Having a ready source of home-made soups – especially as the temperatures drop – would be lovely but few of us have time for that. So, one answer, is to make some big batches on a free weekend day when there’s a good movie on NetFlix. Or when you’re cleaning out the fridge anyway. Then freeze it in individual portions or family-size batches.
There are a few safety guidelines to consider as you move through the process:
Strategies Pasta and grains do not freeze well, so consider choosing other soups for freezing or add your cooked pasta or cooked grains when you reheat. Dairy products also don’t respond well to freezing and reheating. And vegetables should be a bit undercooked so that they finish cooking during the reheating process
Choose Storage Containers Decide what you are going to store your soup in and how you will be using it. Will you want one portion, two portion or four portion sizes? Or more? Or mix it up – some individuals and some family-size. Then decide what containers you will use. Options are plastic containers with tight fitting lids in multiple sizes, freezer bags (quart or gallon size) or muffins tins for smaller portions. There are also new “souper cubes” silicon covered storage containers designed just for this purpose.
Chill the soup completely – and quickly – before freezing. One method is to lower your soup pot into a sink filled with ice water – just fill it up and dump in a tray of ice. The stir the soup periodically until it is at room temperature.
Fill the storage containers If you are using plastic freezer bags, pre-label with a Sharpie with the soup name and date. Consider putting the larger bags in a bowl and folding the edges back over the bowl to care an easy filling. Another option is to use a tall sturdy box, like a cereal box, about the same size as a gallon bag, and fold the tops over that. The zip it closed while still in the box. Be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. You will end up with flat packages that are easy to store. If you are using plastic containers, then the process is easier, but they still need to be labeled. And muffin tins or souper cubes require two steps – first freeze them and then pop them out and put them in a larger pre-labeled freezer bag. But no matter what method you use, be sure to leave about an inch of room at the top for expansion as it freezes.
Reheating Thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator so it’s ready to go into a pot or the microwave the next day. Be sure to remove the soup from the plastic bags or containers and never microwave in plastic!!