Soup is delicious, comforting and has an extraordinary lifespan. Many folks may have leftover frozen soup either from the store or homemade. The big question is? How to reheat frozen soup?
Whether you have broth or creamy soup, reheating it properly will enhance its taste and save on wastage. You can reheat frozen soup in various ways to get it to a scorching hot temperature.
One popular method is to thaw the soup overnight in the fridge. However, this article will elaborate on more techniques to reheat your frozen soup to enjoy that irresistible taste. The methods are not limited to: using an instant pot, a crook pot, and a stove.
So let’s dig into the question.
Can you reheat frozen soup twice? If so, how?
No. health experts recommend that soup should be reheated once. The main reason is that the more soup is frozen and reheated, there are high the chances of bacterial growth that can lead to potential food-borne illnesses.
However, the general food safety guideline dictates that you can reheat it safely as long as you reheat the soup at the proper temperature. According to food standards, you should reheat any meat-based soup once. As you reheat soup continuously, the quality tends to decrease with time. The taste and freshness may suffer at the end of the process.
How to defrost soup quickly?
Here are a few suggestions for swiftly defrosting soup.
Defrost soup in a microwave
The average time for defrosting soup in the microwave is 2-3 minutes. The size of the frozen soup plus the microwave power rating affects the time required to reheat the soup.
Steps:
- Place the frozen soup bricks in a microwavable dish.
- Partially, cover the bowl with a lid.
- Put a damp towel on top of the dish.
- Nuke the dish at low temperatures for 2-3 minutes.
- Regularly stir the dish.
- Continue stirring until the soup becomes slushy.
- When ready, remove from the microwave.
Defrost soup in an instant pot
It is easier and better
Steps 1
- Place the container containing frozen soup in a bowl containing warm water.
- Put the warm frozen soup in the instant pot.
- Cook for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, thawing starts.
- Set your pot at steam function and cook for another 5 minutes with the lid locked.
- Release the pressure and check if the soup is done.
Step 2
If your soup is frozen in a bowl in and brick form, you may use an instant pot under the steps below.
- Take the brick out of the freezer.
- Place it in the instant pot.
- Seal the pot with a lid.
- Set the pot at (pressure cook) and set the time at zero.
- When ready, remove and prepare for reheating.
Defrost soup in a slow cooker
A slow cooker is not recommended to defrost food. Its temperatures are low; hence, bacteria will have a favorable environment to thrive. However, frozen soup and casseroles can be defrosted in a slow cooker.
Steps:
- In the pot of the slow cooker, put your frozen soup.
- Set the cookers timer and set the quantity of heat to medium-low
- Defrost the soup for 10 minutes.
- Remove the soup and wait for reheating.
Defrost soup in an oven
The method is simple and effective.
Steps:
- Set the oven at broil function of 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Put some warm water in a dish.
- Place the frozen soup in the bowl to loosen the soup.
- Put the chunk into a saucepan.
- Place the soup in the oven.
- Nuke the soup for 2 minutes.
- When ready, remove and prepare for reheating.
The three effective ways to reheat soup are as follows.
Reheat soup in an instant pot
One of the most valuable features of the Instant Pot is the ability to cook an entire bowl of soup in its container. Here are some helpful hints for reheating soup in the instant pot.
Steps:
- First, leave your soup in the insert pot.
- You may leave it in the refrigerator covered by a silicone lid or some plastic wrapping until you are ready to reheat it.
- After removing the silicone top, place the insert pot into the instant pot.
- You may add some water to the pot.
- Put the steamer shelf into the pot.
- Carefully put your soup into the steamer pot.
- Put the lid and ensure the pressure valve is closed.
- You may press the manual\pressure cook button to reheat the soup slowly. The soup will be gradually warm.
- To reheat the soup more quickly, select Manual/Pressure Cook and set the cooking time to 0 minutes.
- The soup will quickly come to a boil, and the Instant Pot will switch to Keep Warm mode without really pressure cooking it.
- Finally, serve and enjoy.
When you have a large batch of broth or thin soup, simply press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and set the cooking timer to zero if you’re reheating broth blocks for use. Before switching to Keep Warm mode, the pot will swiftly bring the broth to a boil.
Reheat frozen soup in a crockpot
Reheating soup in a crockpot is slow, but it yields delicious soup.
Steps:
- Add the frozen soup to the crock cooker.
- Thaw the soup at medium-low heat
- Defrost the soup for 10 minutes.
- Stir the soup frequently to prevent scalding.
- Serve and enjoy.
Reheat frozen soup on a stove
For frozen soup, this is by far my preferred method of warming. Because I like my soup to have an irresistible taste, I always cook it on the burner.
The beauty of this procedure is that you can flavor your soup even more before reserving it.
Steps:
- Fill your sink with warm water and place the container with the soup.
- Allow the soup to warm for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Carefully put your soup into a reheating vessel.
- Put the pot on the stovetop.
- Add a sizeable amount of water into the pot.
