Fresh Frozen Basil

Freeze your fresh basil? It sounded like a crazy idea but those are usually the ones that are most fun, right? I had read several different suggestions for how to do this, people sharing what worked well and what didn’t. Thank you to those that post their successes, failures, tips and tricks! With all of that advice I went off on another experiment!

The “living basil” plant deserves a blog post dedicated to itself. Having a basil plant on your counter is a kitchen trick that is a money saver and provides fresh basil flavor at your fingertips for months. They usually cost about $3-4, Trader Joe’s variety being my favorite as they seem extra full and healthy. That is about the same cost as a small container of basil that lasts only a day or two! If they are trimmed correctly and watered regularly, the basil plant could last around 6 months, well, for me, and then when I miss a watering or two it’s time for a new one 😳. But when the plant flourishes and you can’t keep up with it, let that be your inspiration for trying this idea to freeze your fresh basil.

You will need - Fresh Basil and Olive Oil

Slice or shred the basil into strips and place in an ice cube tray. Stuff each cube as full as you can. Drizzle olive oil over the basil until the strips in each cube are covered with oil. Place the ice cube tray in the freezer and allow about a day for it to solidify. Yes, I kept checking to see if it was ready 😬

And does oil freeze? Yep! It took a day but it turned solid, so that part of the experiment worked, and now for the fun!

The first test was a chicken marinade. I set out 4 cubes in a bowl to defrost and after a couple of hours the oil was back to liquid form. To the oil and basil I added a couple more tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then to the marinade I added two chicken breasts that were sliced longwise so they were thin, and set in the refrigerator to marinade for a few hours. The chicken was roasted in the oven for 20 minutes, and turned out with the flavor of fresh basil that could have fooled you into thinking it truly was fresh picked basil!

The next experiment was pesto, that’s the real reason basil even exists right? It is a great item to have in the frig, there are so many ways you can jazz up your menu with it.

Five cubes of frozen basil were set out to defrost. When they were liquid form again I added them to a small food processor along with about a cup of walnuts, a drizzle of balsamic, and some salt. It was a bit thick so I added another tablespoon of oil Fresh basil pesto!

There are still a few fresh frozen basil cubes in my freezer so there are more experiments in the future! I hope you try this and share your recipe ideas! Enjoy!