Freezing Collard Greens

Enjoy collard greens year round with these easy steps for freezing.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3

Chilling time. 3

Total Time 16

Servings

Calories 8kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 bunch collard greens

Instructions

Start a large pot of water to boil. It should be big enough to hold all of your greens.
Strip off the stems from the collards and wash the leaves in a sink of cool water.
Coarsely chop the collards.
Blanch the collard greens by putting them in the boiling water for 3 minutes.
White the collards are blanching, fill a large bowl (I use a salad spinner) with ice and water. Plunge the collards in the ice bath to stop the cooking. Leave them in for 3 minutes.
Remove excess moisture with the salad spinner or draining them really well.
Using your hands, grab about a tennis ball size handful of the greens and compress them into a ball. Squeeze as hard as you can, over a sink, to remove as much of the liquid as possible. There will be a lot!
Place the balls on a baking sheet and flash freeze for at least 2 hours.
Place the balls in a freezer bag, label and use within a year.

Notes

Don't throw away the stems, you can use them to make Quick Pickled Collard Stems!

You can also use the same instructions for freezing kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, any sturdy greens! You can also use the technique for tender greens like spinach, just boil them for 2 minutes.

Nutrition