How to Freeze Celery

ByMissy Rakes
Chopped celery sitting on a cutting board with a large knife.

Did you know that celery can be chopped into small pieces and frozen for later use? Freezing celery is an incredibly easy process, you just chop, freeze and use it whenever you need it in soups, stews and casseroles.

Chopped celery sitting on a cutting board.

Follow Graceful Little Honey Bee on:
Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

How to Freeze Celery for Soups, Stews and Casseroles

I love freezer cooking and I’m always trying to think of new ways to freeze foods that will save me time and money. Convenience items are great, but they tend to be unhealthy and expensive, so if you can grow your own or find a good deal on produce that freezes well you will be better off in the long run.

Onions, bell peppers, celery, green onions and most fruits can be frozen raw without blanching and still be delicious when used in cooking.

When I’m making a recipe that calls for celery, I normally just use one or two ribs and then freeze the rest for whenever I need it. This is a great method for using celery in soups, stews or casseroles.

Instead of having to stop and chop five different kinds of veggies for the dish you can just scoop out what you need from your already chopped produce and be on your way.

Keeping chopped celery in your freezer is a great way to simplify your life and ensure that you are making the most with what you have grown or found at a rock bottom price. You could even put together veggie soup kits for your favorite recipes.

For example, if your family eats a lot of chicken noodle soup then you could freeze bags of chopped onions, carrots and celery. Don’t forget to freeze your vegetable scraps so that you can make homemade chicken broth for free!

Also, if saving money is something that you want to learn more about, you might want to check out my post 5 Ways Your Freezer Can Save You Money.

Want to learn how to freeze more produce? Here are a few more tutorials:

How to Freeze Strawberries
How to Freeze Blueberries
How to Freeze Bell Peppers

Chopped celery sitting on a cutting board with a large knife.

Tips for Freezing Celery

  • Flash freezing will produce the best product, if you skip this step you might end up with large chunks of frozen together produce.
  • Frozen celery is great for using in soups, stews and casseroles, but not for fresh eating.
  • Bags of frozen celery will keep for several months in the freezer and even longer in a deep freezer.

How to Freeze Celery

Step 1: Pull celery ribs apart and rinse off any dirt.

IMG_2767

Step 2: Pat dry with clean towel and chop into bite sized pieces.

Step 3: Spread out on baking sheet in single layer and flash freeze for two hours.

IMG_2768

Step 4: Place celery in properly labeled freezer bags removing as much air as possible.

IMG_2791

Do you freeze fresh produce to save money? If so, what do you freeze? I’d love to know!

 

