How to Freeze African Peanut Soup
If you’re hoping to freeze African peanut soup so you can enjoy it all year round, the good news is that it freezes extremely well. Let’s take a look at the method you should follow to safely freeze your soup and ensure the best flavour is retained.
- Leave to Cool
The first thing you need to do when your soup is cooked is to leave it to cool. The best way to do this is to set it aside and remove it from the pan in which it was boiled. You should place it in a large bowl with a decent surface area, so your soup cools quickly. Cover the soup with a paper towel while cooling. - Separate Into Portion Sizes
When your soup has cooled to room temperature (this will take 2-3 hours), you should separate it into individual portion sizes. If you freeze it as a single batch, you will have to defrost it all at once. While this is perfectly fine, it’s not ideal if you’re hoping to take your soup out for the odd lunch. - Place into Bags
It’s perfectly fine to freeze soup in freezer-safe bags, but it’s preferable to use containers. This is because the containers protect the soup from taking in other odours from within the freezer and ensures the desired taste of the soup will be retained. If you’re worried about space, you could perhaps freeze the soup in individual bags and then place it in a larger container. - Label and Freeze
When you’ve separated your soup into portion sizes, label the bags or containers and add the date the soup was prepared and your desired use-by date.
How to Freeze African Peanut Soup with Chicken
If you decide to put pieces of chicken in your African peanut soup, you can follow the same steps outlined above. However, you need to make sure you transfer the soup into the freezer within three days of cooking.
Vegetable soups can remain in the refrigerator for up to one week before freezing, but to ensure the meat is safely preserved, you should transfer meat-based soups into the freezer as soon as you can.
3 Tips for Freezing African Peanut Soup
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing African peanut soup to have the best results:
- Garnish After Defrosting – If you’re preparing your African peanut soup with the intention of freezing a large batch of it, it’s a good idea to leave some of the herbs aside and add them when it comes to reheating. This is because some herbs go bad when they’re frozen, so if you remember, it’s a good idea to add the herbs separately to get the best possible taste from your soup.
- Ensure Even Distribution of Ingredients – When you’re separating your soup into portions, make sure you ladle the ingredients evenly, as you should make sure each portion is as tasty as the next!
- Vegetarian Soup Will Last 1 Week – If you’ve prepared a vegetarian version of African peanut soup, you can leave it in the refrigerator for up to seven days before freezing. This is ideal if you plan to use it up within one week, as you don’t have to worry about freezing and defrosting. Any soup with meat, however, must be frozen within three days.
How Long Can You Freeze African Peanut Soup?
You can freeze African peanut soup for around five months. The length of time you can freeze the soup doesn’t actually change, regardless of whether or not you’ve included chicken.
You Can Freeze African Peanut Soup for up to 6 Months
How Do You Defrost African Peanut Soup?
The best way to defrost African peanut soup is to remove the portion you wish to defrost the night before you intend to use it and place it in the refrigerator. You can then reheat it from chilled. If you’re in a rush, you can defrost it in the microwave on low heat before either heating thoroughly in the microwave or warming through on the stove.
If you have included chicken in the recipe, you need to take some extra precautions to defrost your soup. Never leave chicken to defrost on the countertop. If you defrost it in the microwave, you need to be aware that the soup must be cooked immediately after defrosting.
If you place it in the refrigerator, chicken usually takes a full day to thaw, so you should leave yourself enough time. You can then leave the soup for up to one day before reheating and enjoying it.
Can You Refreeze African Peanut Soup?
It is perfectly safe to refreeze vegetarian African peanut soup. However, to avoid having to refreeze it, make sure you separate the soup into appropriate portion sizes before placing it in the freezer in the first place.
It is also safe to refreeze chicken after it has been defrosted within its respective shelf life. You should only refreeze chicken-based recipes that have been thawed in the refrigerator.
Does African Peanut Soup Freeze Well?
African peanut soup freezes extremely well and doesn’t require any specialist methodology to get the best results. Let it cool and package it up in individual portions, and you can enjoy this delicious, winter warming soup the whole year-round.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing African peanut soup or African soup in general, then these may help:
Can You Freeze Sweet Potatoes?
One of the most common ingredients in an African peanut soup (besides the peanut flavour) is sweet potato. It balances perfectly against the salty, nutty flavour of peanuts. But can you freeze sweet potatoes? Like most vegetables, sweet potatoes can be frozen easily.
Can You Freeze African Peanut Soup in Tupperware?
If you want to ensure spillages don’t occur, then freezing peanut soup in Tupperware is the best approach to take. However, the negative here is that it will take up more room in the freezer, whereas freezer bags use up less space.
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