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Learning how to freeze corn (both on the cob and kernels) is an amazing way to save fresh, sweet corn for use all year round! In this guide, we’ve included methods for freezing corn on the cob, uncooked kernels, and cooked kernels, for pretty much any situation.
🌽 Why You Should Freeze Corn
- Love sweet, fresh, summer corn, and wish you could have it in the dead of winter? You can! By freezing fresh corn in the summer, you can enjoy it well into those off-season months. Fresh corn can stay frozen up to 12 months, as long as you’re not getting any freezer burn.
- Each of these “how to freeze corn” methods is super easy. In no time at all you can have a decent stockpile of fresh corn to last you a while.
- You can freeze the corn cooked or uncooked. Blanching the corn first does help to preserve some of the flavor and texture of fresh corn. It’s a little more involved than just cutting the corn off the cob and putting it into bags. I think it’s worth it, though!
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Don’t add salt to the boil water. Salt can make the corn tough, which you definitely don’t want. Just boil the corn in plain water!
- If you’re going to freeze corn on the cob, you can cut them into smaller cobs first if you want. Totally up to you! Nothing about the cook time or process would change with the corn cobs cut in half.
- If you want to pre-portion your frozen corn, you absolutely can! Just portion your desired amounts into smaller sealable bags, like sandwich bags or quart-sized bags. You can store the individual portions together in a gallon-sized bag and take out exactly what you need when you need it!
🥣 How To Use Frozen Corn
So after this post, you’ll know exactly how to freeze corn. What do you do with the frozen corn when you’re ready to use it, though? Well, anything you want! You can thaw it and use it in the same ways you’d use fresh corn. Here are some of my favorite corn recipes that you can use frozen corn in later on!
- Corn Souffle
- Roasted Chili Corn Salsa (Chipotle Copycat)
- Corn Relish
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob with Honey Butter
- Elote (Mexican Street Corn)
- Roasted Chili Corn Salsa
- Cornbread Salad
- Air Fryer Corn on the Cob
- Creamy Corn Soup
- Mexican Corn Dip
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob with Honey Butter
📚 Other “How To” Guides You’ll Be Glad You Read
- How to Cook Turkey Bacon in the Oven
- How To Roast Garlic
- 3 Ways to Freeze Zucchini
- How to Freeze Peaches
- Orange Zest – How to Make It and Ways to Use It
- How To Cut a Pineapple Easily
- All About Lemon Zest + 4 Ways to Zest a Lemon
- How to Dice an Onion… the Easy Way!
- How to Freeze Broccoli (with 3 Cooking Methods)
How to Freeze Corn (on the Cob and Kernels)
Learn how to freeze corn 3 different ways and stock up on this fresh summer produce for months to come.
servings
Equipment
- food-safe, sealable freezer bags
- Large pot (if cooking corn)
- Large bowl (for ice bath, if cooking corn)
- Tongs (if cooking corn)
- Baking sheet (if cooking corn)
- Plastic wrap (if cooking corn)
- Cutting board or large bowl (if cutting off kernels)
- Sharp knife (if cutting off kernels)
Ingredients
- fresh ears of corn any size
- ice for ice bath
- water for ice bath
Instructions
To Freeze Corn on the Cob
- Remove corn husks and silks. Fill large pot approximately half full with water and set over medium heat. Fill large bowl with ice and water to create ice bath and set aside.
- Once water starts to boil, add peeled ears of corn and cook approximately 3 to 4 minutes, turning corn every 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer corn from boiling water to ice bath using tongs. Let corn soak in ice bath approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove corn from ice bath and pat completely dry. Set dried corn on baking sheet, then place baking sheet in freezer for 1 to 2 hours, until corn is frozen.
- Remove baking sheet from freezer and tightly wrap ears of corn in plastic wrap. Place wrapped corn in sealable plastic freezer bag. Seal almost completely and press out any air, then seal completely and return corn to freezer.
