but the inside peas do, and the flavor is still sweet and pleasant with the bit of crisp. Snow peas fair a better, probably because there’s not as much air in the pod as snap peas.
I do want to say that this is one of those try-it-and-see-if-you-like-it type of methods. Do a bag like this and see if you like it before preserving your whole harvest this way.
As for me, this is much better than the alternative than blanching, just like with green beans!
How to Freeze Snap Peans Without Blanching
Part of the reason this method appeals to me, besides how they come out of the freezer, is because it’s so quick. That’s the thing I love most about eliminating the whole blanching process – well, that and not having to deal with boiling water when it’s hot outside.
Quick & Easy Steps to Freeze Snap or Snow Peas Without Blanching
- Strip pods of the tops and strings, as usual. Clean if needed, and dry well. You do not need to clean them unless you don’t know where they came from or who handled them. Mine grow organically and never touch the ground, so I don’t bother. IF you do wash, plan to air dry or hand dry well (TIP: spinning in a salad spinner will help dry faster), as water will cause the dreaded ice crystals to form faster in the freezer.
- Slice pods into 1 to 2-inch pieces. You could leave them whole, but I find cutting into smaller pieces helps detract from the inevitable changes that occur in the freezer to the texture – when they’re smaller, it’s less noticeable.
- Add to a freezer baggie, remove air, label, and freeze.
I know – awesome in it’s simpleness, right?
Tip for Removing Air From Freezer Baggies
I don’t want to leave you without a reminder about my cheap trick for removing air instead of using a seal-a-meal (or whatever they’re called – which if you have, great! I just don’t want the added expense):
The straw vacuum sealer method.
How to remove air from a baggie using a straw:
- Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible.
- Open a small section of the seal, and insert a straw.
- Suck out as much air as you can, until the bag is collapsing around the contents.
- Remove straw and quickly seal as fast as possible.
Does it remove all the air? No. Does it work as well as those seal-a-meals? Probably not.
But does it work better than simply using your hands to remove the air? Yes! Plus it’s quick and easy, and I don’t have to buy a gadget or special baggies. Also, I reuse these strong baggies over and over for regular storage when they’re done in the freezer, which you can’t do with the sealed bags.
How To Cook With The Frozen Peas?
While they aren’t as crisp as fresh, I’ve found the frozen peas still work well in these dishes:
- Stir fries – add them at the last minute (still frozen) and toss a few more minutes in the hot stir fry until they are warmed.
- Soups – add them frozen when there is just 10 minutes or so left to cook.
- Roasted on their own or in sheet pan meals – add frozen to a cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, season, and roast at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until browning and cooked through.
What about you – have you ever frozen peas? What’s your favorite way to ‘put up’ peas?
This article has been updated – it was originally published in July of 2013.
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Tracey Mardon says
Thanks for your freezing tips! I started freezing our green beans without blanching a couple of years ago and they stay well preserved until we get through them in the winter. I take the kernels off corn and freeze on cookie sheet(same as raspberries and blackberries). I roast most of the tomatoes with nice herbs and a little oil. Same method, freeze them on cookie sheets when cool. And I free chard, kale etc in medium bags right away. They are labelled with what I want to use them for ie chard with dal or sweet potato/kale curry. Makes it easy on a winter’s night to open the drawer and see an idea for dinner. I’ll try the water tip, might be faster than the straw.
Jami says
Great ideas, Tracey – thanks for sharing!
Helene Thompson says
Can you freeze peas without them being cut into pieces ? I just finished removing the peas from the pods. Thank you very much for your fast reply. Helene
Jami says
Yes, you can freeze them whole – I often do that with smaller snow peas. The texture after freezing is a little more limp, so cutting them seems to minimize that for me. Try it and see which you like best!
Debbie Perkins says
You can also immerse the bag in water. Being careful not to let water into the bag. Gets a lot out, but not all.
Jami says
Thanks for the tip Debbie!
Pyxye Styx says
Regarding removing air from the freezer bags:
Fill your baggie with whatever you’re storing.
Immerse the filled baggie in a pail of water to the point just below the zip lock.
Close the zipper. Remove from pail. All the air is pressed out by the weight of the water.
Helene Thompson says
Thank you very much, I will do some experiments with them and other vegies. Once again Thank you,——–Helene
Rolf Sabye says
I select my sugar snaps in three sizes. Small tenders for salad. Medium slightly meaty for sauteing. and large meaty, because I missed seeing them, for my vegie and chicken soups.
