Meal Prepping Soups

Meal prepping soups is one of the easiest, most affordable meal prepping methods. On top of that, soups are versatile and last a while in the freezer, just a few reasons soup is so popular. It’s soup season and a perfect time to dust off your big pots and instant pots. Soup meal prep is very forgiving, you can adjust and season as you go and build up flavors slowly. There are many soup tricks to learn to balance the saltiness, thickness, maintain vegetable textures, and much much more.

A good thing to check before you get started is how many meal prep soup containers you have available. It’s frustrating to spend hours making a soup only to find that you don’t have the right containers to actually take it with you. If you’re planning to freeze the majority of it, then a gallon bag will suffice. It freezes well and is more convenient to store in the freezer. Lastly, make sure to let soup cool down to room temperature before putting it in the fridge or freezer.

Soups are some of the most affordable options for home cooking. Not only does it go a long way but it’s great for cheap or throw away ingredients. Leaner and tougher cuts of beef and pork are great options for stews. The longer cooking times and broth help break down the protein and these cuts have great flavor, it’s just the texture and tenderness that need help.

Cuts to use in stews and soups

• Chuck
• Bone-in short rib
• Bohemian (Bottom Sirloin Flap)
• Beef Round
• Oxtail
• Cross-cut shanks

Depending on the recipe you’re making, the order of cooking can vary however a good rule is to sear the meat before you add it to the broth. This searing helps maintain the flavor and bite of the meat as well as adding a caramelized note. 

Meal prepping with soups is also a great way to save money with all of the off-cuts of vegetables. Broccoli stalks, carrot peels, beet skins, there are tons of ways to use these pieces of vegetables in a soup and never notice. 

You can even make delicious broth with bones. A popular option to buy an entire chicken, after cleaning the meat off, you can use the carcass to create a homemade chicken broth. A good broth can be easy, water and strong ingredients from the pantry, concentrates, herbs, and salt and pepper. Soups alongside the rest of your meal prep makes cooking at home even more affordable. 

There are 4 famous soup bases the French mirepoix, German suppengrün, Spanish sofrito and Creole “holy trinity” are four classic flavor bases that dominate many western recipes

Mirepoix & Suppengrün: Made by cooking onions, celery, and carrots in a pot. Mixed together and started all at the same time, they are cooked slowly in butter or oil without browning them. This brings the flavor out.

Sofrito: Sofrito is a flavorful cooking base used in many Latin American, Caribbean, and Spanish cuisines. Traditionally, it is made by grinding ingredients together using a mortar and pestle. Often made with onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato, and cilantro with additional spices.

Creole “holy trinity”: Similar to the French Mirepoix, the Creole soup base starts with onions, celery, but then substitutes bell peppers in for carrots.

However we often tend to be too busy for more involved soup meal prep recipes and we are just looking for a simple, no fuss soup. Crock pots and instant pots are amazing for this. With a bit of store bought stock or bouillon cubes, throw everything into the pot and just set to cook for hours. (typically around 4 hours) You can still build up flavors and it’s just as delicious with way less work. These recipes are perfect soup meal prep for busy schedules.

Our Favorite Meal Prepping Soup Recipes