Fresh Herb & Olive Oil Frozen Into A Cube – ‘HERB-BOMBS’

by Texas Homesteader ~ 
*affiliate link

I like to use fresh herbs from my garden as often as I can. I’d heard of freezing a mixture of herbs with olive oil into a cube. Herb bombs!

Even though the terrible weather & grasshopper damage has all but ruined my chances of harvesting anything, there has been a ray of sunshine in my gardening endeavors this year. My edible landscape! 

I’ve had many herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage and basil survive the weather and the grasshoppers. 

I’d heard before about making ‘Flavor Bombs’ from various herbs and olive oil, so I figured I’d give it a try. Turns out I really like them!

'HERB BOMBS' made from minced herbs and olive oil makes it easy to have your own convenient flavoring right in your own freezer! #TexasHomesteader

 

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Now given the fact that I won’t be harvesting & enjoying anything from my veggie garden soon because of the grasshopper damage, I’m sure having a blast experimenting with ways to fully use these aromatic herbs. 

It’s easy to make these Herb Bombs and have them in the freezer to be used whenever needed.

Harvesting Fresh Herbs

Here’s what I did: Early in the morning when the dew had just dried from the herbs I went outside to my front porch and gathered several stems of different herbs.

I harvested a few sprigs of rosemary, a small fistful of thyme, a stem of basil and a small stem of sage. Then I brought them inside, washed them and got to chopping.

'HERB BOMBS' made from minced herbs and olive oil makes it easy to have your own convenient flavoring right in your own freezer! #TexasHomesteader

Mincing Herbs

I minced the herbs as finely as I could. And I pulled out two cloves of garlic and minced them as well. Yes, I could have just pressed them with the garlic press but I figured that minced would offer the perfect texture I was looking for. 

Then I mixed all my minced herbs and garlic into a bowl and poured some extra virgin olive oil on top, stirring to mix everything together completely.

 

(deep breath) Oh my goodness that smells divine! And my mind is racing with all the things I might be able to flavor with it. 

My first thought is to use these Herb Bombs to flavor my brown rice since I typically sauté the rice for just a few minutes in oil to intensify the rice flavor. Or maybe to add simple fresh flavor when I sauté those fresh garden veggies.

But I’m sure there are many things these convenient flavored cubes would be great for!

Freezing The Herb Bombs

'HERB BOMBS' made from minced herbs and olive oil makes it easy to have your own convenient flavoring right in your own freezer! #TexasHomesteader

After I get everything mixed together I pulled out my ice cube tray. Those flimsy things you buy at the dollar store have always frustrated me.

So I have these heavy duty  *ice cube trays with covers. Turns out they work PERFECTLY for this!  

I drop about a tablespoon of my herb mixture into each ice cube section. The amount of herbs I’d minced made 8 cubes. I topped off the cubes that weren’t completely covered in olive oil. Then it was time to get these babies in the freezer.

Sealing The Aroma

Now even though I have a heavy-duty covered ice cube tray, these herbs are certainly aromatic! I don’t want to take the chance that they will flavor other items in our freezer such as ice cream and such.

Covered ice cube tray to freeze herb bombs. 'HERB BOMBS' made from minced herbs and olive oil makes it easy to have your own convenient flavoring right in your own freezer! #TexasHomesteader

So after I snapped the lid on the tray I then slipped a repurposed bread bag over the whole shebangie. A twist tie was used to close it up securely. Now all that’s left to do is wait for them to freeze.

When they were frozen solidly I brought them out of the freezer. A small condiment spoon was used to gently pry the Herb-Bombs from the ice cube trays and they came out easily. 

Since the olive oil begins melting even with just the warmth of my skin I quickly placed the Flavor Bombs in a small zippered bag. A quick label & I returned them to the freezer.

'HERB BOMBS' made from minced herbs and olive oil makes it easy to have your own convenient flavoring right in your own freezer! #TexasHomesteader

The beauty of these Herb-Bombs is that you can adjust them to suit your taste. Want crushed red pepper in them? Add it! Want parsley in them? Add it! 

Whatever herbs you enjoy cooking with can be used with these Herb-Bombs. And since they’re ready & waiting right there in your own freezer, you have a healthy yet convenient flavor-aid right at your fingertips!

