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    Home » Blog » Whole Food Recipes » Canning & Preserving Recipes

    September 13, 2016 | By Jami

    22+ Ways to Preserve Basil (& Pesto Isn't One of Them!)

    Preserve basil when abundant in summer with these recipes for canning, freezing, refrigerating, drying, and more to enjoy the fresh flavor of basil all winter long.

    Harvesting Basil to Preserve

    Are you swimming in a bumper crop of basil? Did your farmer's market box get stuffed with bunches of basil? A relative or friend give you a bag full? No matter how you got it, you're probably wondering what to DO with all that basil!

    Kind of like I am right now. I've got five plants that have been giving me fresh basil for months (and yes, I used this when they were small to keep the bugs off and they then grew like mad!). AND I've got our freezer stocked with enough of our favorite (and frugal!) pesto to last us for a year.

    But the plants still keep pumping out glorious leaves and I don't want to waste them. So I did a little research about other ways to preserve basil and decided to share my findings with you, since I figured there has to be more like me who are looking for recipes other than pesto for preserving basil.

    So when you're done with pesto and you still need to deal with a lot of basil leaves before winter comes, these recipes will come to your rescue. And no worries if you don't consider yourself a 'preserver' - there's something for everyone on this list: salad dressings to keep in your fridge for a few months, soups to freeze, jams to can, butters to make - even salt to flavor. And a lot more!

    Note: Feel free to pin the lead basil photo to remember this whole list, but please pin from the original source for any photos below - thank you!

    Ways to Preserve Basil

    Strawberry Basil "Sorbet" via Sur La Table

    Canning:

    Strawberry Basil "Sorbet" @Sur La Table

    Basil Jelly @Tast of Home

    Lemon Basil Syrup @Garden Betty

    roasted-tomato-basil-soup-via-cooking-classy

    Freezing:

    Roasted Tomato Basil Soup @Cooking Classy

    Freeze basil whole or pureed in ice cubes @The Balance

    Edamame Basil Hummus @Two Peas & Their Pod

    Basil Noodles @Taste of Home

    Summer Squash Soup with Basil @Food Network

    Purple Basil Parmesan Biscuits @My Recipes

    Slow Cooker Basil Marinara @Spabettie

    Lemon Basil Frozen Yogurt @Taste of Home

    Basil butter in bowl

    Refrigeration:

    Basil Butter @Southern Living

    Basil Vinaigrette @Simply Recipes

    Tomato Basil Vinaigrette @My Recipes

    Preserving Fresh Basil with Oil & Salt @Red Head Can Decorate

    How to Preserve Basil in Salt @Melissa K. Norris

    basil-sea-salt-the-rising-spoon

    Pantry:

    Gourmet Basil Salt @The Rising Spoon

    Basil Oil Recipe @Food Network

    Basil Infused Honey @The Kitchn

    dry-fresh-basil-tutorial-at-thefrugalgirls-com

    Drying:

    How to Dry basil by Microwaving @The Frugal Girls

    How to Dry Basil by Oven @The Kitchen Garten

    How to Dry Herbs with a dehydrator @The National Center for Food Preservation (Tip: you don't have to use the 95 degree setting, you can choose up to 125 degrees to make it go faster!)

    Want to know what I'm using from this list?

    Preserving in salt (no oil), making basil vinegar, freezing whole leaves, and a couple batches of the roasted tomato-basil soup since I have tomatoes to use up, too. I'd love to try the butter and basil salt, too! What about you?

    Updates:

    • I didn't really like how the basil leaves preserved in salt turned out - they were hard to use since it was difficult to get all the salt off and quite dark and wilted. They didn't smell very basil-y, either, so I won't be using that method again.
    • Basil vinegar was wonderful!
    • I actually did some testing on the best ways to freeze basil here and found that two of the easiest methods turned out the best. Love that, don't you?

     

     

    About Jami

    Since 2009 Jami Boys has been helping readers live a simple homemade life through whole food recipes, doable gardening, and easy DIY projects on An Oregon Cottage. From baking bread, to creating a floor from paper, to growing and preserving food, Jami shares the easiest ways to get things done. She's been featured in Cottages and Bungalows, Old House Journal, and First for Women magazines as well as numerous sites like Good Housekeeping, Huffington Post, and Apartment Therapy.

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    1. Corinna says

      July 26, 2022 at 11:53 am

      5 stars
      THANK YOU! I've already lost one crop of basil (hubby tossed them from fridge) and I have another that I DON'T want to lose. These ideas are fantastic. I love the idea of putting basil in olive oil too... But thank you. Didn't want a bunch of pesto to go bad in fridge too so this is just fantastic. Hopefully I will have basil something for the winter!

      Reply
      • Jami says

        July 27, 2022 at 11:23 am

        You're so welcome, Corinna! I'm super happy this was helpful to you - enjoy your basil through the winter!

        Reply
    2. Carole @ Garden Up Green says

      September 17, 2016 at 12:32 pm

      Great ideas! This year I had a huge volunteer crop so I did a lot of drying and decided mos to the harvest will turn into gifts.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Jami and I'm so glad you're here! My desire is to help you live a simple homemade life through delicious whole food recipes, easy organic gardening and preserving your harvest.

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