How to Store Dill: Fridge, Freezer and Drying

Bought a bunch of dill for one recipe? Plan to use the rest soon. The leaves wilt if they dry out and rot if they sit wet, and Purdue Extension gives fresh dill about two days in the fridge.¹ If you need it to last, freeze it: chopped, whole or in ice cubes, straight into the pot. Drying is the weaker option, since it strips out most of what makes dill smell like dill.²

At a glance

Goal	Method	What sources say
Use within days	Fridge, wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel in a bag, or stems in water	Purdue Extension: about two days either way¹
Keep for weeks or months	Freeze, whole or chopped, or in ice cubes	Penn State and Purdue both name dill as a herb that freezes well¹³
Keep a jar of dried dill	Dry at low heat, store airtight, cool and dark	Oregon State: use within six months to a year⁴
Dill seed	Airtight glass jar, cool and dark	Purdue: up to six months¹

Storing fresh dill in the fridge

The method. America’s Test Kitchen groups dill with the delicate herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, chives, tarragon). These take in and give off a lot of water, so they have to stay moist or they wilt, but their leaves shouldn’t touch liquid, “which encourages rot.” ATK’s standard method for delicate herbs: wrap them in slightly damp paper towels, put them in an open zipper-lock bag and refrigerate.⁵ Purdue Extension gives two options for dill: a damp paper towel inside a plastic bag, or the stems standing in a glass of water like cut flowers.¹

How long. Purdue says dill kept either way “will only last about two days.”¹ You’ll see longer times quoted, like a week or more wrapped in towels, or two weeks in a jar of water you change regularly. We couldn’t find a named source for either, and Purdue’s number is much shorter. Count anything past a few days as a bonus, and check for yellowing or slimy fronds.

Washing. You’ll hear that you should never wash dill before storing it. None of our sources says that. What ATK does say is that if you rinse delicate herbs, dry them well, for example by spinning them in a salad spinner lined with paper towels.⁵ The worry in both ATK passages is water left sitting on the leaves.

Freezing dill

Freezing is the best way to keep dill for more than a few days. Penn State Extension lists dill among the herbs that freeze well, along with parsley, basil, chives, lemon balm, mint and tarragon, and Purdue says you can freeze dill chopped or whole in a freezer-proof container.¹

Loose leaves. Penn State’s method: strip the leaves off the stems, spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them, then pack them up. Freezing them spread out first keeps them from setting into one lump, so you can take out just what you need.

Ice cubes. Purdue, Penn State and PROSEA all describe freezing dill in ice cube trays with water. Penn State’s version: fill a tray half full of water, push about a tablespoon of herbs into each section, freeze, then move the cubes to a labeled, dated freezer bag.³

In oil. Penn State also freezes chopped herbs mixed with oil, about ⅓ to ½ cup of oil to 2 cups of herbs, in ice cube trays, small jars or a flat layer in a zipper-lock bag. This one comes with a safety rule: add oil only if the herbs are going in the freezer, and never keep herbs in oil at room temperature.³ Nummer and colleagues, reviewing home-prepared vegetables and herbs in oil, note that these mixtures give botulinum toxin the conditions it needs, and they call freezing the safest option.⁶

Using frozen dill. You can use frozen herbs in the same amounts as fresh, Penn State says, but they go limp when thawed, so they’re better in cooked dishes than as a garnish. Add them to the pot still frozen.³

How long frozen dill keeps. “Up to a year” gets repeated a lot. Neither Penn State nor Purdue gives a time limit, and we found no source for one.

Drying dill

Drying works, but it costs dill most of its aroma. A 1985 Finnish study found that drying slashed dill’s main aroma compounds, and even freeze-dried dill held only about a quarter of the aroma compounds of fresh.² So if you have the freezer space, freezing is the better bet for flavor. More on the difference in fresh vs. dried dill.

If you do dry it, here’s Oregon State University Extension’s guidance for herbs:

Dehydrator. Preheat to 95–115°F. In humid areas you may need up to 125°F.⁴ Higher temperatures cost you flavor.
Air drying. Tie herbs in small bunches, because big ones mold, and hang them inside a paper bag with vent holes cut in the top and sides, somewhere the air moves. Laid on paper towels on a tray, herbs usually take 5–10 days to air-dry.⁴
Not in the sun. Sun drying hurts the herb’s color and flavor.
Done when the herbs crumble easily between your fingers and the stems are brittle.

Penn State lists oven drying and microwave drying as options without giving temperatures.⁷ We found no extension temperature for oven-drying dill, so we’ve left the oven out.

Storing dried dill and dill seed

Keep dried herbs and seeds in airtight containers somewhere cool, dry and dark, not near the stove, sink or a windowsill. Leave the leaves whole until you use them. Whole herbs hold their oil longer, Penn State says,⁷ and crushing or grinding herbs and seeds for storage means more lost aroma and flavor, according to Oregon State.⁴

Source	What it covers	Figure
Oregon State Extension⁴	Home-dried herbs in general	Use within 6 months to 1 year for best flavor
Penn State Extension⁷	Dried herbs in general	Most keep well for 1 year
Purdue Extension¹	Dill seed, in an airtight glass container, cool and dark	Up to 6 months

None of these is a measured shelf life for dill, and they’re quality windows, not safety dates. Penn State also allows dried herbs in the fridge or freezer, in freezer jars or heavy-duty foil, but warns that taking them from the cold into a warm room can cause condensation that the herbs soak up.⁷

How to tell dill has faded

Start with good dill. The leaves should be green and feathery, so skip stems and leaves that are wilting or yellowing. Those same signs tell you stored dill is past its best. For dried dill, crumble a little and smell it. If the smell is faint, it won’t add much to the dish.

Not yet measured

Fridge life of fresh dill under each method, beyond Purdue’s two days.
How long frozen dill keeps its aroma.
A tested oven-drying method for dill.
Shelf life of dried dill weed measured on dill.

FoodLink: Dill, Purdue University Extension. extension.purdue.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
Huopalahti, Kesälahti and Linko, Journal of Agricultural Science in Finland, 1985. journal.fi · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩²
Freezing Herbs, Penn State Extension. extension.psu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Drying Herbs, Oregon State University Extension Service. extension.oregonstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Our Guide to Fresh Herbs, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩²
Nummer et al., Food Protection Trends, 2011. foodprotection.org · Peer-reviewed ↩
Preserving Herbs by Drying, Penn State Extension. extension.psu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

Also drawn on

Anethum graveolens (PROSEA), Nguyen Thi Tâm, C.C. de Guzman & P.C.M. Jansen, Plant Resources of South-East Asia, via Pl@ntUse. uses.plantnet-project.org

How to Store Dill: Fridge, Freezer and Drying, With What the Sources Say