Can You Freeze Lentil Soup? Here’s How You Can Do It Right
Updated on March 2, 2023
Lentil soups are so versatile as you can make them in quite a few different ways. If you want to keep some of it for later, let’s look into freezing the extra portions.
Freezing soup may not be something lots of people think about, but it’s something that will work great if you want to save time and money in the future.
Can You Freeze Lentil Soup?
Since lentil soup is one of our personal favorites, we wanted to know about freezing it too. Similarly, one of our readers had a question about this issue too, so let’s read their message:
I made some lentil soup this weekend, but I misjudged how much the lentils would expand once cooked. I ended up with a huge batch of soup. There’s much more soup than I know what to do with. The good thing is that the soup tastes great, so I’m hoping that I can store some of it for later.
I’m worried that freezing the lentil soup will destroy the taste or quality of the soup, and it would be a waste of money and effort. I would like to freeze the lentil soup so that I can enjoy some later. Can you freeze lentil soup?
Yes, you can freeze lentil soup! Freezing lentils should not affect their quality or taste, but it may slightly after the texture and consistency of your soup. Not to worry, though-it can be brought back pretty much to normal with a little effort.
How to Freeze Lentil Soup?
When you’re going to make lentil soup next, you can go ahead and make some extra so you can freeze it.
- To freeze lentil soup, it’s best to start with the freshest soup possible.
- Cook your lentil soup according to your favorite recipe, and then let it cool.
- If your lentil soup has vegetables in it, make sure to stir it and to scoop down to the bottom of the pot to avoid have all liquid in some freezer bags, and mostly lentils and veggies in another.
- For blended lentil soup, stirring frequently prevents some separation.
- Place a freezer bag inside a bowl, and fold over the top so that the bag stands up in the bowl.
- Ladle in the desired amount of soup into the freezer bag.
- Unfold the top, then seal the bag after squeezing out the excess air.
- Leave some headroom to allow for some expansion during the freezing process.
- Lay the freezer bags flat in the freezer and then stack them to save space.
How to Keep Lentil Soup Longer?
If you want to make sure that your lentil soup lasts for longer, you can use a vacuum sealer. While it’s true that vacuum sealers don’t mix with liquid soups very well, you can definitely still use it, but you have to freeze the soup first.
So, follow the above-mentioned steps and freeze the soup in the bags by sealing them as best you can. Then, a few hours later, get the vacuum sealer out and use it on the bag to take out all the extra air in there and to create a perfect seal.
We have a long list of vacuum sealers that you can try out, but we do have a favorite, namely the FoodSaver V4840 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealer Machine. This one works with freezer bags and containers of different sizes so you can save up single servings or larger dishes.
How to Thaw Lentil Soup?
When you want to have some more lentil soup, you have to think ahead so you can take it out. Let’s follow the steps:
- To thaw frozen lentil soup, remove the desired number of bags from the freezer and allow the soup to thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Then, place the soup in a saucepan on the stove, and reheat gently.
- Lentils will continue to soak up water before they are completely frozen, so you may find that your soup is a bit thicker and drier than before freezing.
- Simply add a little bit of water or broth to the pot to thin out the lentil soup.
For best results, consume thawed soup within two days. Never refreeze previously frozen lentil soup.
Lentil Soup Recipe
If you want to make a new kind of lentil soup and you don’t know which one, we have a few suggestions for you: