I started off writing a post about all the food you can’t imagine that you can freeze–singing the praises of my freezer. But as I drafted the article, I realized very quickly I could spend a whole article simply talking about what to do with an overabundance of cucumbers! Now, I am not talking about throwing them into dishes right and left or pickling them; I am talking about freezing cucumbers.
Yeah. I got your attention.
Here is the rub. When you face the possibility of losing 100 pickles because everyone in your family is sick of pickles including Hubs, who pickled 15 cans already, you have to get creative.
Okay. Maybe not creative but desperate.
Yes, I am bordering on crazed.
Yes. I could have given them away but by the time I realized I was in trouble it was too late. The cucumbers were getting a little soft. No one would want them. Right?
So here are four ways to fight the plight of the cucumber explosion in your garden besides pickling, creating salsa or other cucumber based food.
Freeze Cucumbers!
You heard me right. Throw them in the freezer whole. They will get ice on them if you simply put them in a bag or a glass jar. Consider putting them in an airtight container.
And no, I am not nuts.
And yes, I realize if you defrost them, they will be pure mush.
Okay. I got it. Those cucumbers will be soggy.
I am okay with this.
Why? You can make a couple of dishes with these soggy cucumbers.
#1 Make a Cucumber Dip
You can use them to make dips. Why? (I sound like a three-year-old. Sorry.) You need process the cucumbers, so it does not matter if, the cucumbers are soggy. I didn’t find the taste that different than a fresh cucumber because it is not the star in the recipe.
I used the cucumbers to make tzatziki sauce (which is yogurt and cucumber sauce.) You can either make a dairy free raw version or the old standby yogurt based recipe.
Here are some other cucumber based dips to use:
Mint Cucumber Dip from Whole Living
Garlic Cucumber Dip from allrecipes.
Herbed Quark (Cottage Cheese) with Cucumber Dip from Omnomally. (Note: The author used grass-fed gelatin in her recipe.)
So, if you want to make a cucumber based sauce, just grab one of your sorry-looking-soggy cucumber from the freezer. No one needs to know but you.
#2 Cucumber Soup
Again, you are grinding up the cucumber. Grab a cucumber and let it defrost in its jar.
Creamy Cucumber Soup from Eating Well.
Chilled Curried Mint Cucumber Soup from Serious Eats.
Vegan Cucumber Soup from Warm Kitchen. (To make it gluten free, you could probably substitute the flour for arrowroot to thicken it.)
#3 Cucumber Smoothies or Juices.
I got so sick of seeing the cucumbers that I started juicing them. I have twenty-one jars of the juice sitting in my freezer.
(Yes. I am pretty addicted to freezing cucumbers.)
Cucumber juice contains vitamin K, calcium, and copper.
Vitamin K helps build strong bones, plays an important role in clotting, and nourishes the kidneys
Calcium helps retain bone density, strengthens teeth, and helps to maintain your body’s hormone balance.
Copper helps to produce healthy red blood cells, make neurotransmitters, strengthens connective tissue and boost your immune system as well as protect you from cellular damage that develops from exposure to environmental toxins or sunlight.
So juice away! Here are some recipes to get you started. I would just add a half a cup to a cup of the cucumber juice to your finished juice product.
- Cucumber Apple Juice
- Cucumber, Carrot, Ginger, Apple Juice
- Drink it straight. I have done this. Very refreshing.
- Strawberry Cucumber Juice
#4 Eat them Whole
If you skin or de-seed the cucumbers, you can eat the pieces whole.
Watch the below video how to prep your cucumbers. According to the video, the slices taste just like cucumber without any diminishing taste. They just aren’t rigid.
P.S. Just in case you still want to pickle your cucumbers, this is one of my favorite recipes.
Join the Conversation:
Do you freeze cucumbers?
green Bean says
Shut up!! This is genius! I am totally trying this next summer.
Anna@Green Talk says
Green Bean, you know me. I can’t let anything go to waste. Anna
Lindsay says
I love how creative you are. One of my favorite things about your blog is you push me to re-think about ways to reduce waste in my life. I love cucumber dip and usually have lots of cucumbers, great idea. Off to go eat a pickle now!
Anna@Green Talk says
Lindsay, LOL. I wrestle with guilt so I have to find a way to reuse things. Anna
Lori Popkewitz Alper says
We love cucumbers over here, but unfortunately our yield was low this year. Great ideas! I have high hope for next season!!
Anna@Green Talk says
Lori, my faith is with Jr Gardener. You can’t imagine how many screws up I have had over the last 9 years. Anna
Krystal says
Such great ideas. Waste not want not!!
sommer @greenmom says
Too funny! I just wrote about freezer cucumbers and how I make my grandmothers salad as a guest post! I’m linking to your post on my blog today! Love it! Great ideas! http://kgi.org/blog/sommer-poq.....-cucumbers
Jessica says
I love this! Summer cukes are the best! Now I have gardening fever…
linda spiker says
I learned something new today! I never knew you could freeze cukes!
Anna@Green Talk says
Linda, knowing you, you will come up with a scrumptious beautiful looking frozen cuke recipe. Anna
emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
I had no idea! So cool! I love cucumbers. Pinning this.
Anna@Green Talk says
Emily, out of desperation comes ingenuity. Thanks for pinning. Anna
Megan Stevens says
Really cool, Anna. You are so thrifty; I love that!! All your suggestions are ones we can and would use in our home! I’ll definitely plan on implementing your ideas this summer when we have a lot of cukes. Love that guy up top, the cool cucumber with his shades. 😉 Pinning.