To Freeze Uncooked Corn Kernels
- Remove corn husks and silks.
- Hold ear of corn vertically, with bottom end against cutting board or bottom of large bowl, and top end held firmly in non-cutting hand. Using sharp knife, cut raw kernels off corn cob. Start at top end, as close to cob as possible, and slice straight down to cutting board or bowl.
- Break up any large sections of kernels with hands. Transfer loose kernels into sealable freezer bags. Seal bags almost completely then squeeze out as much air as possible. Seal completely and place in freezer.
To Freeze Cooked (Blanched) Corn Kernels
- Remove corn husks and silks. Fill large pot approximately half full with water and set over medium heat. Fill large bowl with ice and water to create ice bath and set aside.
- Once water starts to boil, add peeled ears of corn and cook approximately 3 to 4 minutes, turning corn every 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer corn from boiling water to ice bath using tongs. Let corn soak in ice bath approximately 2 to 3 minutes, until cool to touch.
- Hold ear of corn vertically, with bottom end against cutting board or bottom of large bowl, and top end held firmly in non-cutting hand. Using sharp knife, cut cooked kernels off corn cob. Start at top end, as close to cob as possible, and slice straight down to cutting board or bowl.
- Break up any large sections of kernels with hands. Transfer loose kernels into sealable freezer bags. Seal bags almost completely then squeeze out as much air as possible. Seal completely and place in freezer.
- To save space in the freezer, store the corn flat.
- Freezer Bags: Make sure to press as much air out as possible before the bags go in the freezer. You can also use vacuum seal bags if you want. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can vacuum seal them with the water displacement method! Put the corn in a freezer bag and seal it halfway, then lower the bag into a pot of very hot water. You’ll see the bag cling to the corn. Keep lowering the bag until the corn is submerged and all the air is pushed out. Then seal the bag and toss it in the freezer!
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1ear of cornCalories: 77calProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 14mgPotassium: 243mgTotal Carbs: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gNet Carbs: 15gVitamin A: 168IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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How do you cook the frozen corn on the cob? Thaw and steam or boil for 15 minutes? OR steam or boil frozen for 30 minutes?
It depends how you want to use/cook the corn, really. Either of those options should work fine, or you can try one of the methods in the “How to Use Frozen Corn” section of the post!
Am I understanding that you do not blanche the uncooked corn kernels? Just cut kernels off cob and freeze?
For the uncooked kernels, that’s correct – you don’t blanche them or cook them in any way. We did include instructions for blanching corn kernels, though, so you can freeze them either way!
I am going to use the corn on the cob for a shrimp boil later. Is it better to precook and freeze or just freeze and boil as usual?
You’d be fine to just freeze it then boil as usual!
I have been freezing corn on the cob for years. I do not blanche it because I have a food saver. I shuck it put in my bag and freeze. Then to cook I just drop the bag in boiling water. I also scrap the cobs and freeze. For that I flash freeze then seal in a bag.
Thanks for sharing, Nancy!
If I just freeze for 2 weeks, is that ok?
Yes, that’s fine!
This sounds good, and I’m going to try this.
How long would it take to cook the frozen cobs? From frozen in the instant pot?
And uncooked kernels, I have no idea how to cook them from frozen.
You can just thaw the frozen corn overnight in the fridge and then cook them however you like! For frozen corn on the cob in the Instant Pot, 5 minutes on Manual High Pressure should work, followed by a Quick Release of steam. Be sure to add at least 1 cup of liquid to the Instant Pot so you don’t get a burn notice.
It works really quite well. Only issue in “de-kernelizing” the cob (I wanted my off the cob) is the inability to consistently get most of the kernel and not much of the cob! Still, a very good resource-thanks.
Use a bundt pan when cutting corn off cob. Most cobs fit on middle ring, slice down and corn falls into pan.
For Dawn, Great Idea. It beats chasing kernels all over the kitchen counter.
This is a brilliant idea