Soup is one of those easy foods that can easily be reheated over the stove or in a microwave. Especially on a cold, rainy day, there’s nothing better than a grilled cheese with tomato soup.
Soups can safely be reheated after 3-4 days in the refrigerator or even up to 3-4 months in the freezer.
It’s fairly easy to reheat soup in a microwave, and there are a few things to keep in mind as you move through the process. The main goal is to reheat soup to a safe and delicious temperature in the microwave. Let’s get into it!
How to Reheat Refrigerated Soup in the Microwave
- Pour your soup into a microwave-safe bowl. You want to make sure to leave enough room at the top of your bowl to prevent spillage. When soup heats quickly, it can boil over – even in the microwave.
- Cover the bowl loosely. You can use plastic wrap, a microwave-safe plate, or a Tupperware lid. Don’t place it on the bowl to where it covers the entire top – leave a small opening on the top for steam to escape.
- Heat your soup on high for 20-25 seconds. Stir your soup, then heat your soup again for another 20-25 seconds.
- Repeat the heat-stir-heat method until your soup is steaming. If you have an instant thermometer, your soup should have reached a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the center.
- Let your soup cool slightly. After about 2 minutes, your soup should be at the perfect temperature. Serve immediately.
How to Reheat Frozen Soup in the Microwave
This method works best when your soup has been frozen in a freezer-safe bag. If your soup has been frozen in a plastic container, that’s fine. In both instances, you’ll need to transfer your soup to a microwave-safe bowl as soon as you can.
- Keep your soup in your freezer-safe bag. Make sure your microwave setting is on medium (too hot could melt the bag!) and place your soup bag in the center.
- Heat your soup for 20-30 second increments. Open the microwave door between each interval and give your soup bag a little shake, to loosen up the contents. Repeat until your soup is at a consistency where you can transfer it into a microwave-safe bowl, similar to earlier.
- Cover your microwave-safe bowl loosely. Same as earlier, use a piece of plastic wrap, a plate, or a lid to loosely cover your soup bowl. Make sure you leave room for steam to escape.
- Heat, stir, repeat. Heat your soup on high in 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between. You’ll most likely need to heat your soup for a minimum of 3 minutes for it to thaw and heat completely.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Keep in mind that soup heated too quickly in the microwave can boil over. For best results, heat your soup in shorter increments of time, stirring in between.
When you heat soup in a microwave, you can also run the risk of explosion. Don’t worry! It just means you tried to heat too much soup, too quickly. Try heating up your soup in smaller amounts, 30 seconds at a time.
You may want to remove your soup bowl from the microwave using potholders. Some bowls can get very hot when heated. Happy eating!