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    Home | Food Tips

    How To Dry Chives

    Dated: May 26, 2019 Last Modified: October 5, 2021 by Sarah Mock 2 Comments. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links.

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    Learn how to dry chives easily. Simple step-by-step instructions from cutting chives in your garden to freezing chives to sun drying chives.

    I show you how to store your dried chives. You have options when saving chives for recipes. My gardening friends will want to also learn how to dry sage leaves.

    chives with purple flowers

    Use your dried chives in recipes such as my easy Mexican corn dip recipe, sous vide mah mahi,  pimento cheese corn spread, or this cobb dip recipe. Easy, delicious recipes to share with friends and family.

    How To Dry Chives

    Drying chives is a great way to save them and use them all year long. I show you two easy ways to preserve chives at home.

    The chives in my herb garden are ready to be cut. They have gone to flower and it is time to harvest them for drying.

    chives with purple flowers in the sun

    How to cut chives

    Be sure to cut your chives in the morning. They will be full of flavor and not parched after a day of summer sun.

    Cutting chives is super simple. All you need is a pair of scissors.

    If you have pruning sheers that is fine too but just a simple pair of scissors will do you just fine.

    cut chives in the ground

    Cutting Chives

    I leave about and inch of the bundle uncut. It is better for the plant. The plant as a whole, needs to have sunlight to grow and thrive. If there is nothing to absorb the sun then the plant is not able to process the sunlight. Make sense?

    chives in a basket

    I pull out any chive flowers, grass or dead and withered chives.

    Chive flowers are pretty but the stalk of the flower is too woody for me.

    fresh cut chives

    Preserving fresh chives

    Bring them inside, wash and dry your chives. Cut the chives as small as you can.I strive for less than a ¼ inch.

    cut chives in a white bowl

    This is how many chopped chives that bundle pictured in the basket turned out to be.

    chives ready for freezer

    Freezing chives

    • Spread the chives in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Be sure to use with either parchment paper or a Silpat sheet, like the one I have in this photo.
    • Pop the sheet in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until frozen.

    Frozen Chives

    Once the chives come out of the freezer you have to be quick!  If it is hot in your kitchen, like it is in mine, they are going to defrost quickly!

    chives in a mason jar

    Storing frozen chives

    This is where you will be glad you used either parchment paper or a Silpat on the cookie sheet.

    Carefully pick up your parchment or Silpat and fold it to create a funnel so you can pour the frozen chives into a freezer-safe container.

    You are all set! Because you froze them in a single layer they are frozen individually and should scoop out of the jar easily.

    sun dried chives

    Sun Drying Chives

    Spread your chopped chives on your Silpat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

    Set it outside in direct sunlight until dry. Every once and a while toss the chives to make sure they are drying evenly.

    chives drying in the sun

    How do you dry chives?

    Look at the difference at the volume once they are dried! These were dried in the sun for 6 hours when the temperature was 90 degrees.

    Drying time will depend on the moisture content of your chives, the volume of your chives, the heat and the humidity on the day you are drying them.

    drying chives outside

    Storing dried chives

    Once they are thoroughly dried use the Silpat or the parchment paper to funnel them into a dry container with a tight-fitting lid.

    You want to be SURE there is no more moisture in the chives. Moisture will just breed bacteria and mold that might be present.

    dried chives in a jar

    Chives freezing or drying?

    Do you see how much less space dried chives take up versus the frozen chives?

    I used approximately the same amount of chives on each tray and the dried chives barely fill a pint jar whereas the frozen chives halfway filled a quart jar. So basically drying your chives will shrink the volume by half.

    spices on the stove

    Store your dried chives in a cool dry place and they are ready to use! I store mine on the back of my stove.

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    how to dry chives

    Interested in more freezer posts?

    • How To Freeze Peaches
    • How To Freeze Pumpkin
    • Freezer Corn
    • How To Freeze Blueberries

    This post originally posted Jun 2, 2013

    « Homemade Blueberry Syrup Recipe
    KitchenAid Artisan Mixer Recipes to get you started in the kitchen »

    About Sarah Mock

    Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 13 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sarah Mock

      August 18, 2021 at 5:10 pm

      Susan,
      Thank you for sharing your success! I would LOVE to have an oven with a dehydrating feature. That would make light work of all the dehydrating I do.

      Cheers!

    2. Susan Hershey

      August 18, 2021 at 3:55 pm

      This method made it so easy to dry. I have an oven with a dehydrating feature. They turned out beautiful and still had a green color.

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    Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 13 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
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