Can you freeze homemade soup

Turn your big batch of soup into convenient grab-and-go meals by freezing it in individual servings. Quart-size freezer bags or 4-cup freezer-safe plastic or glass containers will accommodate a single serving while giving the soup room to expand as it freezes, plus when frozen flat they stack easily. You'll have the perfect amount when you want just one meal—ideal for portion control.

Pasta and grains that are in a soup will soak up liquid and soften a bit as they freeze. If you like them al dente, cook and freeze pasta and grains separately from the soup and before serving add more broth as needed.

Dairy tends to separate and become grainy when frozen and reheated. Leave it out of the soup but write on the bag how much to add after reheating so you don't have to root around for the recipe later on.

Cook your vegetables until they're just tender and still a bit crisp. They'll be perfect for your bowl for dinner but they'll also stay firm when frozen and reheated.

Food can disappear into a freezer like it's in the Bermuda Triangle. To minimize the mystery, label soups with the recipe name, the date it was made and reheating and garnishing instructions so you remember where you left off.

Leave garnishes, such as chopped fresh herbs or nuts, off before freezing. When frozen, herbs lose their savory oomph and nuts lose their crunch. Garden-Fresh Asparagus Soup. This lemony asparagus soup is spiced with a touch of curry and gets added richness from "lite" coconut milk and creamy red potatoes. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission. Save Pin FB More. Capitol Hill Bean Soup. Credit: Greg DuPree. Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Noodles or rice. Tuscan White Bean and Lentil Soup.

Credit: Jennifer Causey. Choose the right container. When it comes to freezing soup, there are plenty of options. We recommend gallon-sized bags —they hold a lot of liquid and can lie flat, conserving freezer space. Try freezing these soups before adding in the dairy, and when it comes time to reheat, you can mix it in on the stovetop. Additionally, soups that use almond milk or coconut milk, like this Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup , have a better chance of holding up in the freezer—but add the non-dairy milks in later if possible for the best texture.

You would think a veggie-packed soup, like Summer Minestrone Soup , would be exactly what you need to pop in the freezer for a last-minute meal. But freezing a veg-heavy soup is risking totally overcooking your vegetables when reheating. This will lead to mushy, stringy, and sometimes overly grainy vegetables.

Try to undercook the vegetables before freezing them if possible. These recipes freeze and reheat well.

But we would recommend skipping anything with chunks of potatoes, or even blended white potato soups, like White Cheddar Chive Potato Soup. Thawing and reheating chunks of potatoes leaves them with a bizarre, mushy texture, and creamy potato soups tend to become gummy and unappetizing when reheated.