How to Keep Soup Warm

You can keep your soup warm in its original pot.

Soup is one of the most flexible dishes you can make. You can follow a strict recipe for a classic soup like potato and leek, minestrone, clam chowder or crab bisque. Alternately, you can throw almost any leftover ingredients together in a pot with some stock and seasonings and create a soup all your own. Keeping soup warm for a long period (such as for a buffet-style dinner in your home) can be difficult. Rather than making your guests microwave their soup, find a way to keep it warm for them.

Things You'll Need

• Slow-cooker (optional)
• Pot (optional)
• Oven-safe container

Instructions

1. Pour your hot soup into a slow-cooker, if you have one. Set it to the lowest setting, which is generally called "Warm." This will keep your soup warm without cooking it quickly. Leave the lid on top to keep the soup from dehydrating and check it regularly to make sure it has enough liquid. If not, add some extra stock.

2. Leave your hot soup in the pot you cooked it in if you do not have a slow cooker. Leave the pot on the hot burner but turn off the heat (unless you have a very large pot of soup, in which case you may leave the heat on the lowest setting possible). Leave the lid on top to keep the soup from dehydrating. You may need to turn on the heat briefly every hour or so, while stirring the soup, to bring its temperature back up.

3. Heat your oven to its lowest setting if you cannot keep your soup warm in a slow-cooker or a pot on the stove. Pour the soup into the oven-safe container, put it in the preheated oven, and turn off the heat. The residual heat will keep the soup warm. Open the oven door as infrequently as possible to keep the hot air from escaping.

Resources

• Soup Recipe