I use green onions a lot in my cooking. I find they offer a great pop of freshness, flavor, and color to recipes, making them the perfect final touch to just about everything. The problem is, you can’t just buy one or two green onions, and they tend to wilt rather quickly in the refrigerator. Now that we’re all stuck at home and not going to the grocery quite as often, I wanted to offer some solutions for keeping green onions on hand without having them go to waste. Below you’ll find tips for keeping green onions fresh in the refrigerator and a quick tutorial on how to freeze green onions for longer storage.
How to Shop for Green Onions
Before we even get to how to keep your green onions fresh, it’s important to make sure your green onions are fresh when you buy them. If they’re already on the way out before you take them home, you’ll only get 2-3 days out of them once they’re in your fridge.
Look for green onions that are firm (the green ends don’t flop over easily) and they aren’t broken or torn. I also tend to get a much longer storage life out of green onions that are sold unwrapped (just held together with a rubber band) than those that come in a sealed plastic bag. This is probably because the unwrapped green onions are allowed to breathe and absorb moisture from the misters on the produce wall.
How to Store Green Onions in the Refrigerator
Green onions need moisture to stay fresh. You’ll get the most life out of the green onions if you place the root end in a glass or jar with 1-2 inches of water. Placing a loose plastic bag (like a produce bag from the grocery store) over the tops will also help reduce evaporation from the high amount of air circulating through the refrigerator. But do not close off or secure the bag to prevent air flow. Depending on how fresh the green onions were when purchased, this method can extend the life of your green onions for a week or more.
When to Freeze vs. Refrigerate Green Onions
If you have simply bought more green onions than you know you’ll be able to use within a week, then it’s a good idea to freeze some for later. Make sure to freeze the green onions as close to purchase as possible. You want to freeze them while they’re still fresh.
While I still prefer fresh green onions over frozen, having frozen green onions on hand is far better than having none at all. So when in doubt, freeze half of the bunch you buy just in case.
How to Freeze Green Onions
Ingredients
- 1 bunch green onions
Instructions
- Rinse the green onions well, then pat dry with a paper towel or clean, lint-free dish towel.
- Slice the green onions.
- Place the sliced green onions in a jar, freezer bag, or other air-tight, freezer safe container. Close the container tightly to prevent air flow.
- Freeze the green onions for 3-4 months. To use, simply sprinkle the frozen green onions over your meal. The green onions will thaw within seconds and be ready to eat.
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Equipment
- Jelly Jars
- White Cutting Boards
- Chef's Knife
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Need recipe ideas for your green onions? Scroll down to see my favorites…
What to Make with Green Onions
As I mentioned above, I use green onions on just about everything. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use green onions:
- On eggs – Ultimate Southwest Scrambled Eggs, Green Chile Migas
- Vegetable Salads – Cumin Lime Coleslaw, Sesame Slaw, Thai Cucumber Salad, Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Salad
- Protein Salads – Curry Chicken Salad, Tuna and White Bean Salad, Smoky Quinoa and Black Bean Salad, Sriracha Egg Salad, Sesame Tuna Salad, Scallion Herb Chickpea Salad
- Soups – Hot & Sour Vegetable Soup, Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen, Easy Homemade Egg Drop Soup
- Stir Fry – Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry, Hoisin Stir Fry Bowls with Peanut Sauce, Crunchy Chicken Ramen Stir Fry
- Noodles – Garlic Noodles, Spicy Dragon Noodles, Stir Fry Beef Noodles, Mushroom and Broccoli Stir Fry Noodles, Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles, Cajun Cabbage and Noodles
- Skillet Meals – Creamy Spinach and Sausage Pasta, Southwest Chicken Skillet, Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet, One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
- Bowl Meals – Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls, Sweet n’ Spicy Chicken Bowls, Poor Man’s Burrito Bowls, Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls
- Pasta – Pastalaya, Blackened Shrimp Pasta, Skillet Cheeseburger Pasta, One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Thanks for your freezing tips on kale and green onions. Great to know I’ll always have some on hand.
Thank you so much for this!! Who could have ever known you can save our precious green onion?!! Gone are the days on tossing them when they just sat in the fridge.
Thank you again!
How far back do you chop green onions I’ve been meaning to ask somebody a picture would be great lol Thank You for whichever
Actually, the second photo is a pretty good representation! If they’re super fresh or I’m cooking with them instead of just topping a dish, I’ll use everything but the root. but generally I leave a couple inches from the root because it can be a little tough and abrasive.
Thank you for the advice on freezing green onions. So often they go to waste
How did the green onions taste after you freeze them?
Thank you! I have always wondered if you could freeze to put into something you are going to cook instead of garnish. I take my extra green onions and stick them in my little herb garden I have and I can just go out and cut the Greens as I need, and if I need the onion part I pull them up and use them. They continue to grow very large. I live in Arizona so never freeze they just keep growing.
I only cook for myself but appreciate recipes that I can store some and use later in addition to some to eat now.
Never knew this. Thank you. I’m going to do this for sure
Thank you!
To store green onions, stand them roots down in a tall glass with a couple inches of water and top the glass with a small loose ziploc bag. They have to breathe. I keep the jar in my fridge and they grow like wildfire. I trim the tops with a scissors, and cut off outer leaves that have gone soft. Change the water about once a week. I rarely have to buy green onions, they last a long time. And yes you can plant the root bottoms and they will still grow. Not much waste this way. They are great to add to many salads and for topping soups and cooked dishes.
Trim the tops with scissors when you need some.
