Zucchini and yellow squash are great in so many low carb dishes that I use a lot of it, and want to preserve as much of it as I can.  Think of these squash as your low-carb option to pasta! Squash is such a great side option for pretty much any beef dish, because it can take on so many flavors.

Plus, you don’t have to can it; you can just freeze it.  Yay for freezers! In the past I have just chunked it up and put it in the freezer.  This year, I wanted a little more variety in my frozen squash section. This way, I prepare for a larger variety of meal options, and its not the same ‘ole thing all the time. I want to share those ideas with you in case you are in the same zucchini boat I am in.

Shredded:  What a great way to prepare and preserve squash for future use!  Use a food processor and shred your squash.  Then store it in useable portions, which for me, is quart size bags.  Easy to store and thaw quickly.  Use shredded zucchini or yellow squash in casseroles, soups, egg dishes, breads, stir fry, burritos.  Pretty much anywhere!  That’s the beauty of squash.  Shredded squash doesn’t really need blanched, since it doesn’t matter as much if it is a bit mushy when used. 

Spiralized:  There are a few more steps to preserving spiralized squash, but its kind of a nice change sometimes to have zoodles instead of chunks or shredded squash. You will need a spiralizer of some sort.  They aren’t super expensive so, they are kind of handy to have around. 

Spiralize your squash, then salt the noodles and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Then stir the noodles in your hands until the mixture gets really soppy and the noodles begin to feel hard. Wrap the noodles in a lightweight kitchen towel and squeeze them until all of the juices are pretty well squeezed out.  Lay the noodles out on a dry towel or paper towels and let them sit for an hour or so.  This lets excess moisture drain away. 

Portion them into freezer bags and squeeze all the air out. To use just immerse them in boiling water in a colander for a couple of minutes, microwave them for a minute or steam them for a few minutes.   Spiralized squash is great for substitution pasta dishes like spaghetti, meatballs over rice, Alfredo recipes etc.

Squash Boats:  One clever way I found was to cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds and wa-la you have a squash boat. These you might want to *blanch first to help prevent the squash from softening as much.  These you can fill with a meat mixture like hamburger and spaghetti sauce, taco meat, pizza boats.  The options are endless.

Zucchini Puree: To make a puree, sauté or steam your zucchini and then puree it in a blender.  Portion into bags and freeze flat for easy storage.  Once the puree is frozen, you can stack them vertically if you like.  Puree is great for adding to or making soups and sauces, making baby food or even smoothies!

To make your zucchini last longer in the freezer you could try using vacuum packaging and blanching.  Both of these processes help preserve frozen produce longer, and help it to be less mushy when thawed.

* Blanching Squash:  Blanching is a very quick bath in boiling water, followed by a dip in iced water. The blanching process will destroy the enzymes, as well as any other bacteria that might be lurking around on your zucchini. Once you’ve blanched, you’re ready to put them in the freezer.