Panera soups are delicious and they save you from the stress of cooking. The Panera broccoli and cheddar soup is one of my favorite. A hot bowl of this soup works many wonders for me on cold days. Broccoli and cheddar soup has a wonderful creaminess that greatly appeals to the sense of taste.
There have been a couple of times when I was left with surplus portions of my 32 oz Panera broccoli and cheddar soup. Instead of letting the tasty soup go to waste, I kept it in the freezer till a later date.
If you’ve been wondering: can you freeze Panera broccoli and cheddar soup? The answer is yes, you can freeze Panera broccoli and cheddar soup. Although the creamy nature of the soup can make freezing a bit tricky, you’ll still get great results if you follow the right steps to freezing the soup. Panera broccoli and cheddar soup can be preserved in the freezer for up to 2 whole months.
Your leftover Panera broccoli and cheddar soup can be left to sit at room temperature for about 4 hours; however, it must be transferred into the freezer for long-term preservation after that.
Leaving the soup to sit at room temperature beyond 4 hours will cause bacteria growth to increase and spoil the soup. Toss out any leftover Panera soup that has been sitting out for over 4 hours.
Refrigeration is a more temporary alternative to freezing. You can preserve portions of Panera broccoli and cheddar soup in the fridge for about 3 days. Any additional preservation beyond that time will require freezing.
Contents show
Freezing Panera Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
The very nature of broccoli and cheddar soup makes it a bit more difficult to freeze than some other soups. The dairy products, like cream, found in the soup don’t perform well when they’re subjected to freezer conditions. The presence of such dairy products in the soup can potentially facilitate alterations in the soup’s consistency. The cheddar cheese used in making the soup majorly contributes to the difficulty of freezing this soup.
Panera broccoli and cheddar soup can have some wateriness after being frozen for some time and defrosted. However, there are tips that can be used to successfully freeze and reheat this soup without any much change to its original taste and consistency.
How to Freeze Panera Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
Details like the container used in packing your broccoli cheese soup will ultimately influence the quality of preservation through freezing. With correct knowledge on how to freeze broccoli and cheddar soup, you’ll be able to get the delicious taste and creamy texture of your soup after freezing and reheating.
Steps for properly freezing Panera broccoli and cheddar soup are:
Step 1: Let the Soup Cool Down to Room Temperature
One thing you should never do is putting hot food directly in the freezer. If you Panera broccoli and cheddar soup is still hot, you need to allow it to cool down first. Hot food in the freezer will cause unpleasant effects.
Hot food increases the temperature inside the freezer, which will in turn lead to condensation within the container holding the soup. This condensation makes ice crystals to form and the soup will rapidly lose its taste and consistency.
You can let the broccoli cheese soup to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. However, you must remember that the soup can’t be exposed to room temperature for more than 4 hours. Once the soup has cooled down, you must start the packaging process for freezing.
To allow your hot soup cool rapidly, you can simply divide it into smaller quantities and also submerge the sealed container of soup in icy cold water.
Step 2: Transfer the Soup into a Freezer-Safe Container
Once the soup has cooled down, begin transferring it into a freezer-safe container. If you don’t want to be faced with another situation of leftover broccoli and cheddar soup, you can freeze the soup in individual portions that can be finished in one sitting.
If the entire portion of soup to be frozen can be finished in one sitting, you won’t need to divide it into smaller portions. You can either freeze the soup in a plastic freezer container or a plastic freezer-safe bag. The plastic freezer-safe bags are more preferable to the plastic containers when you want to conserve space in your freezer.
If you’ll be using a single plastic container, or more, make sure that it’s compatible with freezer conditions.
Step 3: Seal the Container Tightly and Label
After choosing your desired container and filling it with the soup, you’ll need to seal it off properly. Before sealing the container, make sure that you’ve left some room for the soup to expand. Failure to leave any room for expansion will cause the soup to leak out of its container and mess up your freezer.
After sealing the container, label it with the current date so that you can always know how long the soup has been frozen for.
How to Reheat Frozen Panera Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
The reheating process of frozen Panera broccoli and cheddar soup is very important. Failure to reheat correctly will result in loss of consistency and poor taste. The large amount of dairy found in broccoli cheese soup makes its reheating process delicate.
Whenever you wish to make use of the soup, remove it from the freezer – you can also try defrosting the soup by letting it sit on the countertop at room temperature, although it isn’t highly recommended.
Place the Panera broccoli and cheddar soup inside your refrigerator to thaw overnight. The thawing process is best done overnight because it can take several hours.
After the soup is fully defrosted, go ahead and transfer it into a saucepan. Reheat the soup in the saucepan over the stove – be careful not to burn the soup. As the soup heats, stir it back together to restore its consistency.
After about 25 minutes the soup should have been properly reheated and ready to eat.