For freezing raw, I only use the medium and the large. Freezing these two sizes has little negative affect on the end product, saute & soup.
ColdFusion says
I’m gonna risk it!!! I’m gonna try this.. because I know if I have to blanch it, I’m not going to do it.
We’ve been blanching some of our zucchini and not-blanching others, otherwise freezing them identically, and not sure yet how it worked, but nothing’s turning brown.
Jami says
I think you’ll like how these turn out. And I don’t ever blanch zucchini – I need to write about that!
Mary w says
Another great way of removing air is to zip all but a corner and submerge in water up to the top and seal. The air will naturally leave the bag.
T Allen says
Just a comment to those who are very concerned about washing food. Google “Food Safety freezing produce” If you have a large freezer that cools to zero degrees or below you won’t have to worry about bugs or diseases. There are very few diseases that will grow below zero temps. Just use foods promptly after thawing! That is how they they make sushi safe to eat, it’s deep frozen for several weeks to kill parasites. The one concern is Listeria (mostly on meat) which is why it’s recommended to cook all meat but you aren’t going to wash it all off even if you try. Here’s one of many sites: https://www.extension.umn.edu/food/food-safety/preserving/freezing/the-science-of-freezing-foods/
Jami says
Thank you! This makes a lot of sense.
Janie Hazelbaker says
I’m glad OK found your videos. I did my sugar snap peas and half runner grean beans. Now it’s time for some zucchini. ????????????????????????????
Jami says
I’m glad, too, Janie!
Mystical says
P,S, Do you HAVE to cut the snow peas to freeze them? Can you leave them whole??? & green beans also?!?! Sorry I forgot to ask earlier! 🙁 Hope to get a reply soon…..my garden is going to go rotten soon if I don’t start picking!!! It’s July 30th today & high time to start picking!!! (maybe even a tiny bit late!!! lol 🙂 thanks for your time AGAIN!!!! 🙂
Jami says
No, you don’t have to cut the veggies, I just prefer them that way since that is how I tend to use them in cooking. Experiment and see what you like best! And get to picking. 😉
Mystical says
Hi!!! I had NEVER heard of freezing without blanching first, & when I typed in “Easy way to freeze green beans & snow peas” this site came up! When I saw NO BLANCHING, I HAD to read the WHOLE thing….everyone’s comments included!!! lol I am thrilled that I found this site…(years later! lol) because I am terminally ill, & my husband passed away. I am only 50 & my husband was 54 when he passed away 5 yrs. ago….but doing it this way, I can put just enough for ONE person in a baggie, so it would save me time & money!!! I hope you DO post about carrots, as I have TONS of them!!! I live in the “Fruit Belt” in the Niagara Pennisula in Ontario, so we have EVERYTHING here! (except citrus & avocados 🙁 So now that I found this site, I can freeze everything from my garden!!! YAY!!! I don’t have the energy to stand long enough to blanch, & then freeze & tidy up after!!! I’m THRILLED that I found this, cuz I’m a veggie nut!!! I cannot eat a meal without at least 2 veggies!!! lol SO thank you SO MUCH Jami !!!!! Have you ever tried tomatos?! (for stews or sauces) Now it sounds like I’m getting lazy & trying to freeze EVERYTHING with this method!!! By the way, I prefer your method of using a straw much better than submerging the bag in water!!! Less of a mess to clean up….(wash the sink, etc) It’s hard for me to stand that long! BUT….to each their own, right!?!? That goes for ALL the bickering back & forth about washing/not washing your veggies!!! lol I think… DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT FOR YOU!!!! Thanks again Jami & to ALL of you who posted comments….some of you gave me GREAT ideas!!! Sorry I wrote you guys a book, instead of a comment!!! LOL 🙂
Jami says
Wow, Mystical, you did read all the comments. 😉 First, I’m SO, so very sorry about your prognosis. Your attitude and obvious zest for life, though, is inspiring and I’m so glad I have helped you in some way!
And yes, tomatoes freeze wonderfully! If you core them first (that’s all – just leave whole) the skins will slip off after just a bit of thawing and can be used in any sauce, soup, etc. You can halve them if it’s easier to store, too. I’ve also been known to throw them, cores and all, in baggies and stash them in the freezer when I’m inundated with tomatoes at the height of the season. (the cores aren’t hard that hard to remove when partially thawed).
I haven’t tried carrots (I never grow enough for extras…), but do kale, zucchini, the peas, beans, and corn this way, too (though I do prefer frozen cooked corn because I like using the frozen corn for salads and it’s easier if it’s already cooked).
