What types of soups freeze well?

[philipb]

Hello,

I'm a big fan of making soups, but I've had some hit and miss experiences with freezing them - soups that just defrost all chunky, a different texture, and just all in all not enjoyable for round 2. In general, what types of soups freeze well? Any recipe suggestions? Thanks!

 

[babetoo]

Hello,

I'm a big fan of making soups, but I've had some hit and miss experiences with freezing them - soups that just defrost all chunky, a different texture, and just all in all not enjoyable for round 2. In general, what types of soups freeze well? Any recipe suggestions? Thanks!

i have frozen chicken soup,french onion soup, beans and ham soup. they all were great when defrosted. i put them in lg. freezer bags. mostly to save space in freezer.

babe

 

[BubbaGourmet]

The only soups I DON'T freeze are those with cream or milk bases like chowders, biques, etc. I have had pretty good success.

 

[LadyCook61]

The only soups I DON'T freeze are those with cream or milk bases like chowders, biques, etc. I have had pretty good success.

ditto what BubbaGourmet said.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Let's try it from the other end ... what soups have you had problems with, philipb? I don't generally freeze cream/milk based soups - but I've never had a problem with anything else. I can't imagine a soup that would "defrost all chunky" that wasn't chunky to begin with - and change in texture has a lot of possibilities ...

 

[Bilby]

I had problems with a prawn bisque (cream) but never a problem with my potato and leek (again cream). Otherwise, freezing soups hasn't been a problem.

And welcome to DC!

 

[philipb]

I guess I had never been told the rule that milk/cream-based soups don't freeze well; a couple potatoe-y, creamy soups were casualties. Also, the soups that I tried to freeze that came back with very different (almost sludgey, not very appealing) textures were all soups with rice or barley. So, I'm guessing that those don't freeze to well either. What about bean soups? Chilis? Or lentils?

 

[GotGarlic]

Bean soups and chilis freeze great. I've never made lentil soup, so can't comment on that one. HTH.

 

[Callisto in NC]

Turkey soup freezes really well, so does chicken. I would think anything that isn't cream based would freeze well.

 

[auntdot]

Have not tried freezing cream/milk based soups but they are so good they don't last long enough to freeze.

The ones I find not to freeze exceptionally well, although they do OK, are those with diced potato or pasta. The tater chunks seem to fall apart as does the pasta.

When I freeze pasta dishes like baked ziti it comes out pretty good when thawed, but the pasta does lose some integrity. As does stews with potatoes.

Maybe it is just me, and the stuff is not bad. But it does not come out of the freezer with quite the quality it went in with.

 

[CharlieD]

i have frozen ...,french onion soup,...

Before I red the responses above I was going to say that onion soup doesn’t freeze well. Go figure.

 

[Michael in FtW]

You've had the pleasure of trying all the wrong things, philipb!

Cream/milk based soups are prone to seperating/breaking like cream/milk based sauces when frozen. Sometimes you can save a frozen cream/milk soup by allowing it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then heating gently in a double-boiler - and stir it almost constantly. Sometimes this will keep it from breaking.

Potatoes and rice share a common problem - starch - which will turn to mush when frozen after being cooked. The problem with barley is probably also related to it's high carb content (about 73%). And, as auntdot pointed out - pasta also suffers, especially in soups and stews.

One thing you can do is make your soup "base" - everything but the potatoes, rice, pasta, barley - and remove the portion you're going to freeze, then finish the portion of the soup you're going to eat. Then, when you thaw and reheat the frozen soup base - add your starch and finish cooking.

Somthing else that may work when you're using something like diced potatoes or rice in a soup - use a waxy potato or waxy rice. This is a trick the commercial soup canner guys use.

Beans and lentils hold up well, but if over-cooked will turn to porridge (like split pea soup) - chili is no problem at all.

 

[Callisto in NC]

My turkey soup has barley and I've never had a problem freezing it.

 

[archiduc]

Hi Philipb,
Any vegetable puree soup should freeze well although you might need to use a stick blender when the soup reaches simmering point to ensure that all the ingredients incorporate together again.

If you are looking to make a soup which contains cream in the basic recipe, I would advise that you make up the soup to the point at which the cream should be added. Freeze the soup without the cream. Defrost and bring back to simmering point, use a stick blender to mix ingredients and then add the cream. In other words, freeze the soup without the cream and add cream only when reheating and after giving the soup a blast with a stick blender!

When it comes to soups containing rice or pasta, I would suggest cooking the soup to the point at which the rice or pasta is to be added. Freeze at this point. Defrost and then add the rice/pasta and cook and serve.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc

 

[Rob Babcock]

Soups thickened with modified food starch or cornstarch will generally break when frozen. Roux-bound soups usually will not. There are some other quirky rules, but consider trying this: bring your soup to a high simmer/ low boil and re-thicken them with some cornstarch or arrowroot slurry.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Another vote here for freezing any type of soup except for those that have dairy in them (aka milk, cream, cheese).

As Archiduc said, if you're going to make a soup with dairy ingredients & think you're going to want to freeze some, make the soup up until the point where you'd add the dairy product(s) & then just add the dairy to the part you're going to consume right away & freeze the non-dairy-added "base". Then when you want to enjoy the rest of the soup, just thaw/reheat the frozen "base" & add the dairy then & there.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Oh, & I also have to vote that "French Onion Soup" is a terrific one for freezing. It's one of our favorites & I make it frequently (using Julia Child's wonderful recipe) in large batches that I always end up freezing several quarts of. I defrost it right in the pot & it seems to taste even richer the 2nd time around. Naturally it isn't frozen with the crouton & cheese topping - lol!!!

 

[auntdot]

Off topic, apologize, but I always use Julia's French onion soup, entirely agree with Breezy. It there is a better recipe for the stuff I haven't found it.

 

[PanchoHambre]

Potatoes and rice share a common problem - starch - which will turn to mush when frozen after being cooked. The problem with barley is probably also related to it's high carb content (about 73%). And, as auntdot pointed out - pasta also suffers, especially in soups and stews.

One thing you can do is make your soup "base" - everything but the potatoes, rice, pasta, barley - and remove the portion you're going to freeze, then finish the portion of the soup you're going to eat. Then, when you thaw and reheat the frozen soup base - add your starch and finish cooking.

.

Sage advice!
The best thing to do for soups that take pasta or starches is to freeze without and add pasta/starch when you defrost otherwise you end up with nasty muck

 

[Steamboater]

I just make a batch of vegetable soup, sans potatos (I use diced turnips instead), with cabbage and an assortment of veggies and freeze it. Never had a problem. If you do freeze soup and after defrosting it comes out too thick etc, just add some water when cooking and additional herbs etc to keep the flavor up. I always let the soup sit for a day in the fridge first though before freezing so the flavor intensifies. If you freeze immediately after cooking, you lose that.