Top 10 Freezer Soup Recipes

It is always a good time for soup!

Though almost all soups make good freezer meals, some work better than others.  Potato pieces take a long time to heat, cream-based soups can break, and seafood soups can get over-cooked on re-heat.  Each of these recipes we have had success making and reheating.  In some cases, we have learned how to reheat soups that otherwise would not have done well with freezer cooking.




1) Turkey lima bean stew

This recipe is simple, has very few ingredients, and has awesome comfort-foody character and acid (with the white wine).  The lemon really does make it.  This is one of our go-tos.  If you have a pressure cooker, it won't take as long, or you can just remember to soak the lima beans the night before.  I would recommend not using frozen lima beans.  This is an easy soup to reheat.




2) Spanish chickpea soup

Though I tend to like rich, thick stews, this thinner soup is just delicious.  The saffron really adds a certain something that bumps this soup up.  Again, use dried chickpeas, as the texture of a reconstituted dry bean holds up well to the cook, freeze, and reheat.  Also, this soup brilliantly calls for red potatoes, which are starchier and hold up better in the reheat.  The chorizo provides an awesome heat (we often substitute any spicy sausage).  Reheat at less than 100% to adequately reheat everything without making the potatoes mushy.


3) Creamy Tuscan white bean soup


This soup is vegan, as it uses toasted ground cashews as a creamy base.  If you've never tried this, now may be your time to try a vegan soup, because it is delicious!!!!  The sun-dried tomatoes add that kick of flavor.  Combined with the basil and sage, this feels like awesome Italian comfort food.  Because kale holds up well, this soup reheats nicely.



4)  Wazzu tailgate chili

This is my go-to chili recipe.  Wow! If you're wondering if the jalapeno and habanero are BOTH required, I can just tell you that I've made it without the habanero, and it isn't quite the same.  The beer adds a nice acidity, and the cornmeal thickens it up.  The use of 2 proteins:  beef and pork makes for a nice complexity of flavor. Man, there is a bowl FULL of spices added to this, too.  A killer chili.



5) Caribbean stewed chicken with red beans and rice

This is rich, with chicken thighs as the protein. Put that together with some red beans, and this is SUCH comfort food.  With the ginger, ketchup, and other ingredients, this finishes with such a nice, sweet flavor.  Again, this is a champ for reheating....



6) Chicken and brisket Brunswick stew

This is such an easy recipe, using canned and frozen ingredients, but man is it packed with flavor.  I don't know what it is about corn in soup, but the combo of the meaty brisket and corn makes this recipe.  I'm always a fan of a couple of proteins (chicken and brisket/beef) in recipes, and this one doesn't disappoint.




7) Lasagna soup

OK, maybe you might think this is a little too much of a gimmick, but you feel like you are eating a lasagna as a soup.  Italian sausage and tomatoes, yum.  The recipe refers to a "cheesy yum"....freeze this in ice cube trays and put a cube on the bottom of your soup (or the top) when you reheat it in the microwave.  Delicious!






8) Chickpea with basil pesto soup
I'm not sure what it is, maybe the celery combined with the punch of pesto?  You can be as lazy (purchasing pre-made pesto and freezing it in ice cube trays) or as adventurous (make your pesto and freeze it) as you like.  As with the other suggestions, use dried chickpeas rather than canned.  You'll be far happier with the texture after cooking and reheating.  The pesto provides such a nice brightness.


9) Colorado green chili

Can you say "charred chilis?" Oh my word, that is what makes this soup.  Char them on your gas stove or grill, remove the skin, and relax into a killer soup. Hunks of pork make this a robust chili.  You'll feel like you're eating in New Mexico.  The masa harina (a corn flour) thickens this up nicely.  An easy reheat, with nothing to baby along the way.



10)  Bacon, shrimp, and corn chowder

Worried about reheating shrimp?  You have a couple of options...  Buy precooked shrimp and add at the tail end of reheating.  Alternatively?  Reheat at 50 or 40% in 2-3 minute increments and stir.  This chowder has a lovely seasoning with the bacon, and like many good soups, a portion of the soup is blended for thickness.

Making Burgers: Chipotle Black Bean Burgers

This week I thought I'd focus on making burgers for once a month cooking.  Though many people think that OAMC is all about casseroles and soups, it really isn't!  Burgers reheat well directly from frozen, and they are a great way to incorporate seafood, which is usually tricky to reheat.  Alternatively, there are some great vegetarian burger recipes out there, so you can also go healthy if you like.  In fact, the burger recipe I did for this post is a vegetarian chipotle black bean burger with corn.  Original recipe was found at Bev Cooks.  The ingredients for four burgers are listed below, so you can shop a little by ingredient before clicking the link to view the directions:

Ingredients for 4 burgers:

• 1 (14.5 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbs. minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup smoked chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 4 Tbs. jarred chipotle spread, divided
• 1 egg

Toppings:

• 4 sliced pepper jack cheese
• 4 onion buns, split and lightly toasted
• mixed greens
• sliced avocado
• coarse salt, to taste
• lime wedges, for serving

This recipe actually instructs you to bake the burgers,  but I froze them using my typical method, which involves a sort of flash freezing method that will allow pan reheating later.  First, you'll want to spray some cookie or baking sheets with canola oil.  This will make it easier to get the burgers off later.  You'll also want an ice cream scooper (or alternatively, a measuring cup) to create equal size burgers.  I prefer the ice cream scooper as the goopier burgers tend to stick in the measuring cups.

Set up for freezing burgers:  cookie sheet, spray oil, and an ice cream scoop.

After you've sprayed your cookie sheet, you'll want to scoop your burger mixture with the ice cream scooper.  I use a heavily heaped scoop for appropriate size burgers the way I like them, but you can play around.  Another option is to use your kitchen scale to weigh out 1/4 lb. or 1/2 lb. patties.

Heaping scoop for a nicely-sized burger patty.

Keep scooping patties, leaving room to smush out and form the patties when you're out of the mixture.

Scoops of burger mixture, leaving room to form the patties.

Formed patties.

Then you simply place the burgers in the freezer for several hours until frozen solid.  They should come right off the cookie sheet, but if not, a rubber spatula should help to loosen them.  Then you can place the burgers in a gallon zip lock or other container. The bonus to freezing this way is that the burgers do not stick together in the zip lock bag, since they were frozen individually.  Another bonus to freezing burgers this way is that more fragile burgers tend to hold up better (those with lots of veggies, low amounts of binders like egg or bread crumbs).

Tips:  

• When planning for once a month cooking, do the burgers early on in your recipes, as it takes up room in the freezer to freeze them using this method.  
• Don't forget to consider meatball recipes for tasty burgers (yep, you heard me correctly).  You'll have to play with the portion size a bit with a meatball recipe, but if it is meant to hold together for a meatball, it should do well as a burger.
• If the burger recipe includes a tasty mayo or aioli, consider freezing it in ice cube trays for single serving portions.
• Rewarm the frozen patty in a pan over low heat with some cooking oil.  You're still trying to brown the patty, but go slow so the frozen center will cook.  Alternatively, you can speed up the cooking a bit by steaming, like the pros do.  Once your pan is hot and the burger is in, pour 1/4 cup of water in the pan and cover.

Tried and True Recipes Using this Freezer Method: 

• Chipotle Black Bean Burgers (veggie)
• Hoisin Salmon Burgers with Spicy Ginger Mayo
• Cabernet Burgers
• Crab and Shrimp Cakes with Lemon Aioli
• Thai Sesame Patties
• Quinoa Masala Burgers (veggie)
• Bacon Chickpea Burgers