How to use frozen vegetables

March 17, 2024 11:38 AM

I broke my hand, which made chopping fresh vegetables difficult, and so I stocked up on frozen vegetables. But then I healed more quickly than anticipated! I need to use them up in tasty ways that can handle the texture/moisture differences of frozen.

The obvious answer is soup. I'm capable of throwing various ingredients together in a pot to make a soup, but is there a specific, exciting soup I can make? Something with fun flavors that makes this less of a chore and more of a "oh, I really want to try this"? And what about things that are not soups?

I have:

* chopped frozen kale
* chopped frozen onions
* chopped frozen "soup mix" with green beans, carrot, corn
* chopped frozen beets

I can buy more ingredients, I just want to use these up at the same time.

I'm a bit picky - in terms of preparation, not so much in terms of styles of food. I cook a lot, and I care about things like texture, browning, and so on. I don't want to compromise if I don't have to. I want something that suits these ingredients well. I don't often use frozen kale or beets especially, so I don't have a good sense of how freezing changes them.

posted by Kutsuwamushi to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

Frozen veg can be awesome as I'm sure you know! For me I'd think about using the frozen soup mix in a stir fry or fried rice. I'll often use our frozen veg mixes to add. At the end of one of those, a simple fried rice with some fun veg has always been well received.

Are they small frozen pearl onions? If so I live those is braises and stews, add them in the last minutes or so. One of my favorites
posted by Carillon at 11:44 AM on March 17 [2 favorites]

I find a lot of the recipes on BudgetBytes use frozen veggies.
posted by blacktshirtandjeans at 12:06 PM on March 17 [5 favorites]

I use frozen kale in pasta a lot. Sauté a bunch of garlic and onion (not sure if the frozen would work ok for this) in olive oil. In another pot, cook a few servings of pasta and dump in the frozen kale a few minutes before the pasta is done. Drain cooked pasta/kale, toss with garlic/onions, top with Parmesan.
posted by skycrashesdown at 12:27 PM on March 17 [5 favorites]

I've found frozen beets work fine for this beet cake, which is super yummy.
posted by warriorqueen at 12:28 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]

Minestrone is the best soup. I never, ever tire of it, and neither does my family.
With your ingredients, I'd thaw and drain the onions and then sauté them with garlic till they are translucent, then add in a few chili flakes and some oregano. Then add in the mixed veg and a can of tomatoes. I'd fill the can from the tomatoes with plain water, and add that in. Bring to a simmer and let it go for ten minutes. Then season to taste, and add the kale. Simmer again for a while, like ten minutes. Then add a handfull of pasta. I'd go with alphabet pasta or stelline, but you do you. Cook till the pasta is done, adjust the seasoning and enjoy with grated cheese on top.

With the beets, the obvious is borscht. Some of the kale can be good in here too.
I would buy a good beef or chicken stock for this (or tbh, I would make one, but the point is that premade stock is what you want). Bring the stock and the frozen beets to a simmer and let it simmer for ten-fifteen minutes. Add a cupful of beet juice, preferably the fermented juice from dr. Oetker. Add kale. Bring to a simmer and cook until the kale is pleasant to eat. Serve with croutons on top of the soup.
posted by mumimor at 12:47 PM on March 17

I often add frozen vegetables to my homemade stew...fried rice...vegetable soup...
posted by Czjewel at 1:05 PM on March 17

I just shake some frozen kale into the pot every time I make soup that can take greens and I have frozen kale kicking around. It won't have the same texture as fresh greens, but kind of melts away into the soup and isn't super detectable except as green flecks unless you use a lot.

Your onions and soup mix would probably be nice in uttapam/pudla/other savory pancake applications. I usually use frozen peas, but have definitely dropped in other random vegetable bits (including frozen corn) to good effect.
posted by snaw at 1:18 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]

Frozen kale works great in smoothies.
posted by SPrintF at 2:06 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]

I'd absolutely use defrosted kale in this kale pasta recipe.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:08 PM on March 17

My favorite thing to do with frozen kale (or spinach) is to add it to this Cheesy White Bean Tomato Bake. Sometimes I add so much it's more like a cheesy kale bake with white beans and tomato. I add the kale after the tomato paste and before the beans, and I use plenty of salt.

Frozen kale is also good in mushy greens kinds of dishes, like a creamed spinach (but with kale) or a saag.
posted by mskyle at 2:12 PM on March 17 [3 favorites]

Defrosted kale is good in quiche; remove some of the water first.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:27 PM on March 17

I love having frozen veg in the freezer to stir into pantry meals:

- Brighten up a risotto
- Stir into a coconut curry
- Add to ramen
- Mix into mac & cheese
posted by pazazygeek at 2:40 PM on March 17 [2 favorites]

I dumped some frozen veggies into my boring ramen to make it more interesting just the afternoon! I threw it in right as the water boiled (still frozen) then let the water come to boiling again before following the directions on my ramen package.
posted by chiefthe at 3:03 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]

I dump frozen veg into pasta sauce (so that there's more veg in my pasta dishes), usually tomato-based but it totally works with any sauce you want to make.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:17 PM on March 17

The medley is right for a chicken pot pie.

Bouef Bourgeon calls for pearl onions and almost every recipe agrees that frozen ones are ok. I imagine similar type braise/stew could work for your onions.
posted by mmascolino at 3:21 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]

Frozen onions work well if you're going to saute them for soup, Frozen kale is great in soup. So I'd make a bean and veg soup. I use chicken broth, whatever beans you have - white, pinto, garbanzo - sauteed onion, and veg, esp. kale, but the blend will work well, too. I often add a stick of sliced sauteed chorizo or any spicy sausage. Sausage also adds fat, so if you don't use any, make sure to add fat to sauteeing anything. The mixed veg and onion would work quite well in fried rice.

The beets would be good in salads and wraps. I always quick-marinate beets in some vinegar.
posted by theora55 at 4:17 PM on March 17

Here's a farro, sausage, and kale stew that looks great. (gift link)
posted by theora55 at 5:55 PM on March 17

I love this kale, bean and bacon salad (minus the rosemary and nutmeg, with slightly less lemon and more garlic)

https://rachaelray.com/blogs/recipes/warm-white-bean-and-kale-salad-recipe
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:44 PM on March 17

Note: all my "recipes" I offer below are "serves one" quantity.

Kale would be perfect for colcannon (an Irish dish, which would fit since St. Patrick's Day was just yesterday). This is simply Mashed Potatoes With Stuff In It; cook up a potato, mash it, then throw in a handful of that kale (you can even do it straight out of the freezer). Then spread that in a baking dish, top with some grated cheddar cheese, and sling that under a broiler until the cheese melts. To really gild the lily add a strip of cooked bacon crumbled up along with the kale.

A couple handfuls of the "soup mix" would also work in a Spanish tortilla. The Spanish kind of tortilla is more like a crustless quiche; steam up a couple handfuls of the veg until it's just barely cooked, then beat about 3-4 eggs or so, throw in the veg, and pour the whole thing into a small frying pan. Cook that over medium heat until it's set. If you're feeling especially coordinated, you can flip it over halfway through. Turn that out onto a plate and serve. (You can also eat the leftovers cold.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:30 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

Chopped frozen beets work great for beet tartare. You can roast straight from frozen, no need to thaw. Generally I don't bother with the chips, I just eat it like a salad. It's really delicious!
posted by CheeseLouise at 12:55 PM on March 18

frozen chopped onion, if thrown into a soup early, will simply completely disappear as a texture, leaving just the flavor.
posted by kschang at 11:00 PM on March 18 [1 favorite]