• Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Quick and Easy Meals
    • Salad and Veggies
    • Side Dishes
    • Main Courses
    • Breads
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Canning and Preserving
  • Skills
    • Craftmanship
      • Blacksmithing
      • Woodworking
      • Welding
    • Brewing & Distilling
      • Homebrewing
      • Distilling
    • Cooking & Food
      • Cheese & Dairy
      • Drying & Smoking
      • Canning
      • Fermentation & Pickling
    • Homemaking Skills
      • Candle Making
      • Soap Making
      • Spinning & Weaving
  • Projects
    • Workshop
      • Homes & Buildings
      • Sheds & Coops
      • Appliances & Equipment
    • Garden & Outdoor
    • Homemade Products
      • Home Remedies
      • Natural Beauty
      • Cleaning and Home
    • Textiles & Fabric Arts
      • Sewing
      • Knit and Crochet
      • Quilting Skills
      • Weaving
    • Crafts
      • Home Decor
      • Pottery
      • Upcycling
      • Gifts
      • Kids
      • Holiday
  • Gardening
    • Growing Vegetables
    • Growing Fruit
    • Growing Herbs
    • Growing Grain
    • Soil Improvement
      • Composting
      • Worm Farming
      • Fertilizers
    • Aquaculture
  • Animals
    • Raising Poultry
    • Raising Goats
    • Raising Cattle
    • Raising Pigs
    • Raising Horses
    • Raising Rabbits
    • Raising Bees
    • Raising Cats & Dogs
  • Self Sufficiency
    • Emergency Prep
      • Planning
      • How To
      • Skills & Tips
    • Defense & Protection
      • Guns
      • Knives
      • Archery
      • Tools & Weapons
    • Energy & Power
      • Solar Power
      • Fuels
      • Water
    • Home Remedies
Logo
  • Craftsmanship
  • Brewing & Distilling
  • Cooking & Food
  • Homemaking Skills
You are here: Home / Skills / Cooking & Food / How To Properly Freeze Strawberries

How To Properly Freeze Strawberries

Reading Time: 5 minutes

August 28, 2023 By Riley E. Carlson Leave a Comment

Do you think strawberries go bad too quickly? Good news! Here’s a complete guide on how to freeze strawberries so you can boost their lifespan to over a year! It’s easier than you think.

RELATED: How To Freeze Blueberries In Your Homestead

Step-By-Step Guide on How to Freeze Strawberries and Keep Them Fresh

What You’ll Need:

  • fresh strawberries
  • strawberry huller
  • baking sheet
  • colander
  • paper towels
  • sharp knife
  • plastic or silicone freezer bags
  • wooden spoon

Step 1: Prepare the Strawberries

First thing’s first, clean the strawberries. Even if you grew them yourself, there’s no saying what kind pests and insects crawled into your sweet little crops.

Place the freshly picked strawberries in a clean colander then run thoroughly with cold water. Gently rinse and scrub every individual berry until they come out looking bright red.

Afterward, lay them out on clean paper towels to dry.

Note: If you’re storing the strawberries normally in the refrigerator, only wash them before consumption. Washing then refrigerating strawberries increases the risk of mold growth.

Step 2: Remove the Strawberry Hulls

Don’t slice off the strawberry hulls! It’s a very inefficient practice that wastes a lot of the strawberries’ juices. Remember that these are responsible for giving berries that sweet, zesty flavor you love.

Instead, opt to hull them. Take your strawberry huller and drive them through each individual berry.

If you don’t have a strawberry huller, you can opt to use a sharp knife. Drive the tip of the knife at the edge of the hull, the leaves at the top.

Then, slice in a circular motion to cut it off. Make sure to remove not just the leafy part, but the stem and core as well. Throw the discarded hulls out.

Step 3: Slice the Strawberries in Half

Technically, when you choose to slice the berries doesn’t matter. However, slicing before storing them in the freezer is so much easier since it’s tricky to cut frozen berries.

When it comes to the actual slicing, note that you have the freedom to do whatever kind of cut you want. You can slice them as thick or thin as you want.

However, it’s best to stick to halves and quarters for versatility. After all, most smoothie and pastry recipes require evenly halved fruits and berries.

RELATED: A Gardener’s Guide On How To Grow Strawberries

Step 4: Spread Them Out on a Baking Sheet

Take the prepped strawberries and lay them flat on your baking sheet. Make sure they don’t touch each other. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of rotting or infecting them.

So if you have too many strawberries, we suggest using multiple trays instead of forcing them to fit in just one container.

Step 5: Freeze the Strawberries

After laying down the cleaned, hulled, and sliced strawberries properly on the baking sheet, it’s time to freeze them. Generally, one tray should take around one to four hours to freeze.