Anna@Green Talk says
Megan, I like him too! Let me know how frozen cukes work for you.
Renee Kohley says
No way! I didn’t know you could do this!
Chloe @ How We Flourish says
How cool! I didn’t know you could freeze cucumbers! Thanks for the great ideas for how to use them!
karen says
I never get to freeze cukes. We finish them right off the vines or eat them with every meal. I doubt you can pickle frozen cukes. Thx for linking to my pickle recipe though. 🙂
Geoff says
Anna,
I confess … never thought of freezing cucumbers. Thanks for the info. I did however, try freezing a bag of fresh baby spinach. I was certain it would thaw back into crispy fresh baby spinach. WRONG! It thawed into a cold, squishy blob of green ickyness. But, like you, I hate to waste good food … so I mixed it in a salad and tried to ignore the yucky texture amongst the crisp greens and veggies.
Luckily, after 6 hours of vomiting and 2 hrs in the emergency room, I survived the spinach debacle.
OK fine, I made that up … but the point is … tell all your readers … at least the ones who don’t already know … DON’T freeze spinach … eat it … if you’ve got it!
Geoff
Paige says
I eat frozen spinach all the time. Cooked and pureed in soup. Or I put it in the food processor frozen, chop it up, and add it to casseroles. We have never gotten sick on it.
Anna@Green Talk says
Paige, great idea!
ontherigdge says
Frozen greens are great to use in green smoothies. I freeze spinach, kale and lettuce all the time. Just throw it in the blender container before it thaws.
Anna says
On the Ridge, I love frozen greens too. Anna
Lana says
OMG! You have no idea how many times I thought about freezing cucumbers, but have never tried it! Thank you so much for posting this 🙂
Anna@Green Talk says
Lana, let me know what you use your frozen cucumbers! Anna
Sabrina says
Had know idea! I am so doing this too…thanks for sharing!
Anna@Green Talk says
Sabrina, glad you liked the post. Anna
Sandy says
Thank you for the great ideas! My husband and I were talking about juicing the cukes but our juicer is a cheaper wimpy one so we worried that the frozen veggies might break it. He suggested juicing just the cukes, then freezing the juice in an ice cube tray, then use the cubes for juices. I’m gonna try it and see how it works!
Anna@Green Talk says
Sandy, let me know how you like the juice. Anna
K. edwards says
Wow, awesome. I couldn’t find the cucumbers I bought yesterday, assuming I had left them at the store or hadn’t bought them altogether. When I opened the freezer today, imagine my surprise when I found them, hard as rock. I will try your recipes – thanks!
Anna@Green Talk says
K, let me know how your frozen cucumbers work for you. Glad you found my article. Anna
Harvester says
I suggest, if you enjoy a cold glass of V8, combine frozen tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, all home grown with basil, worchester sauce, a touch of lemon juice, salt and pepper. convert this to juice, I use our blender. Depending on the texture of the liquid, you may prefer adding a bit of H2O. Chill and stir before pour.
BTW, my primary ingredients are frozen and as we proceed through the year, we mix a quart or two of juice about once a week depending on our taste buds.the juice is very good for you!
Anna@Green Talk says
Brillant, Harvester. Do you add 1 to 1 of each ingredient? Anna
Harvester says
Let me try to refine this: two quarts of tomatoes blended to liquid, add 1 cup carrots blended to juice form, add 1 cup cucumbers blended to juice form. 1 teaspoon basil, 1 tbls worchester, lemon juice 1 tbls, salt to taste, add 3 tbls balsamic vingar, a dash of paprika.
Taste and twick to your taste. Often I will add a dash of hot sauce or vingar from our Japalanos.
I’m not a drinker but some add volka and produce a blood mary.
Harvester says
Refer to comment 29
Anna@Green Talk says
Sounds delicious. Have you ever pressured canned this recipe?
Cara says
Either you are a life saver pr a total prankster. Lol. Either way, we still have jars from last year, and didn’t have the heart to yurn cucumbers down, when my mom asked me if I wanted,… like a trillion (it feels at least). Thank you!
Patricia says
I read this post this morning and thought I would try it. I did add 2 more small steps. #1 I took paper towels and dried the extra moisture from the cucumber and #2 placed them on a paper plate to freeze them. After frozen I will place them in an air tight container.
My Dad loves cucumbers but he has no teeth. He mashes them up in a food processor. This is perfect
Carlie Wolf says
I’ve done sweet freezer pickle but not just raw. Great idea and I have tons of cucumbers out there at the moment. I have on occasion had to take the seeds out of the cucumber though for certain recipes and I’d suggest you give using a teaspoon a try instead of the knife. Just gently scoop. I find it faster and it works very well for me. After peeling and quartering I just sit over the garbage can and scoop away.
Anna@Green Talk says
Great idea, Carlie. Anna
Shirley says
Easier way to remove those seeds .Just take a spoon and scrape down .
Anna says
Shirley, great tip!Anna
Sarah says
So, what if I freeze whole cucumbers? I didn’t want to throw them, but didn’t know what else to do. So i dropped them in the freezer. Are they still crunchy after freezing at all? Do they hold any nutritional value?
Anna says
I have frozen a whole cucumber. It is mushy but you can use it make cucumber water or a smoothie.