DIY - Food Storage & Preservation

How to Preserve Basil in Olive Oil

August 13, 2013

basil, washed

preserving basil in oil

preserving basil in oil

preserving basil in oil

Somewhere online (maybe on Pinterest), I read that you can preserve herbs in oil.  It was one of those “Aha/Duh” moments because it was so simple!

So, last year we attempted this trick for the first time and it worked perfectly!  This year, with an abundance of basil on hand, we’ve already begun the process of harvesting, chopping, pouring and freezing.

Each cube contains:

  • 1 TBSP roughly chopped basil
  • 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Once it’s all solidified in the freezer, I simply pop them out of the ice cube trays, place them in a labelled zip lock bag and put them back the freezer.

By the end of the summer this bag will be full (it’s gallon sized) and we’ll be all set for countless basil inspired meals throughout the cooler months.

Now, to date, I’ve only attempted this trick with basil, but I’m guessing it could be done with other herbs as well.  Have you ever frozen basil in olive oil?  Have you attempted to freeze any other herbs in live oil?  What’s your favorite way to preserve your herbs? Please share your tips and tricks in the comments below!

xoxo,
M

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15 Comments on “How to Preserve Basil in Olive Oil”

  1. i’ve done a similar method and it will last a year in the freezer which is pretty impressive. helps get the most out of growing basil at home for sure.
    victor recently posted…Basil PestoMy Profile

  6. I got a big bunch of basil yesterday and tried this. All the basil floated to the top of the oil. Mine wouldn’t pop out. I had to pry them out with a knife, but they did pop out fairly easy. Maybe I needed to cut in smaller pieces? Don’t know. I’m gonna freeze some in water for tomato basil soup. Tried this before and it worked well. Just seemed to take forever to thaw! I did put it in a big plastic container though. My bad.

    1. Interesting. I definitely chop mine up…not too fine, but fairly small. Then I simply pour the olive oil over the top. If any basil floats to the top, I just push it down with a butter knife before sticking it in the freezer. Not sure why they wouldn’t pop out of the ice trays, though…I’ve never had a problem there 🙁 I hope you figure out how to make it work, it’s such a great way to save your basil for later 🙂

  8. This is great! I do have bushels of basil and plan to make pesto, but freezing it in oil seems like a brilliant idea, too. Thank you very much!

    1. Thanks for the invite! I just hopped over and linked up 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week!

  10. LUV LUV your Blog!
    Which of the two methods would you suggest to be used for sage? My family enjoys this herb so much with pork and butter sage dishes and this year our garden has an over abundance of it.

    1. I prefer to dry my sage and use it as a rub! I, too, love sage…it always feels like such a rich herb to me 🙂

  11. This is so timely, I just thought today about doing this. I have done this with other herbs, NOT with basil. So yes, it does work with other herbs very well. Dill I actually freeze the same way with boiled water, not oil. There are many recipes were I use dill with out oil, so I like that too.

    1. Ooohhh…I had not thought of freezing dill in water before! Do you have a ratio that you’ve found works best for you? And why the boiled water? So exciting!

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