Here’s how I made my Flavor Bombs:

Fresh Herb & Olive Oil Herb-Bombs - makes about 8

Fresh herbs minced and frozen with olive oil in ice cube trays can be a quick flavor boost for rice or sautéed veggies.  See my tutorial for these easy-to-make HERB BOMBS! #TexasHomesteader

Course Seasoning
Cuisine American
Keyword flavoring, fresh herbs, olive oil
Prep Time 4 minutes
Freeze Time 1 day
Servings 8 Herb Bombs
Author www.TexasHomesteader.com

Ingredients

Minced Ingredients:

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Rosemary
  • 1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Sage
  • 1.5 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Thyme
  • 1.5 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Basil

Instructions

  1. Mince all herbs and mix together in a bowl. Mince or press 2 cloves of garlic and add to the bowl with the herbs. Pour enough olive oil to thoroughly coat and gently stir to incorporate all ingredients. Drop approximately 1 Tablespoon into each ice cube tray compartment. Press herbs down to compact contents and add a little additional olive oil if needed to cover herbs.

  2. Cover ice cube tray securely to keep aromas from flavoring other items in the freezer and place tray in freezer until completely frozen. When thoroughly frozen remove from ice trays by gently prying with a small spoon if necessary and quickly place Flavored Herb Bombs in a labeled freezer container for future use.

Recipe Notes

To use, place a herb bomb in a small container on the counter top until thawed and then stir into food to flavor.

For flavoring rice, drop herb-bomb in pan and use the oil it contains to sauté brown rice for about 3-4 minutes, then cook & serve rice as usual.

For flavoring simmering soups or broth, drop frozen herb-bomb directly into simmering recipes to flavor as the soup cooks.

~TxH~

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17 thoughts on “Fresh Herb & Olive Oil Frozen Into A Cube – ‘HERB-BOMBS’

  1. Helene

    I have herbs this summer that I’d love to have available fresh in the winter! What a great idea!

    Reply
  2. Anya

    What a neat little kitchen hack. So awesome to save those herbs that are past their prime.

    Reply
  3. Mary-the boondocks blog

    I can smell them all the way here! Absolutely delicious and absolutely a great idea to save your herbs. Thanks for joining us at Sweet Inspiration. I am pinning and sharing.

    Reply
  4. Karen Leggett

    These are AWESOME! How about a link to BPA free ice cube trays on Amazon?! I’ll order them off your site!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Wow Karen, that would be awesome – YOU ROCK! I’ve updated the link in my post to this BPA-Free version –> http://amzn.to/29LYvS3

      Another option might be these BPA-Free silicone trays. Although I had no trouble removing my Herb Bombs from my ice trays, it just seems like it would be easier to pop them out using silicone, whaddya think? These come in 2-pack –> http://amzn.to/29QMZFN

      Thanks girl for your support, it means more than you know! (MUAH!)

      Reply
  5. Amila @ Food Corner

    This is a great idea and I always find my herbs get spoiled in few days.I think by freezing like this,I can save the herbs for future weeks.I want to try this…

    Reply
  6. JES

    This is an excellent idea! Thank you for sharing this on the Art of Home-Making Mondays. I will be making some indeed! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Carol

    This is a wonderful way to preserve all the fresh herbs I still have. Thank-you for sharing this!

    Reply
  8. Giovannina Bellino

    That is so decent of you. I can’t thank you enough except to say that great minds think alike. As an avid gardener, I’ve been making Flavor Bombs for years, blogged about it years ago and now brought the concept to the marketplace. BTW, I was just in the great state of Texas, got to the fair and was at a convention meeting with buyers to get the product out West.
    Many thanks, going to sign up for your newsletters. Gio

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Girl, I totally understand! I’m working on changing everything in any post I’ve mentioned it in, both the titles and blog post text but also SEO stuff, etc. Glad you got to see Big Tex at the fair!! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Giovannina Bellino

    I am sorry to tell you that you can no longer use the name FLAVOR BOMBS. I have the trademark, the website and the product nationwide in stores so you are infringing on the name. Please use another term to describe your ice cube tray method. (By the way, that is how I developed the product, years in the making so I hope you can respect and appreciate the hard work and determination I have put in to make this a product now available in stores.
    Please confirm receipt of this comment. Thank you. Gio Bellino

    Reply
  10. lisa M

    These look amazing! I do this with fresh basil every year but never thought to put several herbs together. Great idea!

    Thanks for linking up with Green Thumb Thursday. I hope to see you back this week!

    Lisa

    Reply
  11. Roxy

    Hello, I have seen this before, but today it really hit home and I am going to make some for in my freezer for those long winter months! So sorry about your garden, we have had some years just like that ;o(
    Blessings, Roxy

    Reply
  12. Deborah

    I have seen these before and have been wanting to try them. I think I will give them a try. Thanks!!

    Reply
  13. Latane Barton

    Oh my gosh, I must try this. I can smell that wonderful aroma all the way through my computer screen!!

    Reply

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