I was talking with a gardening friend and lamenting our dismal cucumber harvest this year. We have enough for eating fresh but not enough for freezing. She asked, “Can you freeze cucumbers?” Yes, you can absolutely freeze cucumbers and it’s super easy and useful. By the way, she’s bring me some of her excess cucumbers so I’ll have plenty of frozen cucumbers to last the year. I know you were worried about that.
Here’s the thing with freezing cucumbers, the texture will be different when they’re thawed. If you can accept that fact, you can successfully freeze cucumbers.
I’ve read of people pickling the cucumbers in either vinegar or brine and then freezing them submerged in the liquid. This doesn’t make any sense to me. It seems like a waste of freezer space. If you’re going to pickle cucumbers go ahead and water bath can them to make them shelf stable. If you’re going to use a brine to ferment cucumbers then store them in the refrigerator – they’ll last 6-12 months. Don’t waste valuable freezer space on frozen pickles.
But if you want the flavor of fresh cucumbers and don’t care about the texture, freeze them.
I like to keep track of all the things I preserve with these preservation worksheets. If you’d like a copy emailed to you, just fill out the form below.
How to freeze cucumbers
I freeze cucumbers two different ways. To prepare the cucumbers, wash and dry them. I use cucumbers that I grow or that I know are grown without pesticides so I don’t ever peel them. However, if you want peeled cucumbers, peel them before freezing them.
One way to freeze cucumbers is to slice them and put the cucumber slices on a baking the sheet lined with parchment paper. Pop the baking sheet into the freezer for a few hours. Put the frozen cucumber slices in a ziplock bag. Label the bag and put it back into the freezer.
Another way to freeze cucumbers is to use ice cube trays. Cube the cucumber and put the cubes into ice cube trays. Cover the cucumbers with water and put them in the freezer until the water is frozen. Once the cucumbers are frozen pop them out of the ice cube trays and put them in a ziplock bag. Label the bag and put it in the freezer.
How to use frozen cucumbers
Now that you know how to freeze cucumbers, how do you use frozen cucumbers? You can use frozen cucumbers in anything that you want the fresh cucumber flavor but texture doesn’t matter. My favorite way to use frozen cucumbers is for infused water. Boring I know, but I love it. If you want a more exciting cucumber drink, you could try this cucumber mint martini.
We’re not really gazpacho people but I’ve only had plain gazpacho. I’ve never had tomato, strawberry, and basil gazpacho or anchovy gazpacho, both sound super interesting.
Tzatziki is a traditional Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dish. Its used on pita, as a dip, and on meat and vegetables. It’s quite expensive at the deli, but tzatziki can be made at home very inexpensively.
How to thaw frozen cucumbers
Cucumbers have high water content which means when they thaw, they’ll release a lot of liquid. If I’m putting cucumbers in water to infuse the water, I just plop the cucumber ice cubes or frozen cucumber slices into the water and let them thaw in the water.
If you’re going to make tzatziki or gazpacho, put the frozen cucumbers in a bowl in the refrigerator or counter to thaw. This will keep all the yummy liquid together so you can use it in your recipe.
So don’t let an abundant harvest overwhelm you, freeze cucumbers to use throughout the year. Do you freeze cucumbers? If so, what do you use them for?
Rhonda says
I freeze them and use them to make cucumber mint slushees.
Angi Schneider says
oh my, that sounds lovely!
Shari Cameron says
Can you still use them in salads? I like cucumber slices, will they be okay to eat like just a cucumber by it’s self, even after they are frozen?
Angi Schneider says
They get soft when they thaw out so I don’t think I would enjoy them in a salad. The texture is similar to a soft pickle slice – not a crispy pickle. If you don’t mind the texture being different than fresh it’s worth a try.
Sharon says
I make a cucumber salsa using sour cream, lemon juice onions, green peppers, and carrots soaked in jalepeno juice, as well as a few bits of jalepenos. Not too hot just right for me. I eat this on crackers. I was wondering if I could freeze it? So am thinking of trying one batch to see if it turns out. Not sure about the cukes or the sour
cream. Will let you know.
Angi Schneider says
Let me know how that turns out for you. I’ve never had any luck freezing sour cream but maybe with other things added it will turn out okay.
