Can You Freeze Lentil Soup in Small/Large Portions? – How Long Does Lentil Soup Last?

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Can you Freeze Lentil Soup?: This winter season, you might crave some yummy hot soup with pieces of crisp bread. However, the cold doesn’t allow you to stand in the kitchen for long. In such cases, we have come up with a life-saving tip. Yes, you can freeze lentil soup for months all by yourself in the freezer and have it anytime you wish to eat.

You can have lentil soup as a starter or main course for any meal. Moreover, people find it easy to cook and therefore preferred by families. Go through the article can you freeze lentil soup below to understand the process of freezing lentil soup, defrosting process, and many more.

Can You Freeze Lentil Soup

Can you Freeze Lentil Soup?  How Long Can You Freeze Lentil Soup?

Yes, it is possible to freeze lentil soup for months following the correct steps along with easy tips. You can freeze lentil soup for around 4—5 months in the freezer with preservatives. The process of freezing at home will be natural.

Therefore, one does not need to worry about usage. Moreover, it is always suggestive to use up all the frozen lentil soup within or before the expiry date.

How to Freeze Lentil Soup?

The freezing process for lentil soup can be done in two ways. Either you can choose to freeze the soup in large portions for family meals. Or you can choose to freeze the leftovers of cooked soup, that is, in a smaller portion.

Freezing Process for Large Portions of Lentil Soup

Look into the simple steps to freeze the lentil soup in large portions.

  • Cook the Soup: Get some fresh lentils from the market to make the soup fresh. The taste of the lentil soup will be highlighted when you use fresh items. Add your own required personalized ingredients to the soup and let it rest.
  • Cool Down the Soup: Once you cook the soup well, make sure you keep it for rest so that the hot soup can cool down. Cooling down the soup before the freezing process is important for allowing the extra moisture to settle down.
  • Keep in the Fridge: Once the soup comes to room temperature, place the soup in the fridge for 30 minutes before moving it to the freezer.
  • Portion it Up: After half an hour, take out the lentil soup from the fridge and then portion it up in freezer bags or containers. Make sure you use good-quality freezer bags and containers so that there is no extra air passing through them.
  • Push Out the Air: This step is specially mentioned for those who are using freezer bags for freezing the lentil soup. In such cases, try to use a vacuum to push off all the extra air.
  • Label and Freeze: For the final step, label the containers and freezer bags full of lentil soup. The label is helpful to ensure that you use up the soup before it turns grainy and smelly.

Freezing Leftover/Small Portion Lentil Soup

If you have leftovers of lentil soup, then you should think of freezing it in small portions. This step of freezing also helps in avoiding wastage.

  • Cook and Cool Down: The first two steps for freezing a small portion of lentil soup is the same as the process of freezing large portions.
  • Place in ice cubes: Once the first two processes are done, you have to bring the ice trays for the freezing process. You can also choose to get bakery muffin trays for the same reason as well.
  • Keep it in the Freezer: Like the large portions, you have to follow the same process for smaller ones. Keep the cubes of lentil soup in the freezer for 2 hours to set.
  • Take it out and add to the bag: Since you cannot put all the cube trays in the freezer because you will need extra space for keeping other items, transfer the frozen cubes to the freezer bag.
  • Pull off the extra air: When you place the frozen lentil soup cubes in the freezer bag, make sure you pull off all the excess air from the bag.
  • Label and freeze: Now label the freezer bags with lentil soup cubes for further reference of usage.

These are the two simple processes for freezing lentil soup at home without using any sort of preservatives. Now, let us have a quick check on the tips to follow.

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Tips to Freeze Lentil Soup

Even if you are well aware of the lentil soup freezing process, it is beneficial to know some of the tips which can help in bringing the best outcomes. Take note of the following points.

  • If you are making a large portion of lentil soup for the freezing process, make sure you portion up the soup in small sections for the cooling process. The large portions will take extra time to cool. By separating it into small portions, you can choose to save time.
  • Make sure you squeeze out all the extra air from the freezer bag before setting the lentil soup frozen cubes for months. Excess air will hamper the freezing process.
  • Do not overcook the lentil soup if you are willing to freeze it for months in the freezer without preservatives. The overcooked lentils will form grainy when set in the freezer. Moreover, when you defrost the soup for reheating, the freshness of the leaves will diminish.

How to Defrost Frozen Lentil Soup?

The easiest way of defrosting lentil soup is to place the frozen portion you need in the fridge to break down the ice crystals. You need to leave the portion in the fridge overnight in case of large portions.

If you need to make the soup a little light, you can add some broth or water to the paste. However, if you have already added enough water during the freezing process, you can directly cook it by piping hot soup and serving it.

Is it Possible to Refreeze Thawed Lentil Soup?

No, since lentils are smooth in texture, it is not suggested to refreeze once defrosted lentil soup. The refreezing process will change the taste and texture of the soup, and the creaminess of the soup will be lost. Therefore, for any reason, avoid refreezing frozen lentil soup.

You can always think of taking out a smaller portion of lentil soup as per your requirement to avoid this refreezing option. Moreover, smaller portion defrosting techniques also help in preventing wastage.

What are the Advantages of Freezing Lentil Soup?

If you are freezing lentil soup at home all on your own, you have the following advantages.

  • Freezing at home helps in preventing your body from including preservatives that you usually consume when you buy items from the supermarkets. Preservatives are not good for health and even have an extreme smell when you consume them.
  • Freezing also saves your time and energy for cooking a hot soup for family and friends’ get-togethers.
  • Moreover, freezing lentil soup at home saves you from spending an extra amount of money on taxes for items that you buy from the market.

Apart from these benefits, lentils themselves come with nutrients and healthy components for the body. The lentil soup is wholesome, which helps in having a good diet.

FAQs on Can You Freeze Cooked Lentil Soup

1. Does lentil soup freeze well?

Yes, lentil soup freezes really well. You can easily have a quick soup recipe from the frozen cubes of lentil soup anytime. However, please note not to refreeze the lentil soup.

2. Can you freeze fresh lentils for soup?

Yes, freezing fresh lentils for soup is also a possible way to do so if you need fresh ones during rainy seasons.

3. What kind of lentil is a good choice for making soup?

You can choose dried lentils for making soup. Dried lentils are best for making any sort of soupy curry or gravy.

4. How long does lentil soup take to defrost?

The defrosting time of frozen lentil soup depends upon the quantity you are going to thaw. If the quantity is high, then it will take overnight to thaw in the freeze.

5. Can you defrost lentil soup at room temperature?

No, it is not advisable to defrost frozen lentil soup at room temperature because this will cause bacteria in the food.

Key Outcomes

As of now, you are well aware of the entire process of can you freeze lentil soup at home. Doing preservation at home using a freezer is best because there is no kind of preservatives used in the process. Follow the above-mentioned tips to get the best results. Freezing lentil soup helps in several ways that you might have already gone through in the above section.

For more information on the preservation and freezing of food items like can you freeze lentils, can you freeze bircher muesli, and many more, please follow the website.

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