- Stir the mixture.
- Cover the pot with a lid.
- Cook the soup on medium heat, stirring after every 30 seconds.
- When ready, serve and enjoy.
Stirring frequently prevents the soup from burning.
There are many types of soup you can reheat with the above methods. Below are 3 types of soup elaborated step by step.
Reheat soup that contains pasta
Soup that contains pasta is mainly fed to kids. The standard type of pasta is noodles which you should be careful about the cooking time since it overcooks easily.
The pasta may lose its taste once it becomes gooey and soft. Therefore, store the soup you are freezing without pasta and add the noodles.
Steps:
- First, defrost the soup in a bowl containing warm water
- Another way is to thaw the soup in the refrigerator after removing it from the freezer.
- Nuke the soup on medium heat.
- Let the soup heat up with regular stirring.
- Cook the noodles in a separate pot without any spices.
- Add pasta to the soup and stir.
- When ready, serve.
Reheat a creamy soup
The creamy soup is highly nutritious. It would be best to be careful when reheating creamy soup since it’s very saturating due to its dense texture.
Lumps appear when you reheat different ingredients together. Therefore, it’s good to add cream at the end.
Steps:
- Thaw the soup overnight.
- Nuke the soup on medium heat while stirring the soup frequently.
- Finally, serve it with some cream.
Creamy soup tends to stick to the bottom of the pot and avoid reheating at high temperatures. Due to the creamy nature of the soup, it may burn more quickly.
Reheat soup with vegetables
When you have diced vegetables or potatoes leftover to store, it’s recommended you leave the dish undercooked in the first place.
Steps:
- the soup boils, leave it to simmer. The vegetables will cook thoroughly.
You need to occasionally stir the vegetables to ensure they don’t overheat.
How many times can you reheat soup?
Reheating soup is easy, whether using a microwave, instant pot, or a stovetop. When defrosting soup, it should be done on a fridge or use the above methods.
Reheating soup more than once is not recommended. Therefore, refrigerating whatever is left after taking what you eat is highly good for your health.
The general rule to follow is that if you are reheating meat or chicken broth, boil it for 3 minutes to ensure you kill all harmful bacteria.
Soup is the most flexible of all foods to reheat since it doesn’t cause scorching. However, soup mixed with flour or cream is hard to boil since scorching may occur. The soup may be over-reduced, become salty, thick, and cloudy.
As long as the soup doesn’t smell or taste “strange,” when you take it out of the fridge, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and continue to stir while it simmers quietly for 3 minutes.
How long is frozen soup good for?
The general rule is that soup is good for 3 days when stored in the refrigerator. Before reheating soup, it is good to taste the dish first.
Vegetable-based soup may have a longer shelf life.
Chicken-made soup will last for 5 days in the fridge.
Creamy soup will last for 3 days, while seafood soup has a shelf life of 2 days.
Amazingly, some soups with a longer shelf life than others will still be in the fridge. The keeping time of soup depends on 2 things. First, the ingredients that make up the soup, and secondly, how efficient the cooling method was.
Many recipes will offer you a conservative storage duration, so learn to trust your nose and taste buds and be on the lookout for weird aromas and sourness.
Depending on the contents of the soup, frozen soup has a shelf life of 3 months. This is dependent on proper freezer temperatures. After defrosting, trust your instincts, just as you would with refrigerated soups. You’re better off throwing it if it appears suspect.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long to reheat the soup on a stove?
In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the broth, water, black pepper, carrot, celery, and chicken to a boil over medium-high heat. Fill your sink with warm water and place the saucepan with the soup. Allow the soup to warm for 5 to 10 minutes on the stovetop.
How long to cook soup in a microwave?
The average time for cooking soup in the microwave is 2-3 minutes. The size of the frozen soup plus the microwave power rating affects the time required to reheat the soup.
A microwave, on the other hand, will come in handy if you merely need a plate of soup in a hurry. We recommend using 30-second heating intervals and stirring the soup a little between each. The soup will be well cooked.
Can you freeze soup after 3 days?
No, the soup may have some bacterial growth.
After the soup has completely cooled, put it in the refrigerator. Put the soup in Ziploc bags or airtight containers. It’s ideal to quickly separate the exact portion of the meal you’ll need later, so you don’t waste time defrosting the entire amount.
Can you freeze soup with cream in it?
No, you cannot freeze soup with cream in it.
Milk preservatives and additives should be filtered before storing the soup in the freezer.
Remove the cream, and freeze the soup if you have leftovers from lunch. Separating the cream from the soup makes future reheating simpler and more accessible. You can place the soup in suitable bags or containers once more.
Conclusion
Soup is healthy and delicious. If you follow the methods discussed above to reheat your soup, it will be as fresh as if made an hour ago.
I have further elaborated on the methods for preheating different soups; even further, you know how to store your soup without making the taste and flavor suffer.
I hope you loved it and, more importantly, that you share it with your workmates, friends, and family.
