Can You Freeze Tomato Soup?

Can You Freeze Tomato Soup?

If you’ve ever had a proper bowl of hot tomato soup on a cold day, you’ll know just how amazing it is. Tomato soup can easily be made within the comfort of your home or bought from a nearby store.

The ingredients for tomato soup – tomatoes, garlic, basil, onion, and cream – are easy to come by and affordable. Although different people have unique recipes for cooking their tomato soup, the basic ingredients can’t be left out.

In addition to its body warming effect, a bowl of hot tomato soup supplies several other nutritional benefits to the body.

Tomatoes have many minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants that nourish the body. Tomato soup is rich in vitamins K, C, and A. It also contains a significant amount of potassium, proteins, calories, carbs, and fiber. Research shows that tomatoes have cancer-combating properties and can potentially improve eye sight.

Taking all the health benefits of tomato soup into consideration, I don’t believe you’d want to waste any leftover tomato soup. Also, you may have surplus amounts of fresh tomatoes that you wish to make into delicious soup and preserve till a later date.

The fridge is actually a good option for short-term storage of tomato soup, but what if you need to preserve it for long? 

Can you freeze tomato soup? Yes, you can freeze tomato soup. Freezing preserves tomato soup for up to 6 months. However, dairy products like milk and parmesan cheese in the tomato soup can cause its consistency to be altered. 

It is better to skip those ingredients when making a batch of tomato soup intended to be frozen – you can always add them later after thawing and reheating the soup.     

Freezing Tomato Soup 

It is great that freezing works so well for preserving tomato soup. This means that you can conveniently make a large batch of delicious tomato soup to freeze till a later date. As I stated earlier, avoid using dairy products in your tomato soup when you intend to freeze it. Freezing causes the milk proteins and liquids in the soup to separate – this alters the normal consistency and gives the tomato soup an undesirable appearance.  

Tomato soup, both fresh and leftover, must not be left sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours from the time they were prepared. Bacteria grow rapidly at room temperature and eventually cause the tomato soup to spoil after a long time of exposure.  

How to Freeze Tomato Soup  

Both store-bought and homemade tomato soup can be safely preserved in the freezer. To enjoy the 6 months of storage provided by the freezer, make use of the following steps to freeze your tomato soup:  

Step 1: Allow Hot Tomato Soup to Cool Totally  

Before packing fresh or leftover tomato soup for freezing, you need to cool it first. Let the tomato soup sit out at room temperature for some minutes till it has cooled completely. You must be careful not to leave the soup exposed for too long so that it doesn’t spoil. 

If hot tomato soup is placed inside the freezer, it will raise the freezer’s temperature and cause moisture to form. The moisture turns into ice crystals and subjects the tomato soup to freezer burn. 

Also, anyone that is making some tomato soup with the intention of freezing all or part of it should skip dairy ingredients. Unfortunately, leftovers from soups with dairy will just have to be frozen like that. However, their consistency can be significantly restored by reheating on medium heat and stirring with a sturdy spoon.                                                                    

Step 2: Transfer the Tomato Soup into an Airtight Container  

Get an airtight plastic container with a lid and transfer the tomato soup into it. If one container isn’t large enough, use an extra container to store part of the soup. Avoid filling airtight containers to the brim with tomato soup. You should leave some space at the top of the container for any expansion of the soup inside the freezer. 

After filling the airtight container with tomato soup, seal its lead tight. If the lid isn’t sealed correctly, cold freezer air will come in direct contact with the tomato soup and damage its taste and consistency. 

Step 3: Label Airtight Container with Details and Freeze  

Before putting the sealed container inside the freezer, label it with the present date so that you can always know how long the tomato soup has been frozen for. If you’ll be omitting any ingredients during the preparation of the tomato soup, label the freezer-safe container with details of the left out ingredients so that you can remember to add them after thawing and reheating the soup. 

Keep the properly packaged and labeled tomato soup in the freezer for up to 6 months.  

How to Thaw and Reheat Frozen Tomato Soup 

To defrost frozen tomato soup, place it in the refrigerator overnight. It is best done overnight because the process of thawing in the refrigerator usually takes several hours.

After the frozen tomato soup has totally defrosted, you can reheat it on a skillet or in the microwave. If you froze tomato soup with dairy products, you’ll need to stir it together as it reheats over a medium heat skillet – this is done to restore the soup’s consistency.   

Ingredients that were left out during the soup’s preparation can be added back in while the soup reheats. The microwave is also a good option for reheating tomato soup. Simply leave the tomato soup to heat inside the microwave at a high temperature setting. After about 20 seconds of heating, the tomato soup should be ready to eat – be careful not to burn your mouth with hot microwaved soup.    

Conclusion

When done the right way, freezing preserves both fresh and leftover tomato soup for many months. This will keep you supplied with fresh tomato soup that can be thawed and quickly reheated whenever you have a craving for the soup. 

Remember to freeze you tomato soup before it sits out at room temperature for too long. Also, it is not advisable to refreeze tomato soup that has already been frozen, thawed, and reheated.