Fresh herbs can imbue bold color and flavor to any dish. These culinary champions are divided into two categories: hard and tender. Hard herbs — like rosemary, thyme, and oregano — have thick, woody stems and are generally pretty resilient. Tender green herbs — like cilantro and parsley — have soft stems and leaves. Because of this they tend to be delicate and temperamental once harvested, and require an equally delicate approach to storage to maximize their shelf life. 

Cilantro can last a couple of weeks when stored correctly in the fridge. When frozen, it can be good for several months. But you can’t just go tossing cilantro willy-nilly in the refrigerator and hope for the best — there are rules. If you break them, your cilantro will quickly go from delightfully verdant and crisp to limp, yellow-brown, and mushy. Read on for everything you need to know to store it properly and extend its shelf life. 

How to store cilantro in the fridge

There’s a reason why florists keep flowers in water and store them in the refrigerator: This is the best way to keep plants alive once they’ve been harvested. The sooner you start thinking of herbs like flowers, the sooner you’ll find your herbs staying fresher longer. 

So, what’s the first thing you do when you bring a bouquet of flowers home? You cut them out of their plastic and remove the rubber band they’re wrapped in. You should do the same thing with cilantro. According to Andrew McGregor, Senior Director of Produce at Misfits, leaving the rubber band or twist tie that comes with a bunch of cilantro on the herb can block the capillary action in the cilantro stems, which limits the ability of water to flow up to the cilantro leaves. Removing the band will extend the cilantro’s shelf life by allowing the cilantro to preserve moisture.

The next thing you do with flowers is trim the ends and put them in a vase of water. When it comes to cilantro, you can skip the vase, but trimming the ends and putting them in a glass or jar of water should be your next step. This is where the flower analogy ends. 

According to McGregor, loosely fitting a plastic bag over the cilantro to cover the leaves will help lock in moisture — a necessary step before putting it in the refrigerator. Following these steps can extend your cilantro's freshness and shelf life by a week or two.

If you don’t have the space in your fridge for a cilantro bouquet, there’s another option for storage that will keep cilantro fresher than just plopping it into the crisper drawer. Wrap your cilantro in a damp cloth or paper towel and then transfer it into an airtight container or zipper-lock bag. This will help extend its shelf-life by a week or two after you bring it home. Just make sure the wrapping is damp, not wet. Wrapping it in a wet cloth will speed up the wilting process and leave you with soggy, slimy cilantro. 

This method is also an option for chopped cilantro. Yep, you read that right. If you’ve found that you’ve chopped more cilantro than you can use, or if you just prefer to get the chopping out of the way immediately when you’re home from the grocery store, you can wrap your chopped cilantro, leaves and stems, in a damp paper towel and then keep it all stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to a week. That way, your herbs will be ready to use at a moment's notice.

Whether you wash your cilantro right when you get home or just before you use it is up to you. Because it’s a tender herb, you’ll want to wash it gently to avoid bruising the leaves and stems. If you’ve got one, a salad spinner works well for cleaning cilantro. If you’re washing it immediately, just make sure to dry it out extremely well before storing, either with paper towels or by laying it out on a sheet tray and letting it air dry. Storing cilantro while it’s still wet will make it spoil more quickly. 

How to store cilantro in the freezer

If you really want it to go the distance, you can freeze cilantro to extend its shelf life. Although it may be slightly limp when thawed, it will maintain its color and flavor and can be used just as you would fresh cilantro. The FDA says that food will remain good indefinitely when frozen, though cilantro will decline in quality after about six months in the freezer. 

There are two methods for freezing cilantro. Whatever you choose, be sure to thoroughly wash and dry before beginning (drying cilantro is easy enough with paper towels, or, again, you can pop it in a salad spinner). If you want cilantro to remain mostly intact, you can spread washed and dried cilantro on a baking sheet in a single layer — stem by stem — and then put the sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, wrap the cilantro in a dry paper towel and then store it in the freezer in a freezer bag. 

Alternatively, you can pulse cilantro in a food processor with some cold water or olive oil and pour the mixture into an ice cube tray. Once frozen, you can leave it as is or transfer the cubes to a freezer-safe container and store them there until you’re ready to use them. This option is great if you use cilantro in soups, stir-fries, or other preparations where a little extra water or oil doesn't make much difference.

What to do with spoiled cilantro

With Mill, you can give your spoiled cilantro a second life. The Mill food recycler will dry and grind scraps and leftovers, turning them into food grounds that can be used in compost or for chicken feed, two of the best uses for recycled food.

Sources:

1. FreshFarm: “Herbs.”  https://www.freshfarm.org/produce101/herbs

2. U.S. Food & Drug Administration: “Are You Storing Food Safely?” January 18, 2023. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely

3. Penn State Extension: “Freezing Herbs.” July 28, 2022. https://extension.psu.edu/freezing-herbs