Can corn chowder be frozen?

A cozy dinner with delicious corn soup is probably one of the best food options. But sometimes you end up with leftovers from this hearty dish. What can you do with them?

Can corn chowder be frozen?

Yes, you can freeze the corn chowder. It will keep for more than 3 months in the freezer. However, dairy and potato can cause changes in the texture of the soup after freezing. You can adjust recipes, use mashed potatoes, or remove potato cubes before freezing to minimize the effects.

In this article, you’ll learn all about freezing corn chowder, including the do’s and don’ts.

What is corn soup?

As the name suggests, corn chowder is a chowder, which means it is made with milk, cream, or both.

The main ingredient in corn soup is corn. You can use either fresh corn or canned or frozen kernels.

Potatoes and onion are also a must in most traditional corn soups. You can also add bacon, poultry, or seafood to your corn chowder to make it more filling and add more flavor and texture.

Can corn chowder be frozen?

Most soups are ideal for freezing. You come home from a long day at work and need something cozy and hearty to eat. In these cases, having some prepared corn soup in the fridge is a lifesaver.

You can freeze the corn soup. You can make a big batch and store the leftover corn chowder in a fridge or freezer to enjoy later.

Freezing corn chowder is easy and does not affect the flavor of the chowder. However, you may experience some changes in the consistency of your corn chowder, especially if you made it with milk, cream, or half and half.

When dairy is frozen, it becomes grainy. So when you reheat frozen corn chowder, you may notice that it’s not as smooth as it was before you frozen it.

Dairy-free corn chowder made with plant ingredients will freeze best.

From a safety standpoint, freezing corn chowder poses no health risk, as long as you store the chowder at the proper temperature and thaw it properly.

If you want to make a batch of corn chowder on the weekend and don’t want it to be grainy when you reheat it, you can cook it until it’s time to add the dairy.

This way, you can add the milk or cream when you reheat the soup for dinner. In these cases, it’s also good to add the diced potatoes only when you’re fully cooking the frozen corn chowder for a weeknight dinner.

How to freeze corn chowder

Freezing leftover corn chowder is a great way to save any of this hearty dish for another time. Here we explain how you should do it:

1. Let the soup cool.
2. Portion the soup by pouring the soup into smaller containers or plastic bags. Be sure to pour an equal amount of liquid and corn into each serving.
3. If you are using a container, leave an inch of space between the lid and the corn soup.
4. Mark the containers with the date.

How long does corn chowder last in the freezer?

Properly stored corn chowder will last 2-3 months in the freezer. It can be kept safely in the freezer for a longer time. However, the sooner you consume it, the better it will taste.

In either case, before consuming your pre-frozen corn chowder, inspect it closely and do a “sniff test” to make sure it’s okay to eat.

How to thaw frozen corn chowder

The best way to thaw frozen corn chowder is to let it thaw in the fridge first. Ideally, transfer the corn soup from the freezer to the fridge the day before and let it thaw there overnight.

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Freezing Corn Soup

There are some common mistakes people make when freezing corn chowder. The bad results of these errors are what lead many to believe that it is not a soup to freeze.

1. Overfilling the freezer container or bag

When it comes to freezing corn chowder or any other soup, it’s important to note that they expand once stored in the fridge.

Therefore, when freezing corn chowder, you should not fill the container with the chowder to the brim. Leave some room for it to expand.

But overfilling isn’t the only problem. Sometimes you can’t find the right container to freeze the soup.

You may choose a much larger container than you need and end up with a lot of space in it. This leaves plenty of room for air in the container, increasing the chances of freezer burn.

In these cases, when you only have a couple of ladles of soup left, pour it into a freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can and successfully freeze the small portion of corn chowder.

2. Not Chilling Soup Thoroughly Before Freezing It

As we have said before, before storing the corn soup in the freezer, it must be cooled.

You may be in a hurry and think that the soup has cooled down enough and put it in the fridge right away. But doing so can be cause for concern. The proliferation of bacteria will not only affect your soup, but also you if you eat it.

If you don’t have time to chill your soup thoroughly and store it in the fridge, there is a way to speed up the chilling process safely:

To do this, divide the soup into smaller portions. You can use the containers or plastic bags in which you are going to store the soup. Submerge the containers (bags) with the soup in ice water.

Store the corn chowder in the freezer only when it has cooled completely.

Since corn chowder can take hours to completely cool down, using this method of preparing the chowder for cold storage is a great way to ensure it’s safe for later consumption.

3. Freeze Cubed Potato Corn Soup

If you are cooking corn chowder to freeze, skip adding the cubed potatoes and wait until you thaw and reheat the chowder.

When frozen and thawed, the potato pieces undergo changes in their texture, leaving them mushy and unsightly. They are starchy and absorb the liquid from the soup. This makes it difficult to freeze soups with a lot of potatoes.

If there are potato cubes in your corn soup, you can remove them before freezing.

Or, if you know you’re going to freeze the corn chowder, instead of putting the traditional potato wedges in the chowder, use mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes freeze much better than cubes.

You can add mashed potatoes to the corn chowder as you make it or put some in each bowl of soup when you serve the reheated corn chowder.

Tips for Freezing Corn Soup

Here are some tips to make your freezing corn chowder experience easier and smoother.

Tip #1: Use plant-based milk

Compared to cow’s milk, plant milk undergoes fewer texture changes when frozen. Therefore, if you like corn soup made with non-dairy milk, such as almond or coconut, all the more reason to go for it.

Tip #2: Opt for low-fat milk

If you don’t want to substitute plant-based alternatives for regular milk, the next good option is to use low-fat milk to cook your corn chowder.

The less fat the milk has, the fewer changes it will undergo when frozen and thawed. The reason milk becomes grainy when thawing is that the fat separates from the whey.

So using low-fat milk to make corn chowder is a good way to avoid unpleasant changes in the consistency of the chowder after thawing.

You can also use evaporated milk to make corn chowder if you want minimal texture changes.

Tip #3: Add some bacon

You may already have bacon in your corn chowder. However, adding it on top of the creamy soup creates the best contrast of textures.

Once the soup is reheated, sprinkle it with bits of crispy fried bacon. Doing so will make the soup taste better and give it the feeling of freshly made soup.

Since the soup ingredients soften after being frozen, your corn dish will definitely benefit from the texture of the crispy bits of bacon.

Tip #4: Save space

If you’re one of those people who likes to freeze everything, chances are you’re running out of freezer space. Here’s what you can do to store a large amount of corn chowder in your freezer without taking up too much space.

Pour the soup into resealable plastic bags. Place them in the freezer until they are solid. When you’ve frozen a few bags of corn chowder, stack them to save space.

Tip nº 5: Add cream to recover the texture

As we’ve already mentioned, corn chowder made with dairy tends to get grainy when thawed. To restore the texture of the soup to some degree, you can add some heavy cream to the soup while it is simmering to serve it for dinner.