Can Spring Onions Be Frozen For Later Use?

Do you have leftover spring onions after cooking or do you hit the market and just bought a little too much? We’ll show you how easy it is to freeze spring onions and how long they can be frozen.

Freeze Spring Onions: Prep

The name allows other assumptions, but the delicate onions, which look like a very thin leek, are not only in season in spring. Spring onions are great for freezing so you always have a supply at home or so you don’t have to throw leftovers in the garbage can. Only a few steps are necessary to create a frozen supply. You can use both the white and the green part. You can save yourself the work of blanching the scallions before they go into the freezer. The following preparation steps are required:

1. Wash the spring onions and drain or dry them
2. Clean, i.e. remove roots and withered leaves
3. cut raw into fine rings (white and green parts)

Freezing Spring Onions: Instructions

Now all you have to do is decide whether you want to freeze the white and green rings separately or together. Of course, that mainly depends on how you want to use them after defrosting. You can either use freezer bags or boxes, which are significantly more sustainable than bags that end up in the trash after one use. That’s how it works:

1. Put the prepared onion rings raw in a bag or box
2. squeeze the air out of the freezer bag
3. Close the bag or freezer box tightly and as airtight as possible
4. Label the freezer container with the date and contents
5. off with it in the freezer or the deep freeze

Tip: If you like, you can also pre-freeze the spring onions before packing them in bags or boxes. To do this, simply place them on a plate or tray in the freezer for a few hours and only then fill them into the desired container. This will prevent the formation of larger ice crystals and minimize the risk of the onion rings freezing together.

Shelf life of spring onions

Wondering how long frozen spring onions will keep? If you have a freezer compartment or a freezer with a temperature of -18° Celsius, the tender onion rings can be kept for a whole year without any problems. As is always the case with frozen food, the same applies here: the sooner it is defrosted, the fresher and more aromatic it tastes.

The right thaw

How you handle the scallions after you wake them from their cold sleep depends on what dish you plan to use them in. Do you need the onion rings raw, for example, to sprinkle over a fresh salad or to garnish with it? Maybe you also want to prepare a delicious dip and use the spring onions for it? Then it is best to put them in the still closed freezer bag or in the box in the fridge so that you can thaw them gently. How long does that take? A few hours, but you avoid the formation of harmful germs that could spread to the spring onions if the cold chain is broken when they are thawed at room temperature.

It’s even easier if you need the frozen spring onions for hot dishes. You can add them directly to the pot or pan. They then thaw quickly by boiling briefly and retaining the crisp consistency they had before freezing. Defrosting or blanching beforehand is not recommended, as the spring onions would otherwise become mushy when heated.

If you follow our freezing guide, you won’t taste any difference from fresh spring onions. And a small supply is always good to be able to quickly give your favorite dishes a fine onion flavor when needed.