Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Frozen vegetables are tasty, nutritious and eco-friendly – here’s how to use them like a pro

Don't sneer at freezer essentials like peas and carrots; they're packed with vitamins, good for the environment, and great if you're on a budget

A lot of people turn up their noses at frozen vegetables. Yes, having farm-fresh produce is great, but many have to be delivered within a day of harvest to be at their best. So don’t be so quick to pass on the frozen variety. They are probably a lot better for the environment than the fresh stuff that has to cross hemispheres to get to the table. And they definitely deserve more appreciation.

“A lot of people pooh-pooh them,” says Bruce Weinstein, who has written 32 cookbooks with his husband, Mark Scarbrough. “The convenience factor is ridiculous.”

Frozen veg are also top quality because they’ve picked at the best time, and frozen straight away, instead of artificially ripened.
Here’s what you need to know about putting nutritious frozen vegetables to good use.


Picking the right veg

Lots of people complain about frozen veggies ending up mushy. This is true if you leave them uncooked, Weinstein says. But as cooking is intended to drive off moisture anyway, using frozen vegetables means you’re already a step ahead in eliminating some of the water you’d burn off by cooking.

The trick is to look for veggies that are lower-moisture and sturdy enough to not be rendered into pulp by ice. Some of Weinstein’s favourites include corn, artichokes and cauliflower. Cook’s Illustrated adds peas, lima (butter) beans, pearl onions and spinach to its recommended list, with broccoli, carrots and green beans on its acceptable roster, especially if you’re incorporating them into dishes where a crisp texture is not crucial, such as soups and stews.

The magazine is less keen on high-moisture vegetables, such as bell peppers, snow peas, snap peas, asparagus and mushrooms.
Also think about the types of frozen vegetables that can save you time because they are already peeled, shelled or cubed.


Storing them safely

Frozen vegetables in bags include air, and therefore moisture, in the packaging. “I think they have a limited shelf life,” Weinstein says. More moisture can cause freezer burn and wreak havoc on the texture of food. So, he prefers to use frozen vegetables within a few months.

Freezer burn, however, is not going to kill you or make you sick. It just makes your food look and taste funky. To prevent it, aim for a colder part of your freezer, if you can, away from the door. If you open and use part of a package, try to cook the rest within a week.


A word of warning

Understand that frozen food, just like its fresh counterpart can carry germs. Washing and blanching is not necessarily going to kill those. If you choose to eat the frozen veggies raw then, just as with fresh vegetables, there is a risk that you can get ill from them.


To thaw, or not to thaw

If the moisture that will be released from the vegetables will be a problem, it’s best to thaw them and throw away the extra water. You would do this if you were making stir-fries or curries.

Frozen spinach almost always needs to be thawed before use.

It’s good to thaw veggies before adding them to hot dishes, otherwise you may end up cooking the dish longer than intended, just to get it to heat up. Veggies can be thawed in the fridge the night before, or just on the counter while you prep.

Thawing is not always necessary. Some vegetables can be roasted straight from the freezer, in a hot oven on a preheated baking sheet, with plenty of oil.


Cooking up a storm

Weinstein says he prefers using frozen vegetables as an ingredient in dishes rather than on their own as a side. So what dishes are prime candidates for frozen vegetables? We’ve already mentioned soups, stews and stir-fries.

Try stirring peas and/or carrots into mac and cheese. Frozen vegetables can shine in risotto, too, according to Taste magazine.

Food 52 recommends adding them to the mix when you’re making veggie burgers (corn), dumplings (edamame) and gnocchi (spinach). The site says greens can be swirled into yogurt or sour cream for a dip, while “mushy” vegetables (carrots, squash) can be mashed and spread on toast (so over avo toast). Try making your own flavoured hummus with cooked, pureed frozen vegetables.

The best thing about frozen veg? The price. They tend to be super reasonable, especially compared to their fresh counterparts, making them ideal for students or anyone else on a budget, so stock up!

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×