Similar Posts

119 Comments

  1. I have frozen celery, bell peppers, and onions for years! I figured if you could buy them frozen in the grocery stores you could freeze them yourself.
    Reply
  3. I've never frozen celery because we love to eat it fresh with peanut butter. However, there are times I forget I have it in the fridge and when I pull it out it's all limp and wilted. I do freeze chopped or sliced onions and sweet peppers which I can use for either fajitas or stir fry. I've also frozen diced broccoli for use in soups because those things all seem to ripen at the same time! I also visit the local u-pick blueberry patch in May each year with a bunch of homeschool friends. If we pick a certain amount in total, we get a considerable discount, so I pick about 10-12 pounds and freeze most of them for smoothies or just eating thawed with a little cream.
    Reply
      1. Can keep celery stock fresh for 2 to 3 months in refrigerator by wrapping in 6 to 8 large pieces white paper towel around whole stock tight then couple large pieces of foil rolled all around paper towel use rub bands to hold tight every time open to use just as fresh as when bought.Im 76 an love to cook whisk had know an this many years ago wit 3 children an large family get togethers.Works GREAT
        Reply
        1. I'll try this. I love fresh celery in my salads. But sellers always put a bunch of stalks in the package and much of it is lost in the fridge. Thank you for sharing.
          Reply
  4. I chop and freeze celery, carrots, onions, and bell peppers for soups and Crock-Pot recipes. I love how it saves money and time! With prechopped frozen produce, I can throw a soup together in no time. And it doesn't take much time to chop some extra onions or celery to go in the freezee if you're already chopping one or two for a different recipe. Also, I confess I cheat and skip the flash-freeze step and usually don't have issues with the produce freezing together. And if it does all end up in a clump, I just tap the bag against the counter a few times, and everything is separated, easy peasy. I also freeze brown bananas (directly in their peel, no chopping required), then thaw them on a counter for an hour or so and use in banana bread. In fact, thawed frozen bananas are my trick for moist banana bread!
    Reply
  6. I froze celery last year some of my bags turned a light brown in color so I tossed it out any idea why
    Reply
    2. I always blanch my celery, carrots and green beans so they will keep their nice color with no brown edges. Not a problem with onions and bell peppers.
      Reply
  7. $1.29 ea? Are you talking like each stalk? Wow. I can often get it for $0.89 for the whole head (?). I never thought about freezing it. It's so cheap. If I ever have any left I just throw it into some kind of a salad. I really like your tip of making the mirepoix ahead. I have back problems and I can't stand for long so dinner ends up really late (lots of short breaks for chopping). I CAN, however, queue up a movie and post up on the couch with a chopping board set up then chop away and freeze. Thank you very much. Great idea.
    Reply
    1. I have knee problems and I can’t stand very long. I get the family to take all of my prep ingredients to the table where I can sit and prep everything. Then when I’m done they carry everything to the stove or wherever I need it.
      Reply
  8. Great idea. I did learn after I clean and dry celery and wrap in foil. It will keep a long while in the fridge.
    Reply
  11. I love fried green tomatoes. So l clean,dry and slice the tomatoes the thickness l want,and place them on a cookie sheet than put them in the freezer. After a couple hours l place them into the size plastic bag l need. And put them back in the freezer until I'm teady to fix them. This works great and they don't stick together. Thank you Linda
    Reply
  14. Glad to see I'm not the only one who does this! I also make bags of mixed peppers (bell, sweet, jalapeno, and banana peppers) and combos (onions, peppers, and celery) to have on hand for soups, quiches, chili, etc. as it really speeds up prep times.
    Reply
  17. I have a food saver . Been freezing with it for years. It sucks all the air out. It is worth the investment especially if you have a garden. I buy a lot at farmers market. I also buy my meat in bulk and freeze it.
    Reply
  19. Beans, corn, carrots, peppers, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, stir fry packets, soup packets. Tomatoes for soups, sauces, chilis( freeze whole and skins come right off when thawed), potatoes, peas( shelled and whole). Make soups, casseroles, chilis, stir fries. Live where there are many farmers markets plus a fall produce end of season fair. Winters are long and produce gets expensive.
    Reply
  21. I dice up celery along with onions and carrots place in a storeage bag and freeze. To make veggie soup, I already have my veggies diced up. Another trick of the trade that I do is put all the veggies in a bowl with about a 1/4 cup waters and cook them for 5 to 7 minutes. Par cookings like this keeps from having to cook the soup for hours and hours. Add two chicken tights. Yummy
    Reply
  22. I have to tell you that I did this per your instructions. It does work great in soups and stews! But then....I made some potato salad and I was out of fresh celery so I thought what the heck and threw some frozen in the mix. Worked great and was still crunchy two days later! I'll never throw celery away again :)
    Reply
  23. did you know that you can keep celery in the ref crisper for a month if you wrap it right. wash dry and wrap in foil. be sure to cover all of it. its just as nice as if it came from the grocery store. but i will keep somein freezer too. thanks for the tip
    Reply
  26. thx so much. I didn't know you could do this. I hate for food to go to waste. I have a seal a meal so this is perfect. I would highly recommend to find this one or similar. If I were to buy another I woulod probably get the one WalMart carries so I don't have to order bags on Amazon even tho I have prime.
    Reply
  28. Once you freeze it, do you only use it for cooking? Or can you still use it to eat raw? Like to dip in ranch or chopped up in Tuna salad?
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.