Can You Freeze Soy Milk? Here’s What Happens

There’s some leftover soy milk in the fridge, and you won’t be able to use within the next week or so. You know it lasts only so long after opening, so you’re looking for ways to lengthen its shelf life. Can you successfully freeze soy milk? And if so, how to do it?

The best answer I can give you is: freezing soy milk is perfectly fine, but only if you’re going to use it as part of a recipe. Let’s dive into details.

Can You Freeze Soy Milk?

For starters, I want you to know that soy milk sellers generally don’t recommend freezing their product. Here’s what Alpro (Alpro) says about freezing their soy milk:

Yes, if our products are used in a recipe, your meal can easily be stored in the freezer as long as you stick to the general freezing guidelines (…) If our products are not incorporated in a recipe, we do not recommend freezing them.

A similar message comes from Silk (Silk):

We do not recommend it. Although freezing does not affect their safety or nutritional value, Silk products change in texture when thawed.

And their concerns are perfectly legit, because yes, the texture of soy milk slightly changes after freezing and thawing. Here’s how a glass of defrosted soy milk looks like:

And here’s the same glass next to fresh soy milk:

The difference in terms of appearance isn’t that significant (if visible at all), certainly nowhere near the difference between fresh and thawed almond milk (see photos in my article on how to freeze almond milk).

Other than the appearance, the thawed soy drink feels slightly different than the fresh one in terms of texture, and that’s probably what the producers meant.

Does that mean that we shouldn’t freeze soy milk? Not at all. The noticeable texture change is vital if you drink it straight from the glass, but is nowhere that relevant if you incorporate it in a recipe, like a smoothie, or dessert.

And that’s the answer to the question of whether freezing soy milk makes sense: it all depends on how you plan on using it once thawed. And if you don’t have any recipes in mind right now, don’t worry. Later on, I share a couple of ideas to get you started.

Freezing Soy Milk

Below we cover two ways of freezing soy drink. Each has its pros and cons and is the best choice in other circumstances.

How To Freeze Soy Milk In Cubes?

Going with ice cubes is great if you need to be able to easily thaw as much soy milk as you need at a time. You don’t need to worry about how you’re going to use the liquid after thawing, because no matter the recipe, you can defrost the required volume of soy milk without leftovers. The whole process takes a couple of minutes longer than freezing the liquid in containers, though.

Here’s how it goes:

1. Pour soy milk into an ice cube tray.

   

2. Put the tray into the freezer and leave it there until cubes freeze. I usually leave it in there overnight.
3. Transfer the cubes into a freezer bag. You can, of course, leave everything as is, but if you’re like me, you need that tray for other purposes. Another benefit is that you can quickly grab a couple of cubes whenever needed.

   

4. Chuck the bag into the freezer. If you find it useful, label the bag, so you know what’s in it and when it was frozen.

How To Freeze Soy Milk In Containers?

Freezing in containers is great if you know beforehand how much soy milk you need for a recipe. For example, if you know that your smoothie requires half a cup of soy milk, you can freeze a container with exactly this amount. This way, once you defrost it, it’s ready to go without measuring or anything. And in some cases, you might be even able to throw it in frozen.

The whole thing goes like this:

1. Portion the soy drink into containers. When in doubt, it’s usually better to use a few smaller ones than one or two big ones. Label each one with name and volume if you think you might need it later on.
2. Chuck the containers into the freezer.

That’s it. You should be done in a couple of minutes tops.

How To Defrost Soy Milk

When it comes to thawing frozen soy milk, there are a couple of options:

• Overnight in the fridge. The safest and slowest way, best for those of you good with planning ahead.
• In water. If you’re pressed for time, thawing in a bowl of lukewarm water might be an option.
• Throw it in frozen. Try adding soy milk cubes instead of ice cubes to your smoothie.

How To Use Thawed Soy Milk

Okay, you know that frozen and defrosted soy drink works best when incorporated into recipes. Here are some ideas for you:

• Smoothies. That was obvious, wasn’t it?
• Desserts, ice creams, etc. In this case, often you can make the dessert using fresh soy milk and freeze the prepared thing instead.
• Pancakes and muffins. Pancakes and muffins with dairy-free milk are super popular among vegans, and there are dozens of recipes out there worth trying.
• Coffee whitener.

Sources

• Alpro Alpro: Can I freeze Alpro products for storage?
• Silk Silk: FAQs