So it’s meal-prep time again. Besides a few other meals you have prepped and frozen, you decide you need to have potato soup on hand when you get back from work. So naturally, you ask yourself whether you can freeze potato soup and how well does potato soup freeze.
I am here to say yes, you can, but there are a few things to consider before you embark on that cooking journey! In this article, I will let you know how you can have delicious potato soup on hand when you’re tired and don’t feel like cooking.
Feel free to read on to see that you can freeze potato soup.
Can You Freeze Potato Soup, Really?
The short answer to this question is yes, but don’t be caught by a surprise when I tell you there is a longer answer too. While you can freeze potato soup there are a few characteristics of this soup that will determine how you can freeze potato soup.
As any soup can have various kinds of ingredients, potato soup is no different. These ingredients are an important factor to take into account when figuring out how well does potato soup freeze.
Some of the most common ingredients included in this mouth-watering dish can be: meat, diced greens or other veggies, chopped potatoes, noodles, and chicken broth. The flavor will be determined by the types of herbs and spices you choose to add.
If you want to make a vegetarian option, potato soup makes for a great vegetable soup. Just omit the meat along with the chicken broth. If you have sweet potatoes on hand, they will work their magic for your vegetarian self (or friends) but regular potatoes are fine too.
Other factors to consider are the consistency of the soup and whether it is dairy or dairy-free potato soup.
Based on this, potato soup can be thick, smooth, dairy or non-dairy soup. Each kind is different when deciding whether you can freeze potato soup and how to do it.
Thick Potato Soup
A thick potato soup recipe includes chunks of potatoes along with other vegetables and meats that kept their form while cooking on the stovetop. The vegetables and meats (if you didn’t opt for a vegetable soup) were roughly chopped and then tossed into the soup mixture to cook.
With a chunky soup, visible pieces of potato and other ingredients will be present to allow you to take a bite of them while enjoying the tastiness of this soup.
You can freeze a chunky soup nicely but there is something to think about before you do it. Pieces of fully cooked potatoes usually don’t freeze well so it is best to keep the potatoes half-cooked. This way your potato soup will not have a mushy texture when you thaw and reheat it.
Another tip to avoid your soup looking like pure mush is to not get your potatoes diced too finely. They need to have a greater surface area to be cooked.
If you have some leftover baked potato, to make use of it, you can add it into the soup when it is ready to be warmed up. This will add to the thickness and texture of this chunky soup.
Smooth Potato Soup
If you prefer your potato soup smooth rather than chunky then you will want to continue reading.
This kind of potato soup can be made with similar ingredients and it can freeze very well. The difference between this and the previously mentioned thick and chunky soup is in the fact that the vegetables and/or meat in this soup do not keep their original chopped form.
You just need to put everything into the crock pot and leave it to cook until done. This preparation method creates a smooth texture and softer consistency than that of a thick potato soup.
If you see any lumps in your soup after taking it out of the crock pot use a hand blender or potato masher to even out the texture.
To make it quicker, you can just add pureed or mashed potatoes that were previously cooked into the soup mixture along with chicken broth and cooked veggies.
Adding pureed potato will allow the soup to become smoother much more easily and will make the freezing process go smoother, too.
Dairy Potato Soup Vs. Dairy-Free Potato Soup
The reason why so many fall for cream soups is due to their comforting taste and flavorsome texture. The star ingredient of cream soups are dairy products. Veggies also go great with dairy in a potato soup recipe. Broccoli cheese soup alone offers great proof of that.
Considering the fact that many people are lactose intolerant, there are plenty of dairy-free potato soup recipes available out there. If you want your palate to enjoy the smooth creamy texture, then you can add heavy cream or sour cream to your soup when cooking.
If, on the other hand, your gut just can’t stand dairy products then opt for a non-dairy addition, such as plant-based milk. Almond milk is a perfect substitute for dairy ingredients. Now when we can differentiate these two types of potato soup, I want to give you a tip or two about freezing them.
Dairy is known to not freeze well so try to add dairy only after defrosting your potato soup.
You just need to add your dairy or dairy-free option to your soup that’s already reheating on the stovetop. Cook for 5 minutes and voila! You have a delicious creamy dairy or non-dairy potato soup ready on hand.
How To Freeze Potato Soup?
Now that I answered your question and you know you can freeze it, let’s see how you actually freeze potato soup. So pay attention to the following:
• Before your leftover soup is fit to be frozen you will need to allow it to cool down. Cooked food can stay at room temperature that is not higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit for up to two hours, but to be sure it’s still good, it is enough to leave it for an hour to cool down after removing it from the stovetop.
• Then you will want to pour the potato soup into a freezer-safe container or a ziplock bag and seal it firmly to give freezer burn a miss.
• Labeling will come in handy here. You will want to mark the date when you froze your creamy potato soup so you will be sure it is safe for consumption when you take it out to thaw and reheat.
Common Mistakes When Freezing Potato Soup
Now that you know all about how you can freeze potato soup, it is good to be aware of some of the most common mistakes to avoid when doing this. So, read on!
• The first mistake people make is to add the dairy when cooking potato soup that they will freeze. Dairy is easily soluble so it tends to separate when it gets frozen. When you reheat it, the soup may seem lumpy. Lose the dairy before freezing it and only add it when you reheat it.
• The second mistake is made by overcooking the veggies and meats in the potato soup, especially the potatoes. Overcooking the veggies and meats will make your soup look like mush after you defrost and reheat it. If you are not a fan of mushy meals pay attention to this.
• The third most common mistake is not letting the hot soup cool down before freezing. The heat from the soup then lowers the overall freezer temperature putting other freezer goods at risk. This will enable bacteria to develop in your soup if you freeze it the wrong way.
FAQs
How Long Can Frozen Potato Soup Last?
When stored properly in a freezer-safe container or suitable freezer bag your frozen potato soup can last up to four months. If you keep it in the freezer for longer, it will not get spoiled but you risk it losing its original consistency and flavor once thawed, as stated by the USDA.
We all know that freezing food is one of the best ways to protect the food from spoilage. This is one of the reasons why it is my personal favorite way of storing fresh foods and cooked meals that I make ahead on Sundays.
How To Defrost Potato Soup?
You can defrost your frozen potato soup quite easily. Follow these steps to do it the right way:
• take it out of the freezer and place it into a ziplock bag to avoid leakage
• then you put it into the fridge to thaw overnight
• you can also sink it in a large bowl filled with cold water to defrost is faster (do the same for thawing frozen chicken noodle soup).
After defrosting your potato soup, it is time to reheat it. It is okay to leave it in a dish at room temperature after it has been reheated for two hours maximum. Within this time, be sure you put it in the fridge.
To End With
While potato soup will make your appetite flourish, it is important to know you are flourishing with health and goodness. Always make sure your frozen potato soup is thawed and reheated the right way. This way, you will be happy to know you are enjoying a savory and healthy meal.
I hope this article gave you useful information when you were asking yourself can you freeze potato soup and gave you the steps on the best way to do it safely.