How to Freeze Soup: What to Leave Out and How to Reheat It

How to freeze soup, by the freezer notes of 11 Savour soups: cool it quickly, pack it in portions with room at the top for it to expand, and freeze it for up to 3 months, the limit all 11 notes give. What changes is what goes into the container: 5 freeze whole, 5 freeze without their noodles, dairy, cheese or toppings, and wonton soup freezes its uncooked wontons and broth separately.

Reheat frozen soup until it is steaming and reaches 74°C (165°F), the temperature government food safety guidance gives for reheated leftovers. This guide sets each recipe's freezer, fridge, thaw and reheat notes side by side, lists what to hold back and add fresh, and adds the cooling and packing steps from official food safety pages.

Which soups freeze well?

All 11 freeze for up to 3 months; the notes differ on what goes in the container. The table groups them: frozen whole, without an add-in, or in two parts.

Broth, vegetables, meat, lentils and blended squash go into the freezer; noodles, dairy, cheese and anything meant to stay crisp are added on the day you serve, with harira's vermicelli the one exception. Potatoes alone do not keep a soup out of the freezer: hamburger soup and turkey soup freeze with their potatoes in, and their notes only say the potatoes soften.

• 

  Easy Dinners

  Creamy Tomato Soup

  45 minsAbout 2 litres
• 

  Lasagna • Easy Dinners

  Lasagna Soup

  45 mins6 servings
• 

  Easy Dinners • Healthy

  Leftover Turkey Vegetable Soup

  45 mins6 servings
• 

  Chinese

  Wonton Soup

  45 mins32 wontons
• 

  Ground Beef • Healthy

  Hamburger Soup

  55 mins6 servings
• 

  Korean

  Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew with Pork and Tofu)

  55 mins4 servings

How long does soup last in the freezer?

Up to 3 months, in every freezer note here: the whole soups, the bases frozen without their add-ins, the wonton broth and the uncooked wontons. None gives a longer time. Government guidance on freezing food says to label what you freeze, so write the date on each container.

The fridge times are where the recipes differ:

• Up to 5 days: Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup and Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup.
• Up to 4 days: Hamburger Soup, Leftover Turkey Vegetable Soup, Harira, Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Lasagna Soup (soup and cheese topping in separate containers), Chicken Tortilla Soup (tortilla strips kept apart at room temperature for up to 3 days), French Onion Soup (without the bread or cheese) and Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup (toppings stored separately).
• Up to 2 days: Wonton Soup broth and cooked wontons, in separate containers. Uncooked wontons keep, covered, for up to 1 day.

Six of the notes (hamburger, lasagna, chicken tortilla, chicken noodle, harira and loaded baked potato) also say to refrigerate the soup within 2 hours. Soups, chilis and casseroles made for the freezer are gathered in Savour's freezer meals collection, and our freezer meal plan cooks 5 of its dinners in one session.

Can you freeze soup with noodles or pasta?

Not in the soup, by the notes for both noodle soups. Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup freezes without the noodles for up to 3 months, and its FAQ says egg noodles turn soft and break apart after freezing. Freeze the broth, vegetables and chicken, thaw the soup overnight in the fridge, then cook fresh noodles as you reheat it. Step 4 of the recipe brings the soup back to a boil and cooks wide egg noodles for 6 to 8 minutes, or according to the package.

Lasagna Soup freezes the same way, without the cheese as well. Its FAQ says to bring the frozen tomato and sausage soup to a boil when you reheat it and cook fresh noodles in it. Step 4 cooks the broken lasagna noodles at a steady boil for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often so they do not stick together or to the pot.

Noodles keep absorbing broth even in the fridge, so both recipes' tips say to cook the noodles separately when you plan on leftovers and add them to each bowl. The FAQs for Leftover Turkey Vegetable Soup and Hamburger Soup give the same advice for noodles or small pasta added to those soups.

Harira is the one soup here that freezes with its pasta in. The vermicelli goes into the pot in step 3, and the note freezes the whole soup for up to 3 months, saying only that the vermicelli softens a little after freezing.

Chicken • Healthy

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 hr 10 mins6 servings

Can you freeze soup with potatoes, cream or cheese?

Potatoes, yes; milk, sour cream and cheese, better added later. Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup shows the difference. Its freezer note says potato soup made with dairy can turn grainy once frozen, so for the best texture freeze it before adding the milk, sour cream and cheese, for up to 3 months, then stir them in as it reheats. The recipe adds the dairy in step 4, so the portion for the freezer comes out of the pot before the milk, sour cream and cheese go in.

The recipe's own tips for adding the dairy: warm the milk and let the sour cream come to room temperature so they blend in smoothly instead of curdling, and shred the cheese yourself, because pre-shredded cheese is coated with an anti-caking starch that can make the soup grainy.

A university extension guide to freezing soup says the same of dairy in general: soups with dairy may curdle and separate, so stir them while reheating. For a cream soup, it suggests heating it over boiling water, double-boiler style.

