There is no single figure for “soup”. A bean soup and a seafood soup differ by a factor
of four, and cream is the variable that catches people out. Taken by type:
Bean and lentil — 4 to 5 days
The longest keeper on the list. Pulses are dense and low in free water, and these soups
are usually acidic enough to help themselves.
Vegetable, broth-based — 3 to 4 days
The baseline. Freezes cleanly for three months as well.
Meat or chicken — 3 to 4 days
Same as vegetable, provided it was cooled fast. If the pot sat out to cool, halve it.
Mushroom — 2 to 3 days
Mushrooms spoil faster than vegetables, and it shows on the third day.
Freezes for two months.
Cream or milk-based — 2 to 3 days
And do not freeze it: dairy splits. If a batch is destined for the freezer, make the base
without cream and add it when reheating. The same applies to cheese and coconut milk.
Seafood — 1 to 2 days
The shortest of all, and not freezer material either — prawns and mussels go rubbery
on a second heating.
What applies to every one of them
Cooling is the whole game. A deep pot can sit for hours in the range where
bacteria multiply fastest, even inside a fridge. Pour it into a wide shallow container,
or stand the pot in cold water. Twenty minutes of attention buys two days.
Reheat by the bowl. Each reheat costs about a day. Bring broth-based soups
to a proper simmer; keep cream soups below a boil, because that is where they split.
Leave the potato out of anything going into the freezer — it comes back
mealy. Everything else in the pot freezes fine.
When to stop
A sour or fizzy smell, bubbles without heat, a slippery film, cloudiness in what was
a clear broth. Do not taste-test a soup you are unsure about.
Elsewhere in the guide:
How long does borscht last in the fridge ·
Cold Sorrel and Fish Soup on Yogurt ·
Can you freeze sour cream ·
Why broth is cloudy