Plant those suckers! You can buy a small bag of potting soil and terracotta pots for incredibly cheap. Water them when the soil gets dry on top, and keep them on a sunny windowsill. They grow, almost literally, like weeds. They do get naturally floppy when they start to get too big. I have two small 4″ pots I’ve been growing for about a year. You can keep them in a jar or vase with just water, but that weakens the roots and they eventually die.
I didn’t know they were so easy! Thank you! Just recently have had basil in my windowsill for pizza etc and it’s super easy as well! I even neglected it for a week (lacked a plant sitter ha) and it came back after a bit!
I actually just started freezing green onions too, and I love it. You definitely need to use a sharp knife though.
This post is a great help.I don’t have to worry about using spring onions quickly.
I don’t have to worry about wasting green onions again. ☺️
Any process on how to freeze parsley/ cilantro?
Unfortunately I haven’t found a good method for those, yet.
Parsley can be frozen by chopping it up, and putting it in an ice cube tray along with olive oil. This will create olive oil infused parsley cubes that can be later used for cooking. You can do this with a lot of herbs!
We chopped them up and froze them with water as ice cubes. Good for throwing into soup.
For parsley and cilantro try drying them in the microwave.
Place herbs on a paper towel covered plate and zap for 20 seconds at a time until them are dried and you can crumble them. You can remove any stems before or after they are dried. Then fill your spice jars. Fresh cilantro just does not last long and I hate having to buy it all the time. Parsley keeps a couple days in a glass with water, bur then I dry it in the microwave. A lot cheaper than buying dried parsley or cilantro spices.
Try it.
I was going to suggest drying too. I’ll have to try the microwave method. I usually chop the Italian leaf parsley, spread on a baking sheet, refriderate ( it will usually live sitting on top of something else in the frig, since it’s a thin sheet). Let that sit for a day or two refigerated, give it a stir, and let it sit overnight. In a few days to a week, It’s dry enough to store in the frig in a jar for several months. I use parsley in everything, so it’s nice to have it still flavorful!
If cilantro is for dressings or soup then I throw it in a blender with a bit of water and make a paste. Put in freezer bags, lay flat so they are thin. That way I just break off a bit and throw it in my soup, etc. I also will wash and dry it and freeze it wrapped tightly in plastic. This way it just breaks apart into my enchiladas, etc. Have done same with parsley.
Never before have I learned as much from the comments as I have the post! They complement each other so well!
Thank you!
I cut the most of the green part then put the rest in a cup with a little water. They grow really fast like this. Once a week you will have to cut it again. Just change the water every 2 or 3 days.
PUT THOSE SUCKERS IN THE DIRT!
I buy green onions once a year in early spring. Get 2 bunches per person in your house. Buy the bunches with the longest roots. Put them in a pot with potting soil as deep as the white part. Some sunlight and water, and you have fresh green onions most of the year. Mine overwintered in my glassed sun porch this year so I didn’t even need to buy new ones this year. They grow shockingly fast and don’t mind being tightly packed in a small container. All the alliums are like that. Sprouts on your (bulb onions/garlic/shallots)? Stick them in dirt. Roots on (leeks/green onions/ Flat, Chinese, or French chives)? Into the dirt they go. Don’t under estimate them! They are vigorous, resilient plants and dead easy to grow. As easy as cilantro and the mint family.
That’s awesome. Will be starting mine tomorrow.
Thanks so much for this – can’t tell ya how many bunches of these onions I have had to toss. Really appreciate this.
I prep my green onions exactly how you do it to freeze, but just keep them in the fridge. I get a day or two from uncut, but in a sealed container the slices are good for a week.
If you want a continuous supply of the green tops just plant them. Push the cut-off root end in a pot of dirt and before you know it you will have green onions. If you want them a little faster plant about a 2-inch piece. These will keep growing indefinitely. Eventually the tops will get a little tough so at that point you can pull them and have a sweet, delicious onion bulb. And then just start over. They seem to do better in the shade when it’s really hot and will grow all winter long in the south. I find that about six plants are enough for me.
love this!!! So glad to hear it really works to freeze. I was going to try freezing anyway because I just started regrowing my bulbs of green onions. They grow so fast and I don’t want to waste their goodness. I’m curious if you have experimented with freezing cilantro?
I chop cilantro, drop about 1 Tbsp of the leaves in each well of an ice cube tray, and fill 3/4 to the top with water. I just pop one out and let it thaw in a bowl while I make dinner. It doesn’t work super well as a garnish, but it works to throw into quesadillas, tacos, rice, etc!
I use this technique with herbs in olive oil as well. Fast and cheap way to pump up the flavor of dishes.
Love your site and these tips! I have a similar jar to yours in the freezer ready to use for topping all.the.dishes. here too- love love green onions!
Did you know that you can also keep a jar of green onions alive on the counter top or window sill for quite some time? You must change the water out every few days and give the roots a good rinse when you do, but they will just keep on producing! I like to clip mine when the tops are just starting to look like they are going to flop over, trimming them then seems to keep the stalk healthier to re-grow from.
I have a batch on the windowsill right now that we originally purchased in the 1st week of January. They’re still going strong!
This is so great! I wouldn’t have thought green onions would hold up in the freezer. I wish I had read this before the panic.
Another option (for a short-term solution) is to leave the green onions out on the counter or in a windowsill in a mason jar with just enough water to cover the roots. I’ve found that I can cut them down to within an inch or two when I need them and they’ll grow back surprisingly quickly. I have some on my windowsill right now that I’ve been cutting down and reusing for the past three weeks. Happy cooking and thanks for all the great recipes!