reheat soup

How To Reheat Soup And Make It Taste Better: Tricks and Tips

In short, there are three ways to reheat different types of soup to taste fresh. Each way has different freezing tips and reheating steps to preserve the texture and flavor of the soup.

There is nothing nicer on winter days than starting lunch with a plate of warm, soothing soup. Somehow without it, the meal is not complete.

However, if you choose to prepare it fresh, you know that it will take a lot of time, especially if you put fresh ingredients and vegetables in it. 

What is wonderful about the leftover soup is that you can freeze it without any problems and then reheat it when you need it. There are a few useful tricks you can do, depending on what kind of soup you have. In freezing temperatures, your soup will last for up to three months.

We will deal with reheating of each type and also explain the best way to store it. You can prepare your easy instant pot recipes for days ahead with proper reheating techniques.

Reheating Soup That Contains Pasta In It

Most often, the soup contains some kind of pasta in it. We got used to it as kids. Whether it is noodles or some other type of pasta, you should usually pay attention to the cooking time because it will overcook easily.

Once the pasta becomes gooey and soft, the soup loses its good taste. So, it is best to store the soup you are freezing without pasta in it and then subsequently just add the noodles as needed.

Freezing Tip: Separately Store the Soup without Pasta

This way, you will avoid the possibility of the noodles being overcooked in double cooking—the first time during primary cooking, and the second time during reheating.

The leftover soup should be stored right after it has cooled entirely from cooking. You can put it in freezer bags or smaller containers. It is best to immediately separate the exact size of the meal that you will need later so that you do not have to defrost the whole amount unnecessarily. Freeze soup as soon as it cools down.

Reheating Steps for Noodles Soup

  • You can defrost frozen soup first, which will make the reheating process shorter and easier. The best way to do so is to take the soup out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge. By morning, it will be nicely thawed.
  • Place the soup on medium heat and warm up slowly with occasional stirring.
  • During that time, in a separate pot, cook some noodles in plain water without any additives or spices. You can use instant pot pressure cooker.
  • Once pasta is cooked, simply add it to the heated soup and stir a bit.

Reheating A Creamy Soup With Milk or Cream

heat up soup

Creamy soups are great and nutritious. They are very saturating also due to its dense texture. What creates a problem when heating is the addition of cream. 

If you try to heat everything at once, lumps may appear, and that altogether does not look nice. So, it is better to add cream at the end.

Freezing Tip: Freeze the Soup without the Addition of Dairy Ingredients

It is best not to put sour cream and milk additives in general in the soup before freezing. Simply make the soup and freeze it without that last step. 

Equally, if you have leftovers from lunch, remove the cream and then freeze the soup. This will make reheating much easier for you in the future. Again, you can put the soup either in suitable bags or freezer containers.

Reheating Steps for Cream Soup

  • Try to thaw the frozen soup first. Due to its creamy texture, it is prone to burn more quickly, so be sure to keep that in mind.
  • Heat the soup on medium heat while stirring often. This type of soup will stick to the bottom of the pot much easier, so avoid too high temperatures and frequently stir.
  • Once the soup is heated correctly, serve it with a tablespoon of cream. 

Reheating Soup With Vegetables and Potatoes

reheating vegetable soup

Here, we don’t mean the tiny pieces of vegetables you may have in a clear noodle soup as well. We’re talking about diced vegetables or potatoes that you don’t want overcooked after reheating.

The best trick for this type of soup—if you know you will store it in the freezer—is to leave it slightly undercooked in the first place.

Freezing Tip: Store the Soup Slightly Undercooked

It is best not to cook the soup thoroughly but to leave it slightly uncooked.

Store the soup in the freezer, and once you reheat it, make sure to extend the cooking time long enough for the ingredients to cook to the end. That way, the soup will taste perfect as if it had just been prepared.

Reheating Steps for Vegetable Soup

  • Defrost the frozen soup by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Put to heat over medium heat and stir occasionally.
  • Once the soup boils, let it simmer until the vegetables are completely cooked. Be sure to stir occasionally and make sure the vegetables don’t overcook.

See more: can you freeze potato soup?


FAQs

Conclusion

Soup is a great dish to freeze. If you follow our tips on freezing certain types of soups, no one will even notice that it is not freshly cooked once you reheat it.

You can keep the cooked soup in the freezer for about a month, which means you can prepare a few meals in advance and save yourself cooking time.

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