Can You Freeze Snow Peas? Here’s How to Do This Right
Updated on March 2, 2023
Snow peas are super healthy and delicious, so keeping them for longer is advisable, especially when you’re buying (or harvesting) a bunch of them.
The great part about these is that you can eat them whole, with both the seeds and the pod, while still unripe.
Can You Freeze Snow Peas?
We’re not the only ones looking for info on how to freeze snow peas. In fact, here’s the message we received from one of our readers:
My young son loves to garden with me, so I let him plant a plot all his own. His favourite vegetable is the snow pea, so he planted three snow pea plants. I had no idea that each plant would grow quite so many pea pods.
Now we have way too many snow peas for our small family to possibly consume. My son would be devastated if he knew that I threw away the peas he has worked so hard to grow, but I really don’t know what else to do with them.
We have already given some away to friends and neighbours. My husband suggested freezing them, which I think is a great idea if it will work. Can you freeze snow peas?
How wonderful that you are teaching your son all about where food comes from and how to grow it! Children love snow peas and they’re so easy to grow. Great choice! To answer your question, yes, you can freeze snow peas. They hold up well to freezing, and it shouldn’t change their sweet flavor at all.
How to Freeze Snow Peas?
To freeze snow peas, you can choose to blanch or not to blanch. Blanching takes a bit more time, but helps preserve the vibrant green color of raw snow peas.
Either way, you must start with freshly picked snow peas, ideally freezing them within a few hours, or a day later at most. The longer they have been off the vine, the more nutrients they lose and the less firm they become.
How to Blanch Snow Peas
- Wash snow peas well in water, then dry completely.
- Trim off the ends and discard any that are blemished or less than fresh. You don’t want rot to spread.
- To blanch snow peas, fill a pot with water and place it on the stove to boil.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water, and keep extra on hand.
- When the water boils, drop in handfuls of snow peas and allow to boil for about 1 minute.
- Remove snow peas with a slotted spoon and place them in the bowl with the ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Once cooled, remove and allow to dry completely.
- Repeat the process until all the snow peas have been blanched and dried.
Can You Freeze Snow Peas Without Blanching?
Yes, you can freeze your snow peas without blanching them. Then, the whole process will involve washing the peas and trimming off the ends and discarding any that are blemished.
Freezing Snow Peas
Regardless of whether or not you blanched your snow peas, it’s time to flash freeze them.
- Place all the peas in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer until firm.
- Then place snow peas in freezer bags.
- Remove excess air and seal the bags.
- Then label and date them and place them in the freezer for future use.
How to Keep Snow Peas for Longer?
If you want to keep your snow peas for longer, you should definitely look into getting a vacuum sealer. These appliances will take out all the air in the bag or container you’re putting your peas in, which in turn will expand the shelf life of the product.
We have a long list of great vacuum sealers that you can check out, but our favorite is the FoodSaver V4840 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealer Machine, which allows you to save food in freezer bags and containers, whether in small servings or whole dishes.
How to Thaw Snow Peas?
When it comes to using snow peas, you can just use the frozen peas directly into whatever you’re cooking.
Sure, you can also take them out of the freezer and allow them to thaw on the counter or the fridge – and you can still do that – but it’s really not necessary since you can just add them to the hot pan alongside the other ingredients and allow them to cook.
Snow Peas Recipes
If you don’t know what else to cook with your snow peas, we have a few options for you: