Can you freeze beets and beet juice? (5 best ways explained)

Beets are the most nutritious and healthy vegetables. And almost everyone loves to eat beets or drink beetroots juice.

Eating fresh beets is more nutritious than eating frozen beets. But, people always become confused about whether freezing is good or bad and ask-can I freeze beets and beetroots juice?

And the straight answer is- Yes, you can freeze beets and beet juice for sure.

Don’t worry freezing doesn’t kill nutrients fully but could degrade the natural quality of beet and beet juice over time if frozen for more than a year.

Table of Contents

Can you freeze beets raw and whole (without cooking them)?

Can you freeze beets without blanching? Yes, you can freeze beets raw but it’s not a good idea to freeze beets whole as they don’t freeze well. You can freeze shredded, grated, or sliced beets instead. You need to follow a few steps to freezing beets raw-

– Choose the garden-fresh young and tender beetroots.

– Throw away the damaged beets and separate the best beetroots.

– Scrub them well so that no dirt remains and wash them afterward.

– Remove the beet leaves and roots, and shredded the beet into smaller pieces.

– Take a cookie sheet and spread out the sliced beets onto it and freeze until the shredded beets get hard and stiff.

– Once frozen, transfer them into a freezer-safe bag or a zip lock bag and freeze them again for more extended periods.

Moreover, you can freeze raw beets for juicing, smoothies, roasting, salad, and use as vegetables

Can you freeze cooked beets?.

You can freeze cooked beets. The best and most popular method is to freeze beets after blanching.

If you want to have tasted like fresh beets, you have to undertake the cooking method.

After freezing for a longer period, just reheat them and get the same taste as the fresh one. You can also use the cooked beets as salad and in the soup.

Yet, you need to put extra effort and time than freezing them raw.

How to freeze cooked beets?

– Select the garden-fresh, young, tender, and bright red beets. Make sure you choose the same sized beetroots as different size beets need different times to cook. If you have a backyard garden and you cultivate the beets, sort them by size e.g. small, medium, or large. In case of buying from the local market, try to buy the same size beets to cook them same time.

– Remove the leaves keeping an inch from the top of each beetroot and cut the roots to make sure no bleeding when cooking on the stove.

– Clean and scrub the beets properly. Make sure no soil or dirt remains.

– Take a large pot, fill it with water, add the beets and boil them on a stove. If the beets are small in size, cook them for about 30 minutes. In the case of medium and large-sized beets, you could have cooked them for 45 minutes to an hour. Once you have cooked them, check their tenderness using a fork. If everything is alright, stop boiling.

– Now, pour a large bowl and take some cold water and transfer the blanched beets into the water to stop further boiling. Keep them a few minutes in the water allowing them to cool down.

– Once you make cool them properly, cut off the top and root of each beet. Also, cut them into smaller pieces and arrange them onto a cookie sheet and freeze until get solid.

– Once frozen, transfer slices of beets to a freezer-safe bag, write down the date, and refreeze them for more extended periods.

Can you freeze beet juice?

You can freeze beet juice for later use. The freezing may degrade the texture, color, and nutrients if you preserve the beet juice for the year long.

Still, you could get good quality juice if you consume the juice within a short period, which could be a week or months.

If you want to use the beet juice with the refreshing morning smoothies, freeze the juice in the ice cube tray so that you can add a few cubes to your smoothies every day.

If you want to have a glass of beetroot juice in the morning on an empty stomach, preserve the juice in an air-tight container and seal them tightly after every use.

How to freeze beet juice?

The freezing process of beet juice is easy and hassle-free. You need only some beetroot, a slow juicer, and a mesh strainer to process beet juice for freezing.

– Collect some fresh and young beetroots.

– Scrub and wash the beet well using a brush.

– Cut off the leaves and roots. But, don’t peel them.

– Cut the beets into small chunks like small cubes.

– Turn on the best slow juicer and throw the beet cubes into it. You could add some water as your wish. Once finished juicing, strain the juice well using a mesh strainer.

– Pour the ice cube tray with beet juice and freeze them until turn into solid cubes. – Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag, label the bag with the date, seal tightly and send the bag in the freezer again to preserve for more extended periods.

How long can you freeze beet juice?

You can freeze beet juice in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days. If you want to preserve the juice in a freezer, you can freeze them for 6-8 months without any doubt. Freezing more than that period could degrade the natural quality of beet juice.

Can you freeze pickled beets?

You can freeze mouthwatering pickled beets for sure. But, freezing for the more extended periods, you have to go through the canning process. Before preparing pickled beets, wear old clothing and hand gloves to save your new clothing and hand from being stained as beets are red and purple in colors and prone to staining.

How to freeze pickled beets?

To prepare for freezing, follow the steps are stated below-

-Pick the tender, young, and garden-fresh beets.

– scrub and wash them properly to remove dirt.

-take a large pot, pour with water, and bring to a boil on the stove.

-When start Boiling, reduce the heat, cover with the lid and simmer for 40-45 minutes.

-Bring a large bowl with cold water and add the boiled beets to stop further cooking.

-once cooling the beets, cut the leaves and roots and peel them just using fingers.

– Now, slice them round-shaped as you required.

-To make pickled beets, add some vinegar and sugar and boil for five minutes

-after boiling for five minutes, add some seasoning ingredients and mix them well.

-Now, cover the prepared pickled beets in a bowl for 1-3 days and stir sometimes.

-go through the canning process, take a mason jar or any glass jar and boil the jar for 5-10 minutes for sanitizing.

-pour the jar with the pickled beets leaving 1 inch empty from the top and go through the water bath process.

-Once complete the canning process, label with the date, seal the jar tightly, and freeze the jar for up to 12 months.

Can you freeze roasted beets?

Like the freezing cooked and pickled beets, and beet juice, you can freeze roasted beets as well. This is another popular way to preserve the beets for later use. You can taste roasted beets like fresh beets and use them in salad and soup, and add them to other recipes. Roasting and then freezing won’t degrade the natural quality, color, and texture of beets.

How to freeze roasted beets?

Preparing roasted beets for freezing is not the tiring job that we are used to thinking. Rather you can simply carry out the roasting process just following the simple steps below-

– Select the tender, young and fresh beets.

– Scrub and clean them well so that all dirt is washed out.

– Cut off the green leaves, leaving about one inch from the top, and also remove the roots.

– Place each beet on a shallow roasting pan and add ½ cup of water

– Cover the roasting pan with foil paper, turn on the oven and bake them at the temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45-60 minutes, relying on the size of the beets.

– Before removing them from the oven, check the tenderness using a fork.

– Once ended roasting, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.

– Now, Peel off the skins using a hand with gloves, cut them into small slices or cubes. – Place the slices or cubes in a freezer-safe bag, label them with date, seal them tightly and preserve them in the freezer for up to 8-12 months.

Can you freeze beets leaves?

You can freeze beet greens for later use in different recipes without losing the nutrients they contain. You have to follow the proper method to preserve them longer period.

– Choose the fresh and the best beet leaves

– Wash them properly

– Take a large pan, add the leaves and bring to boil

– After boiling for 2-3 minutes, pour them into a bowl with cold water to stop further cooking.

– Once stop cooking, place them in a cheesecloth or towel to drain extra water.

– Now, place them in the zip lock bag and freeze for up to 8-12 months.