Fresh spinach holds so many possibilities. You can toss the bright green leaves into an entree-sized salad, saute it with a little olive oil and garlic, or get fancier and make your own version of a steakhouse creamed spinach. 

Whether incorporating fresh spinach into a dip or a sheet pan quiche, you should definitely know the best way to keep it fresh and tasty — and you should also have a plan if you somehow wind up with too much leftover fresh spinach. 

But is there a disadvantage to using fresh spinach? Can you freeze it before it goes bad? We’ve got all the answers you need, with the help of corporate chef Rodney Freidank, of Table 301 Restaurant Group in Greenville, South Carolina.

Can You Freeze Fresh Spinach?

Yes, you can freeze fresh spinach. Freezing fresh spinach leaves is not only possible, it’s a good idea if you want to cut down on produce waste.

But there’s a way to do this, explains Freidank, who says he highly recommends “blanching and shocking” the spinach first. “This will help to preserve the flavor and green color of the spinach.” 

Blanching is a cooking process where you briefly submerge a food (often a bitter vegetable to cut the bitter flavor) in salted boiling water and then quickly cool it—shock it—so it stops cooking.

How To Freeze Fresh Spinach

Wash it: Freidank says you first want to make sure your spinach is clean. So if you purchased spinach packaged in a container labeled triple-washed or similarly, the spinach is already clean and you can proceed with bringing the salted water to boil in a large pot.

Prep ice bath: Next, Freidank says to prepare the ice bath. “While the water is coming up to the boil, get a large bowl and add cold water and ice.” 

Boil: Then when the hot water is at a rolling boil, carefully drop the spinach into the pot and stir so that all of the spinach becomes wilted. This will happen in about 15-20 seconds, notes Freidank, and the ice submersion will only take about a minute. 

Remove: At this point, you can carefully remove the spinach from the ice water and place it on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. 

Store: Squeeze out excess water, place in the airtight bag and in the freezer. Oh, and don’t forget to label it with the date, advises Freidank.

How To Thaw And Use Frozen Spinach

When you’re ready to use the spinach, place the bag in the fridge and allow it to defrost. This shouldn’t take very long, depending on how much spinach you’ve packed in the bag. This spinach will be delicious in any number of ways, though a fresh spinach salad is probably not the best way to highlight thawed spinach. 

Freidank is a fan of spinach and artichoke dip—his favorite is from Soby’s New South Cuisine cookbook. The recipe, like many spinach dip recipes, calls for fresh spinach to be blanched and shocked. “If you have your spinach already frozen, then you can just thaw that out (or even chop it up still frozen with a sharp knife) and add it to the recipe,” says Freidank.