Freezing soups, what to put the soup in

[starbuckmom]

I have come across some yummy soups lately and would like to make some up and freeze in single portions for myself so I can pull in out in the morning and have a yummy, nutritious meal come lunch time.

What do you freeze your single portion meals in? I found some Rubbermaid round containers but of course those are plastic.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

Canning jars work well if you want avoid plastic. If I'm in a not-caring about it mood though, I will freeze single servings in ziplock bags just because they freeze, store, and thaw so easily.

[EviesMom]

I don't know about with no plastic, but I have used plastic drink cups before, and after freezing popped the frozen soup out and put them all in a big ziplock. Then you can take one with you and reheat in a mug easily.

[MissE]

ANother vote for Ziploc bags. I make sure the food is cold though and won't heat up food in the bags either.

[harrietsmama]

I use smaller mason jars, in fact I just made 24 quarts of soup and have it cooling on the counter

Just to clarify, I freeze it in the jars - get the ones that say freeze ok on them. you can get 8 oz, 12 oz, 16 oz, and 32 oz. I freeze most of mine in quart (32 oz) jars since I have a family of 8, but I also do several 8 oz and 16 oz jars too. It takes 2 days to defrost usually, and if you must use a microwave they are ok for that, but sometimes I just eat it cold.

[Ruthie's momma]

To feed the family (and have leftovers), I freeze soups, sauces and one-pot meals in large freezer bags. For individual meals, I use small freezer bags. Either way, I can store a lot of prepared food in our relatively small freezer (the bags are stacked).

[SparklingGemini]

I use canning jars to freeze stuff ALL the time. Most jars(Ball, Kerr, Weck)are safe for freezing and either say so on the packaging or the company's website.

I just leave a headspace and cool the jars before putting them into the freezer because hot soup in a jar can affect the temperature unfavorably.

Ball also makes a line of plastic preservation containers that are labeled freezer jars. They come in 8oz, 16oz and 32oz.

I'm just partial to glass.

[Kinza]

We try not to use a lot of plastic, but for freezing soups it just works better than glass, in my opinion.  We went to the Chinese restaurant we get takeout from and bought 25 of the quart soup containers they send takeout soup out in, for 20 cents apiece.  They are number 5 plastic, so they're relatively safe to use.  They're much cheaper than Ziploc or Rubbermaid, and the lids don't crack as easily as the branded ones do after freezing.  It's not perfect, but it's the best thing I've figured out for us to do.

[Graceie]

I bought a set of glass snap wear containers at Costco they have worked great for storing stew in the freezer even for months

[SparklingGemini]

Originally Posted by Kinza 

We try not to use a lot of plastic, but for freezing soups it just works better than glass, in my opinion.

Why is that?

[Kinza]

Originally Posted by SparklingGemini 

Originally Posted by Kinza 

We try not to use a lot of plastic, but for freezing soups it just works better than glass, in my opinion.

Why is that?

Because I'm clumsy and drop frozen things!    The plastic might crack if I drop it, but the glass for sure shatters.  Also, even with space left at the top for expansion, and proper cooling before putting into jars, some of the glass jars still crack in the freezer.  (Not often, maybe three times in two years, but still annoying.)  So I stick with plastic containers.

[Graceie]

I drop it all the time and there is something cool about the snap wear never broken it , Ive also used bag when I run out of other contaners though

[APToddlerMama]

pyrex glass containers...they can be microwaved or put in the oven to reheat. 

[Breathless Wonder]

We use smaller Mason jars, salsa jars, jelly jars, peanut butter jars...

[cyclamen]

Tempered glass (pyrex) lock n lock type stuff.  They sell it at TJ Maxx.  Regular glass always breaks on me, even mason jars.

[ParisApril]

Originally Posted by Breathless Wonder 

We use smaller Mason jars and peanut butter jars...

This here too.  I've not had a jar break yet.  I just put the frozen jars in a bowl or sink of cold water and in 20-30min the food is ready to pop out for reheating.  I also freeze casseroles in pyrex glass dishes with plastic lids.  I picked up a few milk crates to organize the freezer last week they work great for storing the glass jars.

I recently froze some apple cider in zip locks and one leaked all over the place before it froze.  I just noticed it and am not looking forward to cleaning up that sticky mess.  I do like zip locks for freezing fruit, breads and baked goods.  I'm going to stick with glass for my liquids in the future though.

[Ellp]

I usually avoid plastic but for soup I use old yoghurt containers.  We get the 750ml size and they're perfect for 2-3 servings of soup.  I ladle the cold soup in, put the lid on and it fits into our freezer very well if you keep it upright.  Since I never microwave plastic, when I want to have soup I just let the frozen soup stand at room temp till it melts enough to slide out, then reheat.

[Aubergine68]

I freeze soup and chili in my stoneware soup bowls, then run the bowl under hot water just long enough to pop the portion out, then freeze in large ziplock bags.  Dh can take one of our bowls and a soup-sicle with him and easily microwave a portion at work for lunch and I can pull out just  as many portions as I need to reheat on the stove top or crockpot.  The soup doesn't touch plastic until it is frozen, so I feel better about the plastic exposure.

ETA I also freeze sauces and stocks in 1/2 cup portions in muffin pans (silicone works well if you don't mind silicone, but you can also use a metal pan), then I put the frozen portions in ziplocks.