How to thaw soup without noodles going mushy

Question

I made a great vegetable soup in which I also put noodles and beans. Fresh, it was perfect. I froze most of it in small containers to thaw as I needed them. The problem is that when I thaw them, the noodles seem to get overcooked (they were "just-right") when the batch was fresh. I thaw the soup in a pot on the stove. I don't cook it exceptionally high, just hot enough to melt and warm the soup. Is there a better way to do it, so that the noodles (and to a lesser extent, the beans) won't get mushy when cooking to thaw?

Answer

Pasta will get softer and mushier with every heating and cooling cycle. Try a grain or rice instead.

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