If you have multiple trays, however, extend the freezing time. The strawberries should look iced and frozen solid.

Tip: Freezing more than three trays? Do the prep work late in the day so you can freeze the batches overnight.

Step 6: Store the Strawberries

Finally, it’s time to store your strawberries! Grab the plastic/silicone bags, squeeze as much air out of them as possible, then transfer the berries into them using a clean wooden spoon. Avoid touching the frozen berries with your bare hands.

The kind of freezer you store them in doesn’t matter. However, we advise against stacking them with raw meats and fishes. Otherwise, the stench might affect your frozen batches.

Also, try not to store them in the freezer’s door. Doing so will expose them to different temperatures as you open and close the freezer.

Note: Freezing strawberries allows you to keep them fresh for around a year. For maximum freshness, however, we suggest consuming them within six months of storage.

What to Do With Frozen Strawberries?

frozen strawberries and jam | How To Properly Freeze Strawberries | how to freeze strawberries

You’re now ready to eat your frozen berries! Now, the only problem is figuring out what the best way to enjoy these sweet, frozen treats is. Here are some suggestions:

1. Eat Them As-Is

Enjoy your frozen delights just the way they are! No need to worry about blending, baking, or boiling them. All you need to do is to rinse them in cold water, transfer to a clean bowl, and you’re good to go.

Pro Tip: Thaw them out for a few minutes prior to consumption. Frozen berries are nice, but they might be a bit hard to chew. Or you can opt to let them melt in your mouth like candy.

2. Bake Into Cakes

Whip out your apron, bust out some pastry recipes, and get ready to bake some warm, decadent baked goodies topped with sweet, zesty, fun-sized berries!

For most cake recipes, you can opt to mix the frozen berries in the batter. No need to thaw them out first. They’ll soften on their own when you place the batter in the oven.

3. Pulse Into Smoothies

For your breakfast-on-the-go, opt to blend a delicious, zesty strawberry-infused smoothie! Some ingredients might go well with strawberries include vanilla, yogurt, ice cream, and various sweet fruits.

4. Turn Into Pies

Add a bit more flavor and color to your fruit pies by mixing in some sweet, zesty, and tangy strawberries! Similar to cakes, you don’t have to thaw out the berries prior to baking. Simply fold the frozen berries as-is in the batter and wait for them to melt on their own once you bake them.

Check out this video by Frugal Family Home where they explain three different ways how to freeze strawberries:

Strawberries are notorious for having a short shelf life. In fact, a fresh batch will only last one to two days if left on the counter. But by freezing them, you’ll be able to prolong their lifespan to around 12 months!

Apart from learning how to freeze strawberries, we encourage readers to explore the other ways you can extend their shelf life such as canning them into sweet preserves. Although, keep in mind that this technique might be a bit difficult for beginners. So practice with caution!

Did this guide help you learn how to freeze strawberries the right way? Post any questions you have in the comments section below!

Fellow homesteaders, do you want to help others learn from your journey by becoming one of our original contributors? Write for us!

UP NEXT:

  • 26 Canning Ideas And Recipes For The Homestead | Homesteading
  • How To Freeze Vegetables In Your Homestead
  • How To Mulch A Tree: 5 Tips From The Pros

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Filed Under: Cooking & Food, Pickling & Fermentation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

DIY Projects And Get This FREE GIFT
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Popular Articles

Top 15 Ways To Make Money On Your Homestead

Kickstart Spring By Starting Your Own Straw Bale Garden

The Best Egg Laying Chickens For Your Homestead

50 Gardening Tips And Tricks To Become A Successful Homesteader

Important Pages

  • About Homesteading
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Returns
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Information Disclaimer

Other Great Sites

  • DIY Projects
  • Survival Life
  • Garden Season
  • Outdoor Warrior
  • Sewing.com

Resources

  • Hey Riley
  • Winter Survival
  • Raising Backyard Chickens
  • Canning & Preserving
  • Join Our Newsletter
  • Returns Policy
Homesteading
Email Support: support@homesteading.com
Phone: 512-806-7603

Product returns go to:
1889 E Maule Ave, Ste G
Las Vegas 89119

Copyright © 2025 · Homesteading


This copyrighted material may not be republished without express permission. The information presented here is for general educational purposes only.

MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: You should assume that this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the persons or businesses mentioned in or linked to from this page and may receive commissions from purchases you make on subsequent web sites. You should not rely solely on information contained in this email to evaluate the product or service being endorsed. Always exercise due diligence before purchasing any product or service. This website contains advertisements.