Can You Freeze Cilantro? Bags, Ice Cubes and Oil

Yes, and for cilantro it is the better choice over drying. UMass Extension names cilantro among the herbs whose flavor is best kept by freezing,¹ and NDSU Extension notes that cilantro’s flavor drops when it is heated or dried.² What you give up is texture: frozen herbs are limp once thawed, so frozen cilantro is for cooking, not for garnish.³⁴

At a glance

Question	Short answer
Does cilantro freeze?	Yes; NDSU, UMass and SDSU Extension all cover it.²¹³
Freeze or dry?	Freeze. Drying and heat reduce its flavor.²¹
Methods	Loose in a freezer bag, chopped in water cubes, or chopped in oil.²³
How long?	SDSU: frozen herbs are good for up to six months.³
Thaw first?	No. Add it frozen to hot dishes.⁴
Fresh, in the fridge	About a week once cut (Wisconsin Master Gardener Program).⁵

Why freeze cilantro rather than dry it

Cilantro is one of the tender herbs that does poorly dried. NDSU Extension says its flavor decreases when exposed to heat or dried.² UMass Extension puts it in its group of herbs for which freezing gives the best flavor, alongside parsley, chervil, chives and tarragon.¹ If you do want to dry some, see how to dry cilantro and dried cilantro vs fresh.

For short-term storage, the Wisconsin Master Gardener Program says cut leaves keep in the refrigerator for about a week,⁵ and NDSU suggests wrapping them loosely in a slightly damp paper towel and then a plastic bag.² More on that in how to store cilantro.

Three ways to freeze cilantro

Prep. NDSU says to rinse the herb under running water and pat it dry with paper towels.² UMass takes a lighter line: wash gently only if you must, since water can wash away valuable oils.¹ Either way, the leaves should be dry before they go in the freezer (common practice).

1. Loose in a bag. NDSU’s simplest method is to put the cilantro in an airtight freezer bag and freeze it.² UMass does it differently: small zip-lock bags with some air left in as a cushion.¹ Neither source explains the choice or measured which keeps cilantro better.

2. Chopped, in water cubes. NDSU chops the herb, puts it in an ice cube tray, covers it with water and freezes, then moves the cubes to a labeled freezer bag.² SDSU half-fills the tray with water and adds about a tablespoon of herbs per section.³

3. Chopped, in oil. SDSU’s oil method mixes two cups of herbs with 1/3 cup of oil before freezing.³ A common suggestion is to put cilantro, water and oil in the same cube. The extension guides we read use water or oil, not both.

You can also spread leaves on a tray to freeze them separately before bagging; SDSU puts the time at about one to two hours, until solid.³

Safety: cilantro in oil

Herbs in oil carry a botulism risk. A 2011 review in Food Protection Trends says vegetables and herbs in oil provide the conditions botulinum toxin needs, and that the safest recommendation is to freeze them.⁶ If an herb-in-oil mix is refrigerated instead, it should be used within 4 days.⁶ SDSU says never to keep herbs in oil at room temperature, and to freeze them right away.³

How long frozen cilantro keeps

Source	Scope	Figure
SDSU Extension³	Frozen herbs in general, airtight	Up to six months
UMass Extension¹	Frozen herbs	“Months later,” no figure
NDSU Extension²	Frozen cilantro	No figure given

We found no cilantro-specific freezer figure. The six months is SDSU’s general guidance for herbs. On safety, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says food kept constantly at 0°F will always be safe, and that only quality suffers with long freezer storage.⁷

Using frozen cilantro

Add it frozen. Penn State’s advice for frozen herbs is not to thaw them before they go into cooked dishes.⁴ A cube dropped into soup, beans, rice or a curry near the end of cooking is the easy use.
Same amount as fresh. Penn State says frozen herbs can be used in the same proportion as fresh.⁴
Not for raw dishes. Frozen herbs tend to be limp when thawed, and SDSU recommends using them in cooked dishes.³ A common claim says thawed cilantro works as well as fresh in guacamole; no source we found supports it, and the limp texture argues against using it where cilantro is eaten raw.
Refreezing. FSIS says food thawed in the refrigerator is safe to refreeze, though it may lose quality.⁷ Freezing in small portions means you rarely need to.

Not yet measured

How long frozen cilantro keeps its aroma. All freezer figures we found are for herbs in general.
Whether freezing in water, oil or a dry bag keeps cilantro’s flavor best.
How quickly cut cilantro loses aroma between harvest and the store. A common claim says store-bought cilantro has already lost much of its flavor; we found no measurement.

Jodie Gilson, Herb Preservation, UMass Amherst Extension. umass.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷
Field to Fork: Cilantro, NDSU Extension. ag.ndsu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰
Preserving Herbs, South Dakota State University Extension. extension.sdstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰
Freezing Herbs, Penn State Extension. extension.psu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Susan Mahr, Cilantro, Wisconsin Master Gardener Program. mastergardener.extension.wisc.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²
Nummer, Schaffner, Fraser and Andress, Current Food Safety Issues of Home-prepared Vegetables and Herbs Stored in Oil, Food Protection Trends, 2011. foodprotection.org · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩²
Freezing and Food Safety, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. fsis.usda.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩²

Can You Freeze Cilantro? Bags, Cubes and What Changes When It Thaws