Freezing and Storing Soups
For the most part, soup is an incredibly easy food to store and holds up super well in the freezer. This is important if you live alone and make super large batches of soup, like Grandma Dottie’s Bean Soup, and don’t want to eat the same thing every day for weeks.
BUT not all soups freeze well, and things can also go awry in the fridge. Here are a few tips to remember when storing soups.
Dairy-based soups
I recommend that you avoid freezing dairy-based soup—like chowders. The cream or milk often separates and the soup takes on a grainy texture when reheated. I once had a really unpleasant experience with a reheated broccoli and cheddar soup.
If you really want to freeze the leftovers of a chowder, make sure you reheat on a super low heat and avoid boiling. It also helps to stir frequently and give the broth a whisk to bring it back together.
Alternatively, you can hold the dairy before freezing. This is what I usually do. When making a big pot that I want to eat half of it now and freeze half of it for later, I follow the directions up until adding the dairy, and then I ladle out some of the soup to freeze. Then once I defrost and reheat, I will add the dairy and finish cooking.
Pasta soups
I love noodle soups. But noodles often don’t hold up well in the freezer and can turn to mush when reheated. Even if you’re just storing in the freezer, pasta has a tendency to continue cooking in the hot soup and absorb all the broth.
The first time I ever made chicken noodle soup, I cooked the pasta directly in the pot. The first serving was delicious. But then we put the leftovers in the fridge, took it out the next day, and there was no broth left. The noodles literally absorbed it all!
So if you’re planning to freeze pasta soup, hold the pasta and freeze the soup without it. Then when you’re reheating it, boil fresh pasta and add it directly to the rewarmed soup. For soup kept in the fridge, cook the pasta separately and store separately. You can add the pasta to the stored soup only once the soup has completely cooled to avoid the pasta overcooking in the hot broth.
