How To Fix Frozen Soup That Loses Texture After It Thaws

Defrosted soup isn't the sexiest of leftovers, especially when all of the beautiful textures you spent so long developing disappear into the frozen tundras of preservation. However, it's actually quite simple to revive your soup into a new version of the vibrant, textured dish — all you need to do is add something crunchy.

The easiest way to go about this is to add a store-bought topper like croutons, oyster crackers, pork rinds or cracklins. Even some roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds will add a great nutritious crunch. Or take a page out of the book of teenage snacking and top your soup with your favorite flavored chips. Hot tip: When drenched in soupy liquid, kettle chips will hold their integrity for longer periods due to their thicker cuts. While these would all work, ultimately, we recommend taking the time to make your own crunchy goodies.

For example, instead of run-of-the-mill store-bought garlic croutons, we recommend turning your leftover pizza into croutons. You can buy crispy fried onions, but nothing beats making your own fried shallots – they may lose a little bit of that crispy texture when added to your soup, but the sweet and salty flavor is well worth it. If you really want to get adventurous, try adding air-fried pickles to your soup — but make sure a dose of vinegar won't overwhelm your original flavor profile.

We threw a lot of delicious soup-topping options at you, but note that these topping suggestions do not pair with any old soup. It's definitely on a case-by-case basis. So it's always good to look to the seasonings in your soup to get inspiration for complementary flavors.

Cream-based soups do well with some added fat, acid, or your favorite herb combo. So for example, a creamy leek and potato soup already has strong herby from the leek, adding crisped-up pancetta will offset the creaminess with a savory, salty flavor. Your butternut squash soup may or may not have cream in it, but either way, just about anything with a crunchy, spicy, or aromatic kick will help create more complexity in the soup. Or get creative and try the fried herb salsa from this pork recipe, which we think would pair excellently with a veggie soup.

Broth-based soups might be a little trickier depending on which type you're trying to revive. The subtle rustic flavors of a chicken noodle soup would do well with a pickled topping like fresh chimichurri or pickled jalapeños. For other, more complex soups, you can try adding a different iteration of an ingredient that's already in the soup. For example, if your soup already has kale in it, you can roast up some kale chips to add a crispier texture. The beautiful thing about reviving leftovers is there's a lot of room to experiment.