Rose Felton says
Maybe leave out the sour cream until you take the salsa out of the freezer, then mix it in.
Angi Schneider says
That’s a good idea!
Lacinda Ross says
the cilantro would turn dark and get soft, you might need to add that when you thaw it
Angi Schneider says
Thanks for the tip, Lacinda. That’s a great idea!
Gloria says
When you use them for tzatziki do you use seeds and all?
Angi Schneider says
Hi Gloria, I do but you could freeze some peeled and seeded cucumbers in chunks if you didn’t want to use the seeds and skin.
Savanah says
Hmm. I have cucumbers nearly coming out my ears right now, and have been loving them in green smoothies. I have already thought about how I’ll miss them at the end of the season— I could definitely freeze them for use in smoothies! Never thought of that- thank you!
Angi Schneider says
You’re welcome! I used added some the other day to a fruit leather mixture I was making. So if you like fruit leather, you might want to give that a try too. Enjoy!
Deborah says
Many people use cucumber slices to place on their eyes to reduce the bags. Do you think frozen (thawed) cucumber slices would work the same?
Thank you,
Deborah
Angi Schneider says
Yes, I believe that thawed cucumber slices could be used for puffy eyes. Just know that the cucumber slices will be limp and not firm.
Barb says
Freezing cucs would be the answer to the over abundance in the garden. I paper thin slice cucs to make creamed cucs. So if I’m reading this right I can freeze them thaw then make the creamed cucs. But does freezing change the flavor?
Angi Schneider says
Yes, you can do that, the texture will change but the flavor doesn’t. Before you go and freeze a whole bunch, slice one and freeze the slices. The next day thaw them and make your creamed cucumbers and see how you like it. If you like it, then you can freeze a bunch.
JoAnn Green says
I am sitting here looking at 48 cucumbers from the garden and there are more to harvest! I only have a small garden in my backyard and this is the first year I planted cukes – and I planted just one package of seeds! They took off and are now choking out my tomatoes and green beans. Told my son this morning, I may have to go out there and cut a few of the vines out of the garden just to maintain some control! Now I found this thread on Pinterest and loving the ideas. I certainly will freeze most to put into waters and into smoothies. I’ve never had them in smoothies but since textures are not an issue in a smoothie for me, why not!! And I’ve never had tzatziki before but seems like a good time to try that too.
Thanks, everyone!
Angi Schneider says
Goodness, that’s a lot of cucumbers! What blessing. I’m glad this post helped you.
Cindy Sandberg says
We have an English cuke plant that is producing 5 long cukes every 3 days. I’ve had enough for now, but sure pay big bucks for fresh ones in the winter. Thanks for the ideas! BTW, regular cukes don’t grow well in any of our gardens or even pots-they get bulbous and look weird. Chalking it up to a previous black walnut tree in the yard….
Angi Schneider says
That’s odd about the regular cukes, but amazing that you’re getting so many English cukes! Here’s to enjoying them all winter long.
meredith says
I saute chunks of cucumber in olive oil and butter, add onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, if you have fresh corn or left over corn cut off the niblets and add that too. most any combination works well. serve over grain of choice or pasta. add spices to your liking. this melange does freeze well.
like the frozen cube idea too.
Angi Schneider says
That’s a great idea, Meredith! Thanks for sharing. I’ve never sauteed cucumbers before but now I want to try it.
Rita says
Sounds delicious…. I’m definitely trying this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Rita Schnovel says
I make cucumber loaf and muffins… really good… tastes like zucchini bread. My family loves it. Found several recipes on line. Just type in the search engine easy cucumber muffins.
Angi Schneider says
What a great idea! I’ve never heard of cucumber loaf and muffins. I’ll have to go looking now.
Phil Bronner says
I fix a spaghetti dish with fresh cukes, basil, sea salt and EVOO. The cukes are peeled and seeded. The “meat” is then cut into strips, then chopped with the fresh basil and salt, before adding the olive oil. As soon as the spaghetti is done cooking, it’s drained and immediately mixed in the bowl with the cuke mixture. This sounds like a good way to preserve my garden cukes to use in this recipe all year long!
Angi Schneider says
That spaghetti dish sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!