Cheese is held back in three more soups. Lasagna Soup freezes without its ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella topping. French Onion Soup freezes only the base, with fresh toasts and cheese added when you serve it. Chicken Tortilla Soup freezes without its tortilla strips and toppings: avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream and lime wedges.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup is blended with coconut milk in step 3, and its note still freezes the whole soup for up to 3 months, with room left in the container to expand. Its FAQ says to whisk it well when reheating.

Slow Cooker • American

Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

6 hrs 35 mins8 servings

How to freeze soup, step by step

1. Stop before the add-ins. Cook each soup only as far as its note freezes it (the table above shows where), and keep the noodles, dairy, cheese, toasts and crisp toppings for serving day.
2. Cool it quickly. Government guidance says to cool warm dishes before they go into the freezer, to put cooked food in the fridge within 1 to 2 hours, and to divide food into smaller portions in containers or freezer bags so it cools faster. The university extension guide suggests standing the pot in a sink or pan of ice water, and warns not to put hot glass in the freezer or in ice water, since it may break.
3. Pack it in portions. The Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup note freezes in portions, and government guidance says individual portions let you defrost only what you need.
4. Leave room at the top. The Hamburger Soup and Butternut Squash Soup notes both say to leave room in the container. The extension guide gives at least 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) of headspace for mostly solid soups and 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) for mostly liquid ones.
5. Freeze wontons on a tray first. For Wonton Soup, set the uncooked wontons in a single layer on the cornstarch-dusted tray, freeze them until hard, then bag them. The broth goes in its own container. Both keep for up to 3 months.
6. Label and date it. Write the soup's name and the day you froze it, so you can use it within the 3 months its note gives.

Chinese

Wonton Soup

45 mins32 wontons

How to thaw and reheat frozen soup

Thaw it in the fridge overnight. That is how 5 freezer notes thaw (chicken noodle, chicken tortilla, French onion, harira and red lentil soup), and the FAQs for hamburger, turkey and butternut squash soup say the same. Government guidance on defrosting says to thaw food in the fridge so it does not get too warm, in a container big enough to catch drips, to check that the middle is fully thawed, and to use the food within 24 hours of it fully defrosting. It also allows a microwave's defrost setting directly before cooking. The extension guide on soup goes further and recommends reheating it straight from the freezer instead of thawing it first.

Then reheat each soup the way its note says:

Government food safety guidance says to reheat leftovers to 74°C (165°F), checked with a digital food thermometer, and to throw away leftovers that were reheated but not eaten, so heat only the portions you will serve. Six of the notes name that temperature; the rest reheat the soup until steaming hot or back to a simmer.

Of the three slow cooker soups here, only the loaded baked potato note says not to reheat leftovers in the slow cooker; the butternut squash and red lentil notes reheat on the stove as well. Our guide to slow cooker low vs high finds the same note in 4 more slow cooker recipes. Several of these soups also thicken as they sit, and the Hamburger Soup, Harira and Red Lentil Soup tips all say to thin leftovers with a little broth or water when reheating.

What to add after reheating

• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: fresh wide egg noodles, cooked in the boiling soup for 6 to 8 minutes (step 4), then the parsley and lemon juice (step 5).
• Lasagna Soup: broken lasagna noodles, cooked for 10 to 12 minutes at a steady boil, then the spinach (step 4), with the ricotta mixture, mozzarella and torn basil on each bowl (step 5).
• Chicken Tortilla Soup: tortilla strips baked at 200°C (400°F) for 8 to 12 minutes, stirring halfway (step 1), with avocado, cheese, sour cream and lime wedges. Its tip says to add the strips at the table, because they soften within minutes in hot broth.
• French Onion Soup: baguette slices toasted at 200°C (400°F) for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, then floated on the hot soup with Gruyère and broiled for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbling and browned in spots (steps 5 and 6).
• Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup: the warm milk, sour cream and cheddar stirred in as it reheats, then crumbled bacon, cheddar, sour cream and green onion on top. The bacon fries over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes (step 3).
• Wonton Soup: bok choy blanched for 1 to 2 minutes (step 4), sliced green onions and, if you like, chili oil.

Common mistakes when freezing soup

• Freezing the noodles in the broth. Egg noodles turn soft and break apart after freezing, the chicken noodle FAQ says; cook fresh ones.
• Freezing potato soup after the dairy goes in. It can turn grainy; freeze it before the milk, sour cream and cheese.
• Filling the container to the top. Two notes say to leave room at the top.
• Thawing on the counter. Government guidance says to defrost food in the fridge so it does not get too warm.
• Reheating potato soup in the slow cooker. Its note says to use a pot over medium-low heat instead, to 74°C (165°F).

Not every soup in Savour's soup collection has a freezer note, so check the storage section of any other soup before freezing it. The leftovers table in the 30-minute dinner meal plan sets the same fridge, freezer and reheat notes side by side for five weeknight dinners.

Browse every Savour soup recipe