Freezing Green Beans in 5 Easy Steps

Fresh green beans from your garden can be preserved quickly and easily for enjoyment all year round. If you've tried every recipe with green beans that you can find and your family is still sick of them and your friends run away when they see you coming with a bag full of beans, consider putting them up for the fall and winter.

One of the most fool-proof ways to do this is to freeze them. You want to be sure you have a reliable source of electricity if you go this route so you don't lost them all in the case of a power outage.

Following are 5 easy steps to freezing your excess green bean crop.

Snap and wash your beans. Try to freeze only the freshest beans, those picked the same day if possible. If you have some that are less than fresh but still edible, throw them into a soup or stew right away rather than freezing them.

Wash them well under running water. A pasta strainer works well for this. Snap them in half or thirds, discarding the ends and any strings.

Blanch your beans with boiling water. You can do this in a couple of different ways. Either pour boiling water over the beans, or drop the beans into boiling water for about 1-2 minutes. Either way, a pasta strainer will again come in handy for this step.

Spread your beans out to dry and cool on drying racks, paper, or lint free towels. They should be in one single layer. Dry them enough so that there aren't water droplets that will turn into ice when frozen. They are ready to be transferred to bags when they appear dry and are cool to the touch.

Fill zip-type freezer bags about 2/3 full of beans. If there are varying sizes you may want to sort them according to size before bagging.

After filling each bag, lay it on its side and flatten it out without smooshing your beans so that there is a nice uniform layer of beans throughout the bag. Force out the air and seal. Be sure to mark the date on each bag.

Stack your beans flat in the freezer. They seem to take up less room if you freeze them flat. Once they are completely frozen you can place them vertically, like books, in chronological order so that the oldest ones get used up first.