Homemade soups typically only last 3-4 days in the fridge! However, most soup recipes yield way too many servings to finish in one sitting! (No matter how delicious they may be!) Our Turkey Noodle Soup recipe for example, yields at least 12-15 servings!

I absolutely love making homemade soup, but I could never finish eating them before they went bad in the fridge! I tried countless methods for freezing soup. Most of them either took up too much space in our tiny freezer, or they were frozen in large batches that were too big to reheat for a quick lunch! (My go to!)

Then a few years ago, one of my best friends Mandy taught me her trick for freezing and storing soup in individual portions. What a game changer!

I’ve used her easy and convenient freezing method for all my soups ever since, and I never looked back!

Why Do I Need To Cool Soup Before Storing It?

The short answer? To prevent bacteria and pathogens from contaminating your stock, soup, stew or chili before you store it.

One of the leading causes of food borne illness is from failing to cool foods properly before storing them. Pathogens and bacteria grow most quickly between 40 and 140 degrees F.

That’s why it’s very important to properly cool your soup first, before freezing it. However, it can take a long time for a large batch of soup to get below this temperature “danger zone” on its own.

Cooling soup using an ice water bath is an effective method to decrease the temperature of your soup quickly and safely before storing it.

How Do You Cool Soup Before Refrigerating or Freezing?

If you plan on refrigerating or freezing your soup, stock, stew, or chili, place it (partially covered) in an ice water bath. Stir the soup occasionally until it has fully cooled.

Once your soup, stock, stew or chili, has finished cooling, place it into a container and store in the fridge (up to one week), or freeze (3-6 months).

Freezing Soup In Individual Portions

I personally believe most homemade soups taste even better after they’ve been frozen. (I think it’s because all those tasty ingredients mesh together over time!)

After a lot of trial and error with several different sub-par soup freezing strategies, I started using this easy freezing method to store soups in individual portions!

Here’s how you do it:

Step 1: Label the Plastic Bags

First, write the name of the soup and the date on several plastic sandwich bags.

Step 2: Fill The Bags With Soup

Ladle 2-3 full scoops of soup (one serving size) into each plastic bag until all the soup has been stored.

Fold the bag over itself to remove access air (which causes freezer burn), and seal shut.

Step 3: Stack Flat, and Freeze

Lay the soup bags flat, and stack them one on top of the other inside the freezer.

Note: I like to alternate the zip tops, to make it easier to separate them once they are frozen.

Step 4: Store the Soup

Once the soup bags are done freezing, you can store them in the freezer vertically or horizontally. (whichever method saves the most space)

Note: Because our freezer space is very limited, I like to use small plastic totes inside my freezer to organize things like soup, meats and frozen veggies.

Freezing Noodle Soups

If you’re freezing a soup that has noodles in it (like turkey noodle soup), skip the noodles!

When you freeze noodle soups with the noodles in it, they can become soggy and won’t taste as fresh.

Trust me, It’s totally worth cooking up a fresh batch of noodles every time you defrost soup!

How to Reheat Frozen Soup

When reheating frozen stock, soup, stew or chili, remove as many individual portions you need from the freezer. Take the soup out of the plastic bag (you may need to rip or cut the bag to get it out), and place the frozen soup “patty” inside a large pot.

Add a little extra water (or milk for creamy soups) to the pot, to help the soup defrost. (about 1/4 cup)

Heat the frozen soup (partially covered) over medium-low heat until defrosted. Add more water (as needed) if some evaporates during reheating.

Reheating Noodle Soups

When reheating noodle soups, add even more extra water to the pot, as some of it will inevitably boil off when you cook the noodles. (about 1/2 cup)

Once your soup has finished defrosting, add 1/3 cup egg noodles (or your noodle of choice) per serving.

Cover and boil with the noodles for approximately 5 minutes, or until noodles are tender.

Note: When reheating soups like turkey or chicken noodle soup, I like to add a small amount of concentrated chicken bouillon (1/4 tsp per serving) or chicken stock to add more flavor to the broth.

Serve immediately while it’s still hot! Enjoy!

Want to Learn More?

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Please leave a comment below if you have any questions about how to freeze soup, stock, stew and chili, or have a few fun tips and tricks of your own that you would like to share!