Can You Freeze Lentil Soup?
Soups are excellent starters or appetizers. Besides, they can serve as a light meal, all by themselves. Lentil soup is one of the most delicious soups that you can have. While it is convenient to prepare, you could prepare more than what everyone in the house could consume at a time. So, would it be good to freeze some lentil soup instead of waiting for leftovers to emerge? Can you prepare lentil soup in advance, freeze it, and serve it later? Questions like these are natural. Let us explore the answers here.
Can You Freeze Lentil Soup?
There should not be any issues with freezing lentil soup. However, freezing lentil soup can cause a slight change in its consistency and flavor.
How Do You Freeze Lentil Soup?
You can freeze lentil soup in two ways. We recommend freezing fresh lentil soup rather than leftovers. However, you can freeze leftovers in the same way.
How To Freeze Lentil Soup In Freezer Bags Or Airtight Containers
- Cool the lentil soup to room temperature. It is not advisable to freeze warm or hot soup because it can affect the freezer temperature. Besides, there can be condensation issues.
- Place the lentil soup in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill it.
- Apportion the lentil soup into several small packages to enable convenient consumption. While separating the soup, please ensure that each portion has equal vegetables and broth. Otherwise, the vegetables could settle to the bottom, and you could be left with some packers containing the broth and others, the vegetables alone.
- Packing it in small ziplock bags or containers makes it easy for defrosting and reheating.
- Please note not to fill the bags fully. It is better to leave sufficient space for the lentil soup to expand when freezing.
- Press the bags slightly to remove all air. Seal the ziplock bags securely.
- Stick the date label and freeze the soup inside the freezer.
How To Freeze Lentil Soup In An Ice Cube Tray?
- Have sufficient ice cube or silicone cube trays handy for use.
- Cool the soup entirely to room temperature.
- Spoon out the soup and the vegetables carefully into the ice cube tray. Please allow some space for the soup to expand during the freezing process.
- Fill all the slots and place the tray inside the freezer for flash freezing for two hours.
- Remove the frozen soup cubes and transfer them to a ziplock bag.
- Squeeze excess air out and seal the bag properly.
- Label the bag and store it flat inside the freezer.
How Long Can The Frozen Lentil Soup Remain Frozen Inside The Freezer?
The frozen lentil soup can remain fresh without losing its taste for around three months. We recommend consuming it before three months of freezing it.
How Long Can The Lentil Soup Last In The Refrigerator?
Lentil soup stored in the refrigerator should be consumed within three to five days. If you need to keep them longer, you can freeze the soup.
How Do You Defrost The Frozen Lentil Soup?
The ideal way to thaw the frozen lentil soup is the refrigerator defrosting process. First, remove the required quantities of frozen lentil soup from the freezer and transfer them to another container in the fridge. Then, the frozen soup should thaw naturally. However, the process can take around six hours. So, we advise starting it overnight if you wish to have soup the following morning. However, if you want to have the soup in the evening before dinner, we recommend starting the defrosting process in the morning.
How Do You Reheat The Defrosted Lentil Soup For Serving?
The following procedure should prove helpful for reheating the lentil soup.
- Place the defrosted lentil soup in a saucepan and initially set the stove at low heat.
- Lentils soak water so that you can find the soup thicker after the defrosting process. It can also appear drier than when it was fresh.
- So, you can add some water or broth to the pot to dilute the soup. Please note to stir well.
We advise consuming the defrosted soup within two days of thawing it.
Can You Refreeze Lentil Soup?
We do not recommend refreezing defrosted lentil soup because it can lose its consistency.
Can You Freeze Lentil Soup With Milk In It?
It is not advisable to freeze lentil soup with milk. A better option is to freeze the lentil soup and add the milk when serving the soup. Milk can separate during the freezing process leading to a grainy textured soup.
Can You Freeze Lentil Soup With Coconut Or Almond Milk?
Coconut and almond milk are better options than dairy milk. However, we do not recommend freezing lentil soup with any milk. You always have the opportunity to add milk later when serving it.
Can You Freeze Sausage Lentil Soup?
Yes, it is possible to freeze sausage lentil soup and preserve its freshness for later consumption.
Can You Free Lentil Stew?
Yes, you can freeze lentil stew like you freeze lentil soup.
Can You Freeze Lentil Soup With Potatoes?
It is not advisable to freeze lentil soup with potatoes because potatoes tend to fall apart when freezing. The soup could have a chunky consistency.
Can You Freeze Lentil Bolognese?
Lentil Bolognese freezes well. Hence, you can comfortably freeze lentil Bolognese.
Can You Freeze Red Lentil Soup?
Freezing red lentil soup is possible. The freezing process is the same as described here.
Can You Freeze Cooked Lentil Soup?
Yes, it is possible to freeze cooked lentil soup.
Can You Freeze Carrot And Lentil Soup?
You can freeze carrot and lentil soup the same way you freeze lentil soup.
Can You Freeze Lentil And Bacon Soup?
Yes, it is possible to freeze lentil and bacon soup.
Can You Freeze Lentil And Ham Soup?
Yes, you can freeze lentil and ham soup for consumption later.
Can You Freeze Lentil And Sweet Potato Soup?
It is possible to freeze lentil and sweet potato soup.
Final Thoughts
Lentils are among the most nutritious vegetables. Having a hot cup of lentil soup is the best way to welcome the cold winter evenings. In addition, it provides you with the right amount of energy. So, if you have prepared excess lentil soup, you can freeze it and consume it later. Therefore, can you freeze lentil soup? The answer is YES.
