It’s easy to get carried away when knocking together soups like corn chowder. Before you know it, you’ve got a pot full of chowder that you’re too full to eat. So, what should you do with it?
Can You Freeze Corn Chowder?
Yes, you can freeze corn chowder for up to 3 months. The best way to do this is to use non-dairy ingredients in your recipe and then place the cooled chowder into rigid plastic containers. Seal the containers, and place them into your freezer.
Do Does Corn Chowder freeze well? Sometimes
Can you refreeze Corn Chowder? No
How to Freeze Corn Chowder
Freezing corn chowder is a very simple process, but we’d recommend following our steps to make sure you get it right the first time. There are a few precautions you’ll want to take:
- Make Chowder (Without the Dairy): This might be a little surprising to hear, but dairy ingredients can become a bit gritty once they’re in the freezer, which means that the texture of your chowder will be ruined. Avoid this by using non-dairy ingredients instead.
Need a Recipe?
If you’re looking for a freezer-friendly corn chowder recipe then check out our delicious, heart-warming recipe
- Cool: By making sure that the chowder is cool, you can prevent it from getting any condensation while it cools in the freezer. This would be a food safety risk since a humid, warm environment such as that is the ideal place for bacteria to thrive.
- Transfer to Containers and Seal: Transferring the corn chowder to rigid containers will let you freeze it efficiently. You could freeze the chowder in stackable containers, which would let you keep your freezer packed with chowder neatly.
- Freeze: Place the chowder into the freezer. In this case, you don’t have to worry about placement, as there’s not really anything in the chowder that could get freezer burned.
3 Tips for Freezing Corn Chowder
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing corn chowder to have the best results:
Don’t Use Dairy
Dairy ingredients can become gritty and paste-like after they’ve been thawed and frozen. To avoid it, use non-dairy milk, butter, and cream if you can. They can be a little more expensive, but you’ll be able to enjoy the chowder for a little longer.
Avoid Potato
When frozen and thawed in a liquid, potato can become really mushy – it tends to absorb moisture in the freezer. To avoid this happening with your chowder, freeze small cubes of potato separately, and add them to the thawed soup as you heat it.
Consider Your Ingredients
Whenever you’re freezing something that’s a mix of different ingredients, you can only really freeze the whole dish for as long as you can freeze the worst-freezing ingredient. If your chowder has chicken in it, for instance, then it probably won’t freeze as well as it could.
How Long Can You Freeze Corn Chowder?
You can freeze corn chowder for as long as 3 months before it starts to lose any level of quality.
After that time, any meat or starchy additions to the soup may start to lose texture and flavour to freezer burn, but the chowder will still be safe to eat.
If you have made dairy, potato and meat-free corn chowder then you’ll be able to freeze it for longer. It should keep well for up to 6 months.
You can keep leftover corn chowder in the fridge for around 3 to 4 days when kept in an airtight container or covered dish.
How Do You Defrost Corn Chowder?
The simplest way to defrost corn chowder is to place it in the fridge, on a tea towel to absorb any condensation.
After leaving it in the fridge overnight to thaw, place it in the microwave on high for increments of a minute or so. When it’s steaming hot, it’s ready to eat.
Can You Refreeze Corn Chowder?
This depends upon what ingredients you’ve used. You cannot refreeze meat, fish, or raw dairy, as they’re liable to get contaminated while they’re out of your freezer.
Therefore, if your corn chowder contains any of those ingredients, it cannot be refrozen. If it doesn’t contain those ingredients, you can refreeze it as much as you might like!
Does Corn Chowder Freeze Well?
Yes, corn chowder does freeze well.
Provided you make a few adjustments to the recipe and ensure that the final chowder is steaming hot when reheated, it freezes very well! Unfortunately, once you introduce dairy or potatoes, in particular, the chowder won’t freeze quite as well.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing corn chowder or chowder in general, then these may help:
Yes, chowder that contains bacon can be frozen for around 3 months. Bacon freezes fine. The issue you’ll have is if the chowder contains a high dairy content.
