Bought Too Much Basil? This Tip Will Save Your Fresh Herbs For Later

It's easy to go overboard when you're buying fresh basil at the grocery store or farmer's market. You catch a glimpse of those big, fragrant bunches piled next to the fresh tomatoes, and suddenly visions of tomato sauce start dancing in your head. Making a promise to yourself that you'll make some pesto and a Thai-style stir fry, you toss a bunch or two into the cart. When you get home, however, reality sets in and the clock starts ticking — you have to use up all of those lovely leaves before they turn black and slimy.

Depending on how fresh basil is stored, it can last for a few hours in the fridge or up to a few days on the countertop. There's only so much Caprese salad you can eat in a week, however. So if you can't use up all your fresh basil before it's past its prime, don't resign yourself to wasting what's left of the bunch. Wasting food is not only a bad habit financially, it's also a big problem for the environment — even if it's only a little bit of basil. 

The good news is that there's an easy way to save some of that fresh basil flavor that doesn't require any fancy equipment. All you'll need is an ice cube tray and your freezer.

If you've ever made a recipe that calls for fresh basil, you've probably noticed that most of the time, the recipe will use a lot less than the amount of leaves you'll get in a whole bunch. Even a basil-heavy recipe for Caprese skewers with pesto only requires 12 leaves for two servings. If you don't plan on making anything else with basil in the next few days, that's no reason to skip it. 

While the tender leaves don't last long in the fridge or freezer by themselves, all you need to do to save that fresh flavor is to chop up the leaves, mix them with water or olive oil (or some of each), and freeze them in ice cube trays.

Basil frozen in olive oil is perfect for making a quick weeknight tomato sauce or stir fry — just toss a cube or two into the pot when the recipe calls for adding fresh leaves. You don't have to be too fussy about how much basil is in each cube; you can measure with your heart, as it's hard to over-spice with fresh basil. Taste your cooking as you go; if one cube isn't enough, add another and then taste again.

If you freeze fresh basil in water, you can use it for cooking savory recipes just as you would with olive oil cubes. By using water for your freezing, however, you can also get in on the fancy ice trend and make special cubes (or spheres) for adding flavor and color to a cocktail. Flavored ice cubes are a great way to build complexity in a non-alcoholic cocktail. They're also perfect for loading up in a water bottle with a few lemon slices for an herbal refresher after a workout.

Basil ice can be as simple as freezing a single leaf in each cube, which will add flavor and garnish to a sweet and simple lemonade recipe. You can also experiment with freezing basil leaves with slices of lemon and lime, berries, ginger, and even cucumber slices to make interesting flavor combinations. 

If you want to be a little more creative, freeze basil in something already flavored, such as lemonade. When you make a fresh batch of lemonade, use the basil-y cubes to chill and garnish it and your drink won't get diluted. Or, use them to build an entirely new cocktail or mocktail with a splash of seltzer, simple syrup, and your favorite spirits.