An American Classic - Your Favorite Chicken Noodle Soup
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Maybe this recipe will become your favorite Chicken Noodle Soup recipe or maybe you already have one that you want to create freeze-dried soup from. The fantastic news is that when you reconstitute freeze-dried soup, it will be as great as the recipe you made before freeze-drying it. You are in charge of how flavorful the ingredients are going into this soup.
Make an extra big batch of soup, have some for dinner then freeze-dry the rest and add to your long-term food storage. Re-hydrating the soup will make for a quick, healthy meal.
This article is specific for freeze-drying a meal but if you are looking for more information about freeze-dried food in general consider checking out this post “Why & How to Freeze Dry Food.“
Why do you want to add this recipe to your food storage?
- Quick tasty family favorite.
- You can use the highest quality, tasty ingredients.
- Make a big batch when ingredients are on sale.
- Great for camping trips.
- Control ingredient based on personal preference (i.e. Organic, gluten free, etc.).
- Great recipe to use your garden harvest.
- Very affordable.
- High nutritional value.
TIME
freeze Drying TIME
~32 hrs
How to Freeze Dry Soup?
Freeze drying soup is easy if you have a Harvest Right freeze dryer. In fact, it is a fantastic way to prevent wasting leftovers.
When making the soup, keep in mind that freeze-dried food can easily break into smaller pieces after it is freeze-dried. Cut the soup ingredient larger into large chucks to accommodate for any breakage.
When loading the soup onto the trays be careful not to spill the broth. You can do this by not adding all of the broth to the tray until you have the tray partially inserted into the freeze dryer, then carefully add the additional broth.
Follow the freeze drier steps to freeze-dry.
After freeze-drying
How to store freeze dried soup?
Adding complete meals, like homemade soup, is a great staple for your emergency food supply.
Once the soup is freeze-dried, break the soup into large sections that will fit in mylar bags. I break it into large pieces as opposed to small ones because I want large chunks in my soup and the freeze-dried content breaks easily.
Store in an airtight container. My preference is mylar bags, with an oxygen absorber, so the soup is easy to grab for camping or even to take to work for lunch.
When freeze-dried food is properly stored it will last up to 25 years.
For more detailed storage instructions, check out our “How To Store Freeze Dried Food : 25 Year Shelf Life” post. Also, if you want are looking for storage shelving/organizing tools, check out “20 Creative Canning Storage Ideas: Easy, DIY, Hacks.”
How do you rehydrate freeze dried soup?
Rehydrating soup is very easy. Follow these steps and you will be eating in just a few minutes.
Rehydrating purchased freeze-dried soup: Follow package directions
Rehydrating homemade freeze-dried instructions:
- Place freeze-dried soup in a medium pan.
- Add hot water. Err on the safe side by adding less water.
- Bring to a boil.
- Taste the broth to determine if there is enough water.
- Add more water if necessary.
- Boil for a few minutes (~3 min).
- Sample soup to ensure your ingredients are rehydrated.
Kitchen Tools Used
Freeze Drying Tools:
- Harvest Right Freeze Dryer & Trays
- Harvest Right Silicone Mats
Kitchen Tools:
- Knives and/or Kitchen Shears
- Scales
Storage Tools:
More Great Freeze Dried Recipes
Costco Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup for a Large Group (15-22) servings)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion
- 8 medium carrots
- 4 stalks celery
- 18 cups chicken broth
- 5 lbs rotisserie chicken (1 large Costco sized)
- 5 cups wide egg noodles (or your favorite)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
- salt to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep all vegetables.
- Saute butter and onions in an extra large stock pot. Cook until onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and poultry seasoning and continue sauteing for an additional 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- While the soup base is coming to a boil, de-bone the cooked whole rotisserie chicken and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- Add carrots and celery. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Add the wide noodles to the pot. Boil for about 8 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
All Your Questions Answered
Is freeze-dried soup good?
Yes, freeze-dried soup rehydrated is great, especially if you freeze-dry your own favorite soup recipe at home!
There are also commercially sold freeze-dried soups that are great to use for camping or to add to your emergency food storage.
Is freeze dried soup healthy?
Yes, freeze-dried soups are healthy. Freeze-dried food retains most of its nutrition and soups contain a lot of nutritious ingredients. If you freeze-dry your own soups, you have control over how nutritious the soup is.
How to store freeze dried food after opening?
After opening freeze-dried food, it needs to be stored in an airtight container. Freeze-dried food will begin to reabsorb moisture from the air and spoil. For long shelf life, Mylar bags, along with an oxygen absorber, are easy and inexpensive. If your food was in a mylar bag to start with, you can add a fresh oxygen absorber and reseal the same mylar bag with any unused freeze-dried food.
How long does freeze dried food last after opening?
Manufacturers recommend using opened packages within one to three weeks after opening. This is particularly true with meats, dairy, brown rice, and tree nuts.
You can extend the life of the food to several months if you take into consideration the following factors:
- The quality of the food at the time the package was opened.
- The degree to which food is exposed to oxygen and moisture in the air – It’s important to put the food in a container that will lock out the moisture.
- The degree to which food is exposed to heat and light
Why Freeze Dry Food?
Taste, texture, nutritional value, and shelf life are great reasons to add freeze dried food to your emergency or long-term food storage.
Taste – with the water removed from the food, the flavors of freeze dried food actually become more concentrated. Freeze-dried fruits have amazing flavor, which make great snacks.
Texture – comparing the texture of rehydrated freeze-dried food with canned and dehydrated food is very worth while. I prefer dehydrated onions for cooking. I love many canned foods like peaches. Canned chicken is great for a chicken salad sandwich, among other things. However, there are many freeze dried items who’s texture is preferrable to have in your long-term food storage. The texture of rehydrated chicken is fantastic for BBQ chicken sandwiches.
Nutritional value – “Nutrition labels of commercially freeze-dried broccoli, pineapple and cooked chicken chunks compare favorably to nutrient data of raw or commercially frozen products (see the USDA Food Composition Database).” https://extension.usu.edu/preserve-the-harvest/research/buying-a-home-freeze-dryer-what-to-know-before-you-go
Shelf life – Feeze dried food will store up to 25 years.
If you purchase your own freeze drier, the sky is the limit on being able to customize your food storage options.
How long will freeze-dried food keep?
Up to 25 years. Once vacuum sealed, some contributing factors are temperature and light. If you have a dark, cool place to store the freeze dried food, then mason jars are a good choice for long term storage. If you don’t have a dark place to store, then you may want to use Mylar bags, since they keep the light out.
Harvest Right has this great article to help explain. https://harvestright.com/blog/2016/how-to-package-freeze-dried-food-so-it-keeps-for-25-years/
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