How to Preserve Your Garden Harvest by Freeze-Drying

Freeze-drying is the simplest way to turn a productive garden into food that lasts — up to 25 years when packaged properly — without the additives that show up in a lot of commercial freeze-dried products. Here's what to freeze-dry from a typical garden and why it's worth planning your summer planting around it.

What You Can Freeze-Dry From Your Garden

Vegetables: potatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, corn, green beans, peas, summer and winter squashes, spinach, tomatoes, eggplant

Fruits: apricots, peaches, nectarines, all berries, plums

Herbs: most fresh herbs freeze-dry well for later use in recipes

If your garden regularly overproduces zucchini, zucchini all year long is worth a look for what to do with the overflow specifically.

Why Homegrown Beats Store-Bought Freeze-Dried

Freeze-drying your own garden produce means you control exactly what's in it. Many commercial freeze-dried products list additives like sodium nitrite, maltodextrin, MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed corn gluten, trans fats, 1-methylcyclopropene, astaxanthin, corn starch, artificial coloring, or olestra — none of which show up when you're freeze-drying tomatoes straight from your own backyard.

Plan Your Garden Around Winter Use

The highest-leverage move is planning what you plant around what you'll actually cook come fall and winter — freeze-drying a summer's worth of the vegetables and fruits you use most in your regular recipes means winter meals stay just as fresh and additive-free as they were in July. How to package freeze-dried food so it keeps for 25 years covers the storage side once your harvest is dried, and foods you can freeze dry has the fuller list beyond what a garden typically produces.

Don't have a freeze dryer yet? See the full lineup to find the size that fits your harvest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What garden vegetables freeze-dry well?
Potatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, corn, green beans, peas, summer and winter squashes, spinach, tomatoes, and eggplant all freeze-dry well.

What fruits can you freeze-dry from a home garden?
Apricots, peaches, nectarines, berries of all kinds, and plums all hold up well through freeze-drying.

How long does freeze-dried garden produce last?
Up to 25 years when it's packaged properly, far longer than most other home preservation methods.

Is homegrown freeze-dried produce different from store-bought freeze-dried food?
Yes — many commercial freeze-dried products contain additives like sodium nitrite, maltodextrin, or high-fructose corn syrup. Freeze-drying your own garden produce means you know exactly what's in it, with nothing added.