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.

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.

And it doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself a ‘preserver’ – there’s something for everyone on this list to keep and use basil by:

• Canning
• Freezing
• Refrigeration
• Shelf-stable pantry
• Drying

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

Canning:

Strawberry Basil “Sorbet” @Sur La Table

Basil Jelly @Tast of Home

Lemon Basil Syrup @Garden Betty

Freezing:

6 Ways To Freeze Basil (& Which Is Best)

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup @Cooking Classy

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

Refrigeration:

Basil Butter @Champagne Tastes (this can also be frozen for longer storage)

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

Pantry:

Gourmet Basil Salt @The Rising Spoon

Basil Vinegar @Taste of Home

Basil Oil Recipe @Food Network

Basil Infused Honey @The Kitchn

Drying:

How to Dry Basil (and Other Herbs) Oven or Dehydrator

How to Dry basil by Microwaving @The Frugal Girls

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?
• Basil butter was really fun on bread and then sprinkled with garlic salt.