How to Freeze Shredded Cabbage Quickly and Easily

If you want to preserve the crisp, crunch of your fall season leafy vegetables, like cabbage, you’ve got to learn how to freeze them the right way.

Sure, anybody can just pop a quartered head into the freezer and forget about it until they need it, but if you do that, you’ll wind up with bitter, discolored leaves once it is thawed.

Luckily, there is a better way, and one that requires very little additional effort or time.

In this article, I’ll show you step-by-step how to freeze shredded cabbage the right way so it stays bright, crispy, nutritious, and flavorful. That way, you’ll be ready to use it in slaw, soups, and more!

We will get right into it down below.

What You’ll Need

Nearly everything that you need for this procedure is in your kitchen right now, except perhaps one or two specialized tools. Gather all of the following, and then we’ll be ready to begin.

Cabbage: If you want frozen shredded cabbage, you’ve got to have cabbage on hand, of course!

You can use any variety of cabbage that you want, including red, white, green, purple, or something else. Asian varieties also work just fine.

Whatever cultivar you select, always get the ripest and freshest heads that you can so the finished product will be as good as it can be.

Kitchen Knife: A large, sturdy kitchen knife will make short work of chopping up your cabbage into the thin, bite-sized strips that lend themselves so well to freezing.

Cutting Board: Obviously, you’ll need a cutting board for the intensive chopping. Any kind you prefer will do, but larger is definitely better for ease, consistency, and minimizing mess.

Food Processor (optional): If you don’t trust your knife skills or if you’d prefer to just save a little more time at the expense of consistency, you can drop the cabbage into a food processor and chop it up into a rough slaw.

The results are nearly as good as doing it the old-fashioned way, and it can save you a fair bit of time if you’re making a big batch. But it isn’t required.

Large Pot: The trick to getting the very best results possible when freezing cabbage is to blanch it first, and to do that, we’ll need a large pot to boil a large quantity of water. A large soup or stock pot should be adequate.

Large Bowl: Part of the blanching procedure is quenching the lightly boiled cabbage in ice water to stop the cooking process while preserving freshness, flavor, and nutrition. A large mixing bowl will do the job here.

Blanching Basket: This is the specialized kitchen tool that makes this whole process a lot easier.

A blanching basket is a lot like a strainer basket but with a specialized handle that lets you easily immerse the entire basket into the pot of boiling water. This will ensure that all the cabbage goes in at the same time and is heated evenly.

If you don’t have one, you can just use a sturdy metal strainer or steamer basket as long as it can contain all the produce.

Colander: A colander is useful for holding the cabbage when dunking it in the ice water. I recommend a metal type instead of plastic so boiling water doesn’t leach any weird chemicals out of it.

Paper Towels or Kitchen Towels: You can use sturdy paper towels or kitchen towels at your preference to thoroughly dry the cabbage after the blanching process just prior to freezing.

Do take care, though, because your darker cabbage varieties can potentially stain cloth. I like to use heavy-duty paper towels or plain white tea towels for this purpose. Both work fine; just make sure you have plenty on hand.

Water: Between the washing, blanching, and quenching, we’ll need lots of water for this procedure. Filtered tap water is my choice for economy and ease. For the blanching process, you’ll need about a gallon per pound of cabbage.

Ice: A critical part of this procedure is rapidly quenching the cabbage to stop the cooking process; room temperature or cool tap water won’t do.. You’ll add ice to the bowl we use for quenching to instantly cool down the cabbage to the desired temperature.

Freezer Bags or Other Containers: Lastly, you’ll need large freezer bags or any other freezer-safe container for storing your finished cabbage.

I greatly prefer freezer bags for this task since it’s easier to squeeze the excess air out of them, but if you prefer plastic or glass, you can also use that.

And that is everything that you’ll need. I’ll walk you through the process step by step in the next section.

Step-by-Step Instructions

The following instructions will be a breeze for anyone who is even modestly experienced in the kitchen. However, I recommend you read over them entirely before you get started because there are a couple of time-sensitive steps, and you’ll want to know what to expect.

Step 1: Choose cabbage heads in good shape and at peak ripeness. Great frozen cabbage begins with good heads of cabbage. This procedure is ideal for fresh heads that are harvested in the fall, not old and lackluster spring heads.

Look for ones that are perfectly ripe, have well-developed color and leaves, and are free from any damage, discoloration, or other problems.

Rough cabbage tends to degrade significantly faster when frozen, and it’s not worth the risk trying to salvage it.

Step 2: Shuck, wash, and inspect thoroughly. Once you pick out your heads, always remove the toughest outer leaves. Depending on the variety, this might just be the outermost leaves or the two outermost layers.

