Best Soups to Freeze Recipes

[cabinchick]

Hi All:

We love soup, but I like to make big batches to freeze because making soups can take quite a bit of time. When freezing, some of my soup recipes have turned out well, some not so good
Are there any secrets to freezing soup? I always make a homemade broth ...

DH is a diabetic, and I could certainly stand to lose a few (x 10 ) pounds this winter. Please share some healthy soup recipes that I can prepare now, freeze, and reheat later - busy weeknights come to mind.
Fresh herbs are readily available now, but do they freeze well in soup, or is it better to use dried? What about bean soups? A couple of my bean soups that I froze turned out mushy when reheated....
And I'm wondering - does anyone buy organic dried beans in bulk? I haven't been able to find any here.

Thanks!

 

[Marianne]

I freeze more homemade chicken-noodle-vegetable than anything. The homemade noodles hold up well as I roll them a little thicker. I was told that you could freeze any soup but potato (probably because of the milk?) I tried it once and it really was almost icky after thawing.

I've had the same experience w/ bean soups. Cooked too much and they are mush after thawing. Not cooked enough and they don't soften any more if you try to finish cooking after thawing. Or that's been my experience, anyway.

I use dry herbs, but any herb would work, I bet.

I don't have bulk anything available around here.

 

[Wifezilla]

For a bean soup, make the "sauce" and freeze that. Then cook up fresh beans and pour the sauce and seasoning over it.

Since I have blood sugar issues, I don't use noodles. I use Quinoa instead.

 

[abifae]

Undercook the veggies!

 

[moolie]

I don't freeze noodles in soup, I add them when I cook them up to eat--same with rice, but barley or quinoa in soup freeze just fine.

Borscht freezes well, as does split pea with bacon. Tomato-based soups are popular at our house and freeze well, gotta watch chowders and milky or creamy soups as they can separate as they thaw (although we don't mind and just stir it up).

As Abi says, undercook the veggies a bit because another long simmer after having cooled really melds the flavours. Actually any long-cooking casserole or soup is better the second day, after having cooled. The flavours just jive better for some reason.

 

[cabinchick]

The homemade noodles hold up well as I roll them a little thicker.

Do you have the recipe for the homemade noodles Marianne?

 

[Marianne]

Sure thing. I use a variation of a recipe from Cooks.com. I don't add the extra yolks (I use water) and I mix it all in a big bowl instead of on the counter. Makes cleanup easier, and I can just put the lid on the bowl for the resting period.

Egg Noodles

3 1/2 cups flour
4 eggs, at room temperature
3 egg yolks or 3 T water
1 tsp salt (optional)

Measure flour and pile in a mountain shape on a clean board. Scoop a well in the center and pour eggs into the well. Add salt.

Using your fingertips, stir tiny portions of flour from the inner edges of the flour mound into the egg, incorporating just a little at a time. Keep stirring until all of the egg/water and flour is combined to make a pasty mass of somewhat sticky, but dryish dough.

Gather the dough into a mound, make a new indent at the top and then add yolks (or water). Knead the dough into a smooth ball, adding tiny amounts of flour as needed, but try to avoid adding too much. Roll into a ball, cover with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 - 30 minutes. (This is important so don't skip this step.)

Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough flat, fold into thirds over itself and roll out again, stretching the dough until it is flat and smooth. If you're going to cut them by hand, do this several times. Then roll it up like a big jelly roll and slice your noodes.

I use a pasta machine, so I cut off balls of dough and run them through the rollers several times, then lower the setting. On my machine, #3 makes a thick noodle, similar to what purchased frozen noodles are. I roll out a long strip, then cut it to the length that I want the noodles to be. Run it through the machine, dust with flour and toss them on a cookie drying rack, towel, whatever to dry. Around here, everything has to be covered, so I put a thin dishtowel (or paper towel would work) over the noodles.

I keep checking my noodles, tossing them with flour again if necessary. One time I ended up with a big glob and had to cut them all again! After they're dry enough so they don't stick to each other (takes hours here) I freeze them in meal size portions in freezer bags.

Some times I use three eggs and more water. They still turn out good. I have also used refrigerated eggs and didn't notice much of a difference in rolling.

If you use farm eggs, the noodles will be fairly yellow. If you want colored noodles, sub vegetable puree for the water: Spinach for green, carrot for orange, beet for red. I have never done it, but read that the dough will be mottled at first, but become smoother with successive rollings.

 

[Marianne]

Back to freezing soups. I grate my carrot into the soup instead of slicing it, so it cooks faster.

When I freeze soup, it's leftover soup, so everything is as cooked as I want it to be. But I'm more interested in a heat and eat soup from the freezer.

I always make big pots of soup, planning for leftovers. Funny, I never even thought of freezing split pea! I always have made small batches of that, but not anymore - thanks!

 

[cabinchick]

Back to freezing soups. I grate my carrot into the soup instead of slicing it, so it cooks faster.

When I freeze soup, it's leftover soup, so everything is as cooked as I want it to be. But I'm more interested in a heat and eat soup from the freezer.

I always make big pots of soup, planning for leftovers. Funny, I never even thought of freezing split pea! I always have made small batches of that, but not anymore - thanks!

I've had mixed results reheating split pea soup. I like my pea soup thick, and cook it that way. But when I defrost and reheat my frozen pea soup it comes out kind of watery. I usually had some cornstarch thickener, but then it gets to thick.
I wonder if there's something I can do prior to freezing it that will make it come out the way I cooked it?

 

[cabinchick]

Sure thing. I use a variation of a recipe from Cooks.com. I don't add the extra yolks (I use water) and I mix it all in a big bowl instead of on the counter. Makes cleanup easier, and I can just put the lid on the bowl for the resting period.

Egg Noodles

3 1/2 cups flour
4 eggs, at room temperature
3 egg yolks or 3 T water
1 tsp salt (optional)

Measure flour and pile in a mountain shape on a clean board. Scoop a well in the center and pour eggs into the well. Add salt.

Using your fingertips, stir tiny portions of flour from the inner edges of the flour mound into the egg, incorporating just a little at a time. Keep stirring until all of the egg/water and flour is combined to make a pasty mass of somewhat sticky, but dryish dough.

Gather the dough into a mound, make a new indent at the top and then add yolks (or water). Knead the dough into a smooth ball, adding tiny amounts of flour as needed, but try to avoid adding too much. Roll into a ball, cover with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 - 30 minutes. (This is important so don't skip this step.)

Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough flat, fold into thirds over itself and roll out again, stretching the dough until it is flat and smooth. If you're going to cut them by hand, do this several times. Then roll it up like a big jelly roll and slice your noodes.

I use a pasta machine, so I cut off balls of dough and run them through the rollers several times, then lower the setting. On my machine, #3 makes a thick noodle, similar to what purchased frozen noodles are. I roll out a long strip, then cut it to the length that I want the noodles to be. Run it through the machine, dust with flour and toss them on a cookie drying rack, towel, whatever to dry. Around here, everything has to be covered, so I put a thin dishtowel (or paper towel would work) over the noodles.

I keep checking my noodles, tossing them with flour again if necessary. One time I ended up with a big glob and had to cut them all again! After they're dry enough so they don't stick to each other (takes hours here) I freeze them in meal size portions in freezer bags.

Some times I use three eggs and more water. They still turn out good. I have also used refrigerated eggs and didn't notice much of a difference in rolling.

If you use farm eggs, the noodles will be fairly yellow. If you want colored noodles, sub vegetable puree for the water: Spinach for green, carrot for orange, beet for red. I have never done it, but read that the dough will be mottled at first, but become smoother with successive rollings.

Thanks!