Can You Freeze Potato Soup?

Soups are popular for their soothing effects on cold days, and potato soup is no exception. Potato soup is one of the easiest meals to make and it can be prepared in large quantity to feed many people. The soup can be made with various recipes that combine the creamiest and most delicious ingredients for an amazing meal.

If you’re not one to cook, you can purchase your fresh cooked potato soup from the store. Potato soups will normally contain potatoes, chicken stock, vegetables, cream, cheese, butter, and flavor. 

Considering how readily available its ingredients are, you can easily prepare the soup in bulk and keep it preserved till a later date. If stored correctly, you can have a fresh supply of delicious potato soup for cold days. So, what’s the proper way to store potato soup? 

Can you freeze potato soup? Yes, you can freeze potato soup. Although there are little complications with freezing the soup, potato soup can be preserved for up to 6 months in the freezer. The dairy products used in making potato soup are the culprits responsible for any difficulty faced in the freezing of the soup.

Ingredients like cream and cheese usually separate after being frozen for some time and thawed. The result of this separation is an altered consistency that makes the soup look unpleasant.  

If you don’t have any substitute ingredients for the dairy products, simply omit them in your cooking till the soup has been frozen, thawed, and is being reheated later. The omitted dairy can be added back in the soup as it is reheated over the stovetop.

Freezing Potato Soup 

If potato soup could be left sitting at room temperature for several months, freezing wouldn’t be needed. However, that is not the case. Potato soup left exposed to room temperature beyond 2 hours will spoil.

You can keep fresh potato soup preserved for a short period of time in the refrigerator. Refrigeration keeps potato soup safe for about 4 -5 days. 

Anyone who desires long-term preservation for their batch of potato soup will have to use freezing. What you really need to pay attention to when freezing potato soup is the dairy products. Free Browser Games

It is better to use substitute ingredients like coconut milk and almond milk in your potato soup recipe. If you don’t have any of these substitute ingredients, simply omit all dairy ingredients for now.    

How to Freeze Potato Soup  

You may have been previously told that potato soup can’t ever be preserved through freezing – this is not true. Based on personal experience, potato soup can be effectively preserved through freezing; all you need do is to follow the correct steps.

Step 1: Partially Cook Potato Soup and Omit the Dairy

When cooking potato soup for preservation in the freezer, make use of the freshest ingredients. Fresh potatoes and vegetables will freeze much better than stale ones. Also, either make use of substitute ingredients to replace traditional dairy products or entirely omit all dairy ingredients in the recipe. 

When cooking the potato soup, don’t let if cook completely. You can cook the potato soup to about 70% completion. The reason for this is that fully cooked potato soup will have mushier and softer pieces of veggie and potatoes after being kept frozen for some time. 

The partially cooked potato soup can always be cooked completely later when you want to thaw and reheat a frozen portion of it.  

Step 2: Allow Hot Potato Soup to Cool Down

Before placing potato soup in the freezer, make sure it has cooled down to room temperature. This is important if you don’t want to mess up the soup’s quality and the quality of other frozen food items in the freezer.

Simply leave the soup to sit out on the counter top for about an hour. However, you must be careful not to leave the soup exposed to room temperature for too long.  

Overexposure to room temperature causes bacteria growth to multiply rapidly and spoil the potato soup. 

Step 3: Divide into Single Meal Servings and Pack

To avoid any wastage, divide your large batch of potato soup into smaller portions that can be finished at once. This way, you can easily grab a pack of potato soup to thaw and reheat without having any leftover.

As you fill each bag with potato soup, leave a little space for possible expansion in the freezer. You should also squeeze out as much air as you can from the freezer-safe bags before sealing them.  

After sealing the bags, press the soup gently so that it spreads evenly through the bags. Place the bags of soup in the freezer till they’re completely frozen. Once they’re fully frozen, you can stand the frozen bags of soup upright to save more space in the freezer. 

How to Thaw and Reheat Frozen Potato Soup 

Remember to eat the frozen potato soup within 6 months of freezing. Before the frozen soup can be served for eating, you’ll have to first thaw and reheat it.

Take only a portion of frozen soup that can be finished at once out of the freezer. Allow the soup to sit overnight in the refrigerator. Because thawing in the fridge takes many hours, you may wish to use a faster thawing method. 

You can alternatively thaw a portion of frozen potato soup by submerging in cool water. You must make sure that the freezer-safe bag is well sealed before submerging it in a bowl of water. 

To reheat your soup, place it in the microwave with the temperature setting on high. If you can’t wait for your soup to thaw first, you can reheat the frozen soup directly in the microwave or in a saucepan. It is important that you stir the soup intermittently as it is being reheated.