How to Freeze Green Onions or Scallions

Can you freeze green onions?

So, this is one of those posts that many of you will chuckle at and think, “You didn’t know that?”

I am here to tell you that, no, I did not know that you can freeze and save green onions for later use. So for those of you out there, like me, this post is for you.

This year, my backyard garden has given us a CRAZY amount of green onions. They are bigger than I’ve ever seen in a grocery store and I simply didn’t know what to do with them all. I mean, look at these crazy things!

I was about to throw them in the compost when I ran the question past my dad, the gardener extraordinaire, of what I should do with so many leftover scallions (green onions and scallions are the same thing, FYI). He informed me that you could chop them up and freeze them for later use. Duh.

So that’s what I did today. I yanked out a TON of onions, washed them off, chopped them up, and froze them!

Want to save some leftover onions in the future? Read on, my thrifty friends!

How to Freeze and Store Green Onions

First step is to wash your veggies. Use a combination of white vinegar and water to soak or rinse your produce. One study says use 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar. Another said use 10 parts water to 1 part vinegar. I usually use somewhere between those two recommendations.
Mine were out of the garden so I didn’t have to worry about pesticides but I did have to spray some dirt off and make sure I didn’t freeze any bugs along with my onions. 

Next, chop up your onions.  I first chopped off the roots, then cut the bulb off, and froze those in a separate bag. After removing any dead growth, I choppy-chopped away!

Lastly, spread out chopped onions on cookie sheet. I laid some parchment paper down (to make for easier removal later) and spread them out as best as I could. I then stuck both sheets of onions in the freezer. I do this so they aren’t all clumped up and frozen together.

After they had been in there for a few hours, I moved them all to a Ziploc bag. (I’ve read that saving them in an empty water bottle is handy too!)

How to Use Green Onions that Have Been Frozen & Thawed

Since freezing onions will cause them to lose their crisp texture, only using them in dishes you will cook. So these would be good for soups, marinades, omelettes, fried rice, etc. Here are some of our delicious recipes that use green onions:

Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Chicken

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Salmon and Sweet Potato Cakes

Add them to:

• Freezer Breakfast Burritos
• Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce

More Resources on Freezer Cooking

We have a wealth of information on freezer cooking that you might find helpful. Make sure you start with all of the freezer meals in our recipe index.

Here are a few more ideas:

5 Best Ways to Package and Store Freezer Meals

3 Safe Ways to Thaw Freezer Meals

30+ Kid Friendly Freezer Meals