How to Freeze Soup

Arguably, the perfect dinner on a cold winter night is some homemade soup and a hunk of crusty bread. And, the best way to make homemade soup is in a very large pot or a crock pot. If you agree with both of these statements, but don’t like to eat the same thing all week long, then you need an easy yet practical way of freezing soup and a way to store it that doesn’t take up all your freezer space.

If you observe the following steps we’ve outlined on how to freeze soup, then you will also reap the added benefit of being able easily reheat that same soup at any given time on any chilly night.

freeze soup

How to Freeze Soup

Instructions to Freeze Soup – the Painless Way:

1) Cool the soup.
Be sure that you safely cool your soup. A freezer can’t cool it safely or properly and will place stress on your freezer. But remember, foods should never be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Placing the pot on ice is a good way to cool it quickly, or place the pot outside if it’s cold.

2) Line a sturdy pitcher or bowl with a freezer safe bag so that the top of the bag can be rolled over the top edge of the pitcher.

how to freeze soup

3) Pour the soup carefully into the bag.
This step works best to keep from spilling the soup, but also keeps the top of the bag clean – especially important if you have a vacuum sealer where the edges of the bag need to be completely clean in order to seal properly.

how to freeze soup

4) Squeeze out the remaining air and seal the bag. Label the bag with the type of soup and the date.

5) Place the bag into the freezer flat on its side.
When you go to freeze the leftovers from your next pot of soup, just repeat these directions and then place the bag flat underneath this one (that way you’ve got a FIFO (first in, first out) soup inventory. This stacking method saves a lot of freezer space. It also saves cracked containers as most plastic containers will crack when frozen if bumped by something else frozen.

how to freeze soup

How to Freeze Soup

Additional Info

Items to Avoid in your Soups for the Best Frozen/Reheated Soup.

These items can be safely frozen… but the reheated results are somewhat less than desirable.

  • 1) Creams and milks tend to separate and develop a grainy texture when frozen.
  • 2) Eggs don’t freeze well either, they will turn grainy.
  • 3) Pasta tends to become mushy after being in frozen soup.
  • 4) Fresh herbs will loose their green color and texture in frozen soup.
  • 5) Any items that are added in the last few minutes of a soup recipe tend to be more delicate and will most likely loose their structure in the freezing process.
  • How to Reheat Frozen Soup

    When you’ve frozen soup in this manner, reheating the soup is just as easy. Remove the top bag from the stack and then either:

  • 1) Place it into the refrigerator to thaw for 1-2 days. Empty the bag and heat normally as desired. OR
  • 2) Place the bag into a bowl or pan of warm water to thaw quickly and then empty the contents and heat as normal. OR
  • 3) Open the bag and place the contents into a pan on very low heat to use shortly.
  • Note: If you’ve used a vacuum seal bag, those can usually be placed directly into boiling water (check your bag instructions to be sure).
  • To find out how long canned soup lasts, see our canned goods page.

    To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.

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