Freezing chives is one of my favorite ways to save a big harvest for later. It’s a total game-changer because, unlike drying, freezing locks in that fresh flavor and all those great vitamins. To make sure your herbs stay top-notch, here’s my go-to guide on how to do it right.
Getting Your Chives Ready for the Freezer
Before you preserve your chives, you’ve got to do a little prep work. If you’re doing a big cut-back in the fall, you’ll likely have a huge pile to deal with, but honestly, you can harvest and freeze them anytime during the growing season. Just stick to the green blades and those pretty, edible flowers. Skip the buds and the tough, woody stems that hold the flowers—they don’t freeze well and aren’t great for eating anyway.
Start by sorting through your harvest and tossing any wilted or yellow bits. You only want the healthy, juicy green ones for the freezer. Give them a good rinse, then—and this is the important part—pat them dry thoroughly but gently. Any extra water left on the stems will turn into ice crystals, which ruins the texture.
Pro tip: You can’t really chop chives once they’ve thawed, so you’ll want to slice them to your preferred size now. A pair of kitchen shears makes this super easy, but a sharp knife works too. Just make sure whatever you use is clean and very sharp so you don’t bruise the herbs.
The Best Ways to Freeze Chives
When it comes to freezing the chopped stems or the flowers, you’ve got a few options depending on how you plan to use them:
- All together in one container
- In small, pre-portioned snacks
- Preserved in plant oil
- Mixed with other garden herbs
You can even freeze them as part of a recipe, like in homemade herb butter. The best thing about chives is that the little rings don’t usually clump together into a solid block, so you can freeze a big batch and just scoop out what you need. Just make sure your container is airtight so your chives don’t pick up “freezer smells” (and your freezer doesn’t end up smelling like onions!). These work great:
- Freezer bags
- Airtight plastic containers
- Ice cube trays
How to Use Your Frozen Chives
Frozen chives will keep their peak flavor for about six months. After that, they’re still safe to eat, but they start to lose that signature punch. This goes for the frozen flowers, too. My biggest piece of advice? Use them straight from the freezer! If you let them thaw out on the counter, they’ll get mushy and lose their flavor. The only exception is chives frozen in oil—you can let those melt into a salad dressing since the oil helps them keep their shape. Even then, try to use them pretty quickly once they’re out of the cold.
