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The answer is YES, but before the soup goes into ziploc bags, we have come up with a really easy and convenient way to portion out individual servings of leftover soup. Soups are the ultimate in freezer meals and it is easy to make a large quantity and freeze until you’re ready to enjoy!
HOW TO FREEZE SOUP IN ZIPLOC BAGS
We don’t recommend pouring your soup directly into ziploc bags, particularly hot soup. There is a better way, and it honestly has changed our lives as far as meal planning goes! In this post, we will teach you the steps we follow in freezing homemade soup.
Prior to this, we’ve wasted so much soup because we were not able to eat it in time, so freezing is a great way to enjoy your homemade, delicious soup and not waste your hard work, money, and time.
Here is our favorite way to freeze and store soup.
1. MAKE YOUR SOUP
After you’ve made your big batch of soup, let it cool down to room temperature before you proceed. In this post, we’re going to demonstrate with our delicious lentil soup and also with our homemade chicken broth.
Make sure that your soup or broth is cooled down to room temperature (or colder than room temp is great if you have your soup in the refrigerator) before proceeding with the next step. This is also a great way to freeze and store homemade chili.
2. FREEZE MEASURED PORTIONS WITH SOUPER CUBES
Our freezing process starts with using Souper Cubes. If you’ve never used Souper Cubes, your life is about to change. Souper Cubes (link to Amazon) are food-grade silicone containers that you can use to freeze your soups and broths in perfectly measured out, individual portions of soup.
This way, you can defrost and warm up exactly what you need for your lunch or dinner. Souper Cubes will become your best friend and are truly a game changer for meal planning!
Souper Cubes come in different sizes depending on your needs: 2 cups, 1 cup, 1/2 cup, and even 2 tablespoon sizes. Choose which ever suits you, but we like the flexibility of having all the sizes.
- The 2 cup size trays have markings to fill to 1 cup or 2 cups, as well as markings for 250 mL and 500 mL.
- The 1 cup size trays have markings for 1/2 cup and 1 cup, as well as markings for 125 mL and 250 mL.
- The 1/2 cup size trays have markings for 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup, as well as markings for 50 mL and 125 mL.
- The 2 tablespoon size trays look similar to ice cube trays and have markings for 1 tablespoon or 2 tablespoons, as well as markings for 1 oz, 15 mL and 30 mL.
Once your soup or broth is cooled down, simply fill the Souper Cube to the level indicated on the tray, snap the clear plastic lid on, and place in the freezer.
This is a great way to store chicken stock for use whenever you need it.
The 2 tablespoon size trays are amazing to fill with homemade chicken stock to utilize for stir fry sauces and any other recipe that call for small amounts of chicken stock. These smaller portions really come in handy when you need them!
Souper Cubes are also dishwasher safe so they’re very easy to keep clean.
3. PLACE IN ZIPLOC BAGS, LABEL AND FREEZE
Once the soup freezes, take your Souper Cubes out of the freezer, turn them upside down and gently press the bottom with both hands to pop the frozen soup cubes out of the tray.
Then at this point, you can place your cubes into good-quality freezer bags. Quart-size freezer bags work great for single serving portions, or you can put multiple cubes in a gallon size freezer bag.
For best results, before you close the bag, squeeze out as much air as you can. By removing excess air, it will help reduce ice crystals and freezer burn. You can freeze your soups for up to 3 months or so.
Keeping your frozen soup cubes in a single layer in each ziploc bag will make it easy to store flat in your freezer so that you can make the most of your freezer space.
Make sure that you label each bag with a permanent marker to indicate the types of soups you’ve stored and the date that you’ve placed it in the freezer.
Storing soups in ziploc bags will help you maximize freezer space, especially if you have a small freezer.
When you are ready to eat, simply warm up your frozen cube(s) over low heat to medium heat in a pot right on your stovetop and enjoy your hot soup or broth. You can also microwave if you’d like.
We really feel that this is the best way to freeze soups and make the most out of your freezer space. Keeping your freezer stocked with frozen soup is a the easiest way to eat a home cooked, nutritious meal during your busy weeks. We encourage you to try freezing soup this way and let us know how you like it in the comments!
Lastly, not all soups freeze equally well. If you have any soups like our Vietnamese wonton soup recipe, you can freeze the broth, and then add the frozen wontons in after you reheat your broth. Wontons tend to overcook quickly so they’re best treated this way!