Easy Make Ahead Meal Prep: 17 Simple Fall Soup Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How many days ahead can you make soup? ›

A general rule of thumb is that soup can be stored in the refrigerator for about three days, but you should always taste your dish before deciding to reheat.

Meal prep soups and stews: Use a freezer-safe container. Glass jars work well for this. Meal prep chicken and rice: Use an airtight container. A green-plastic food container with a lid works well for this.

Making Soup Ahead Is Convenient

Another reason why it's worth making soup the day before? Since many soups take time to simmer to extract flavor from bones and meat, or ingredients like beans just need to cook for a long time, it can be a bit stressful timing a soup to be served for dinner.

High-acid canned goods such as tomato products, juice, fruit, pickles, sauerkraut and foods in vinegar-based sauces can be stored five to seven days. Low-acid canned goods, such as meat, poultry, fish, gravy, stew, soups, beans, carrots, corn, pasta, peas, potatoes and spinach) can be stored three to four days.

Storing pumpkin soup

Pumpkin soup will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, or can be frozen for 3 months – just thaw then reheat using your chosen method. If your soup is too thick, just loosen it with a touch of water when reheating.

As most soup diets are only designed to last for 5 to 10 days, they aren't sustainable weight loss solutions. Furthermore, the severe and rapid reduction in calories and weight can slow your metabolism, making it even harder to maintain your weight loss.

What Experts Say. "The concept of eating soup to lose weight has spanned decades, but experts say an all-soup diet lacks nutrients and is not sustainable. They do agree it can be smart to eat vegetable-packed soups for some meals, though, as these are filling, nutrient-dense, and low in calories."

While no soup alone can magically melt away belly fat, certain soups can be a healthy addition to your diet as part of a balanced and calorie-controlled meal plan. A classic choice, vegetable soup is low in calories and rich in fiber.

The Shelf Life of Refrigerated Meal Preps

Typically, refrigerated meal preps last between 3 to 5 days, depending on the ingredients used. However, this relatively short window can be a challenge for many people, as it requires diligent planning and scheduling to ensure that all meals are consumed before they spoil.

Turn your big batch of soup into convenient grab-and-go meals by freezing it in individual servings. Quart-size freezer bags (or 4-cup freezer-safe plastic or glass containers) will accommodate a single serving while giving the soup room to expand as it freezes, plus when frozen flat, they stack easily.

What is the best thing to freeze soup in? ›

Use good-quality freezer bags: Make sure the box actually says "freezer" on the label. These bags are sturdier and made of thicker plastic than the bags meant for sandwiches. Also, I think it's worth it to buy good-quality bags from a brand that you trust. I generally use quart-sized Ziploc freezer bags.

It makes a big pot of soup, so keep some in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freeze the rest in single-serve portions. That way you always have an easy, delicious vegetable soup to start your meal or to eat for lunch.

While it's perfectly ok to use your crock pot in this way, try to avoid leaving food on the warming setting for more than four hours. According to the USDA, food kept at between 40 and 140 degrees is more at risk of forming bacteria.

That varies by what's inside the slow cooker and also by the appliance's setting and model, the experts say. Most recipes for all-day cooking call for 6 to 8 hours on low. Quality- (and safety-) wise, another 1 to 2 hours in 'keep warm' mode won't mess things up.

As you work through the rest of a batch, knowing how long your soup stays fresh is crucial to maintaining its quality and curbing food waste. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), soups and stews containing meat and vegetables will be safe to eat for three to four days if refrigerated.

Most soups can only last in a refrigerator for 3 to 4 days until they risk going bad, so make sure you place your cooled vegetable soup promptly in the freezer before this point. Make sure your soup lasts well by placing it in an airtight freezer-safe container.

Chicken broth can be refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen (for best quality) for 2-3 months.