Freezing Basil In Olive Oil

If you want to preserve your fresh basil then freezing basil in olive oil is one of the best options. This recipe shows you how to freeze basil in ice cube trays with a little olive oil so the basil remains fresh and ready to use in your meals. Just stash these frozen basil cubes in the freezer for an easy way to have fresh basil all year.

Freezing basil in olive oil in ice cube trays is a great way to make sure you are not wasting any of that store-bought basil or basil from your garden. In my family, no herb goes to waste, especially basil.

This is my favorite way of holding on to fresh basil when the season has passed. Sometimes I like to make pesto and store that in ice cube trays but when you need a recipe that calls for fresh basil in the cooler months, this is what I use.

I use these basil ice cubes for quick meals like my angel hair pasta with tomatoes with herbs, polpette or my Italian American meat sauce. The key is to make sure you are freezing the right amount of basil in each cube that you would use in your recipes.

Ingredients

• Fresh basil
• Extra virgin olive oil

Ingredient Notes: When freezing basil in ice cube trays, you want to make sure you are only using fresh basil. You can use either extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil, depending on what you have on hand.

Just make sure the oil you use is one that you will want to have in the recipes that you are making.

How To Freeze Fresh Basil In Olive Oil

I often work with lots of fresh basil at one time and I end up using all of my ice cube trays to do this. If I can't fit all of the basil in then I just plan another meal like my passata tomato soup or Polpettone to use it up 🙂

The easiest way to freeze fresh basil in olive oil is to use a silicone-based ice cube tray (more on that below).

How Much Basil To Add To The Ice Cube Trays

How much basil you freeze in each ice cube compartment should be based on how much fresh basil you use in your recipes.

If you know you use 2-3 fresh basil leaves in your meals, that is how much you should use. If you prefer less basil in your recipes, use 1-2 leaves of basil for each compartment in the ice cube trays.

Storing Your Frozen Basil

Once the olive oil is in its frozen state, you can easily pop the frozen basil and cubes right out. I find they store best in freezer bags.

Because these ice cubes are made up of olive oil, they will not stick together, and having them in a bag already makes it easier to reach into the freezer to grab your preserved basil when you are cooking. You could leave them in the tray but it is easier to access them when you remove them after freezing.

Equipment

Using silicone ice cube trays is a time saver when making freezing basil in oil. You can easily find these trays online for really cheap. If you are using a regular ice cube tray, you will need to run a sharp knife along the edges of the frozen olive oil to help it release from the tray. Trust me, the silicone trays are going to be much easier to use.

Variations

This method of freezing basil works great with any fresh herbs. Fresh herbs add so much flavor to recipes and are expensive if you are buying them at the store. Don't let them go to waste and use this method of storing them instead.

You can use fresh sage, fresh tarragon, or any fresh herbs you like to cook with.

Recipe Faqs

Favorite Ways To Use Frozen Basil

These are my favorite dishes to use them in:

More Like This