With that done, thoroughly wash your cabbage and inspect between the loose leaves carefully for insects, dirt, and other stuff that you definitely don’t want going into the freezer with it.

Once the cabbages are clean, set them aside.

Step 3: Fill pot and bowl with water; start pot over high heat. Fill both the pot and bowl with water, making sure to leave room for displacement.

For the pot, you’ll need at least a gallon of water for every pound of cabbage you’ll process. Add several handfuls of ice to the bowl.

Place the pot on your stove or over your other heat source and crank up the heat to high to get it heading towards a rolling boil.

Step 4: Shred cabbage. Take your clean cabbage and place a head on the cutting board.

Cut the head in half from top to bottom, then cut each half in half again perpendicular to that first cut. Once the head is cut into eighths, slice each thinly from top to bottom using your knife.

The idea is to produce small, short strips, of roughly uniform length and width. Shoot for strips that are about 3/16 of an inch wide and no longer than 4 inches.

If using a food processor, cut off the woody root end, slice the head into quarters, and then process, one quarter at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved. Don’t overdo it!

Be on the lookout for and remove any bad, damaged, or contaminated leaves. Repeat this until each head of cabbage is shredded.

Step 5: Fill blanching basket with cabbage; blanch. Take all of the shredded cabbage and fill your blanching basket with it. You don’t want it overflowing.

Once it’s full and the water is at a hard rolling boil, carefully immerse the basket into the pot. Watch for splashes and don’t get burned.

Watch the clock! Let the cabbage boil for 90 seconds and then immediately move on to the next step.

Step 6: Promptly cool cabbage when done. When the time has elapsed, pull the basket out of the pot and cut the heat.

Carefully dump the cabbage into your colander, then immediately submerge the colander in the bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking process and keep your produce crisp, bright, flavorful, and nutritious even after being frozen.

Let the cabbage cool in the ice water bath for the same amount of time that you blanched it: 90 seconds.

Step 7: Squeeze out remaining water gently; pat dry. Lift the colander out of the ice water. Shake out all of the remaining water over the bowl or over your sink.

Dump the shredded cabbage into a kitchen towel. Gently squeeze out the remaining water over the bowl or over your sink.

Unfold the towel and then gently toss the cabbage, blotting off all of the excess moisture using a clean, dry kitchen towel or paper towels. Keep changing out your towels until virtually all of the moisture is removed.

Step 8: Place cabbage in freezer bags/containers. Load the dried, shredded cabbage into your freezer bags or containers. Pack them mostly full, but not until they are full to bursting.

Step 9: Adjust headspace, remove remaining air, and seal. Whether you are using freezer bags or other containers, you’ll want to leave about a half inch of space on all sides of the bag, or at the top of a container.

This headspace is needed because when the cabbage freezes, it will expand, and overly full bags or containers will rupture or pop.

If you’re using freezer bags, once you have the right amount in each, squeeze out the remaining air and then seal. For containers, wipe off the rim to ensure you get a good seal with the lid.

Step 10: Place cabbage in freezer. Pop your bags or containers into the freezer. Standing bags up vertically can help keep them from sticking together versus stacking them. Containers can be stacked normally.

Step 11: Finished! And you are all done! By preparing and blanching your cabbage this way, you’ve ensured that it will have much better flavor, color, and nutritional content compared to simply sticking it in the freezer.

Thaw in the Fridge for Perfectly Tasty, Crisp Cabbage

Here’s the other critical trick you need to know for getting the very best flavor possible from your frozen, shredded cabbage: let it thaw in the refrigerator before you prepare it.

Yes, you can let it thaw at room temperature, but this will make it a little mushier than it needs to be and might not be safe because it allows bacteria to start breeding. Likewise, you can give it a quick defrost in the microwave, but the texture will be all wrong.

Don’t mess around with either: stick it in the fridge 24 hours before you need it, and it will be ready to use and super tasty.

Never Re-Freeze Cabbage!

Another tip: never, ever refreeze your cabbage or any other leafy vegetable for that matter. If you do, it will turn into a sloppy, slimy mess the next time it is thawed.

When you use a portion of your frozen cabbage, any that goes unused should be eaten within a couple of days, stored in the refrigerator, or simply thrown out. It’s not worth trying to preserve it again.

How Long Will Your Cabbage Keep in the Freezer?

Around 9 months with excellent quality, but I’ve stored my cabbage for up to a year in the freezer with no complaints about its taste.

The trick to getting the longest possible shelf life out of it while frozen is to maintain a consistent environment. If you are constantly opening your freezer, you are letting condensation get in there, which will contribute to freezer burn.

If possible, stick your frozen cabbage in your chest freezer or other dedicated “long-term” freezer until you need it.

As always, the sooner you use it, the better the flavor and texture will be…