Blessings to you!
James Benoit says
Hi Mystical and Jami! I’ve frozen tomatos for many years. Just wash, make sure the stem is off and put into a ziploc. When I’m cooking stew, soup, or anything that calls for tomatos, just pop some out and your set! I use a FoodSaver. It takes all the air out and seals it. Its great for storing all kinds of foods. This is the easiest way I know to store veggies.
Jami says
Yes, that’s a great way to freeze tomatoes, which I do, too. I think it does take up a lot of room, though – I only do it at the end of the season when I’m trying to deal with all the tomatoes. 🙂
kathy says
I am newbee to organic gardening and canning. Any suggestions on carrots last year I just froze the whole carrot YUK soggy mess. Any ideas would be appreciated
Jami says
The standard advice is to slice the carrots and blanch them (plunge into boiling water for a minute and then into ice water to cool rapidly) and then freeze. Lay on a cookie sheet so and then add to a container so you can pull out just what you need.
That said, I’m now trying many things without blanching first – I’m wondering about freezing grated raw carrots to use in baking, soups, and maybe even carrot fritters/pancakes. I haven’t tried it yet – but now I want to! 🙂 Maybe try a few of each and see what you like?
Linda Carter says
We leave our carrots in the ground and cover with lots of leaves. We dig fresh delicious carrots well into March. They are sweeter too.
Marlayne says
I wash and dry my carrots, put on cookie sheet and freeze . Then ziploc them and throw in the freezer. They are just fine when I pull them out to use however I want. NO blanching.
Jami says
Good to know, Marlayne, thanks!
Angie says
Wash your produce…. Birds and insects poop on vegetation. Microfiber dish drying mats are great for soaking up water.
Dan says
HAHA! I must be a year behind! I enjoyed the freezing green beans article and grew a ton of green beans and still have 1 bag left (harvested 6-2014) ..they were great!…
Anyways…we all love peas, maybe even more than beans. So I am growing a bunch of snap peas (they look great!). Anyways I have no experience growing or cooking with these so I googled freezing without blanching peas …and here you are! One year ahead of me LOL.
So here we go I’m trying it this year!
Jami says
Glad you found me again, Dan! We don’t have fresh peas yet (in a few weeks, hopefully…), but still a bag to use up. I like them best in stir fries.
Anne Hughes says
Ha! And here I was thinking that I invented the “Straw Method” of removing air from zip lock baggies just a couple of weeks ago. 🙂 Anyway… Thanks for all of this info as I find myself inundated with 4 cases of Sugar Snaps! I do have the sealer thing and in this instance I can see the convenience of using it! I also have seal type bags that allow you to boil/steam/microwave in them from frozen too.. I’m a happy camper.
Jami says
Ha! And I’m all for using whatever you have – that sounds great, Anne.
Ricardo says
Hi. Straw is good. Vacuum better. Get a turkey baster, pop the bulb off the end and stick the tube end in your vacuum wand. Vacuum sucks it into wand and you have the small end of the tube to put in the hole where your straw would go. Works great!!!
Jami says
That’s a new one I’ve never heard Ricardo! What a fun thing to try. 🙂
jane says
I just read about you not blanching your green beans and that you do your corn the same way. Could you [lease explain how you process your corn before freezing if you don’t blanch or cook the corn. Thanks. I use the straw trick. My Great Aunt should me that trick many years ago. 🙂
Jami says
Nice to know I have tradition on my side with the straw trick, Jane! For corn, I usually preserve it 3 ways: unblanched whole cobs (6 to a gallon ziplock with air out), unblanched kernels cut off the cobs, and cooked kernels that are usually leftover from some meal. I like the cooked corn to use from the freezer in salads and the uncooked kernels I use in soups and stews. The cobs I drop frozen into boiling water for about 5 minutes or until done. I really need to do a post about this, ha! 🙂
Tracy says
We used the method to store our sugar snap peas… blah disgusting. The peas have a horrible taste.
Jami says
Wow sorry, Tracy, we’ve never experienced that and think they’re fine in soups, curries and such.
Tony says
Great idea fet up blanching England is having a great summer so lots of stuff,this will save me loads of time,thanks
JHA says
After you freeze the sugar snap peas what are some ideas for what to do with them given that they are not as crisp?
Jami says
I use them for soups, stews and even stir fries – they’re okay with the other crisp veggies.
TW says
as an alternative to the straw, you can place the filled bags in water up to near the seal strip, and the water will push the air out. Seal it while still holding the bag mostly submerged.