Freezing French Beans

French beans are better for freezing than runners (which are inedible after freezing). Either wash and freeze as is, but suffer a shorter freezer life, or blanche in boiling water for a VERY short time, a few seconds just to kill the cells, drain as much as possible and pat dry before freezing.

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I've tried them blanched and unblanched, they're ok but it will be interesting to see if open freezing them, after blanching for a minute, is better.

I never blanched runner beans before freezing, just sliced and froze them.

I found when cooked, while not as fresh as beans cooked directly from the vine, they were still quite acceptable.

I alway slice them lengthways before blanching, then freeze them in small meal size quantities. They’ve alway been ok.

I find frozen runner beans and French beans are never as good as fresh but they are excellent in a casserole with other vegetables.

I've frozen runner beans over the years after blanching and they're never quite the same, but this year I've blanched them then open-froze them on trays lined with baking paper, then put them in bags when frozen. It remains to be seen if they're better.

French beans seemed to freeze a bit better but perhaps best used in stir fries afterwards.

Thank you! Will definitely try them in the air fryer - hadn’t occurred to me to use that.

The act of freezing changes the texture of the beans., making them a bit softer. Try sautéing them, or even put them in the air fryer if you have one.

I always find lots of butter makes them tastier!