20 Soup Recipes That Will Keep You Warm All Winter Long
Cozy up with a bowl of one of our favorite soup recipes, it will make the weather outside a little less frightful.
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When there's a chill in the air or a soft blanket of fresh snow on the ground, most of us begin to crave warm meas. While baked dishes like casseroles, lasagna, and macaroni and cheese all have a reputation for being the ultimate in comfort food, we think soups deserve the spotlight. The soup recipes in this collection are wide-ranging—they include both timeless classics and new, creative offerings. Each one is filling enough to enjoy for dinner, and they're guaranteed to warm you—and your entire family—up on the coldest of winter days.
To start, we have a handful of comforting soups that are chicken-based, such as a traditional chicken noodle soup that our editors love and a chipotle chicken soup that's perfect for time-pressed cooks as it makes use of three canned ingredients. We also have soups with plenty of protein that doesn't come in the form of meat, which means you'll likely be able to prepare them with just what's in your pantry—no last-minute run to the grocery store required. Take our Escarole and Bean Soup, pictured here, as an example. The bright, flavor-packed meal makes use of nutritious ingredients, like an entire head of leafy green escarole, as well as two types of beans—garbanzo and red kidney. Although the dish can easily stand on its own, you won't regret making homemade bread for dipping.
This collection of soups also highlights hearty vegan recipes, like our crowd favorite vegetable and bean soup—just skip the grated Parmesan cheese garnish. Another vegan option is our lentil soup. The dish is no slouch when it comes to flavor, thanks to its wonderfully rich broth that's made with crushed tomatoes and red-wine vinegar.
When you're looking for an extra-special meal that will warm you from the inside out on cold, winter days, these recipes have you covered. And, perhaps best of all, most of them will make enough so you can enjoy another bowl the next day, too!
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Test Kitchen's Favorite Tomato Soup
No cream is needed to make this tomato soup that's a favorite among our editors. Instead, a butter-and-flour roux is used to achieve its velvety, rich texture. Other flavor elements come from the sautéed onions, pungent garlic, and aromatic fresh basil. The soup can stand alone, but we think it's best enjoyed with its go-to companion: grilled cheese.
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Vegan Lentil Soup
Fiber-packed, filling, and meat- and dairy-free, this lentil soup uses crushed tomatoes and a touch of red-wine vinegar for its base, while an array of vegetables—broccoli rabe, carrots, and celery—give the dish its vibrant color and deep flavor.
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Beef, Pumpkin, and Shiitake Soup
From Vietnamese pho to rustic French stew, this recipe takes inspiration from cuisines around the world. Beef chuck is boiled until it is fall-off-the-bone tender, then onion, chopped pumpkin and its peels, shiitake stems, and cabbage leaf are added to the pot to cook. Use basil and a splash of fish sauce to add a dose of umami flavor.
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Chipotle Chicken and White-Bean Soup
One-pot meals are the MVP of dinner, and this take on tortilla soup is no exception. Using three-canned ingredients—tomato sauce, chipotle-in-adobo sauce, and white beans—make it a real time saver without sacrificing flavor.
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Minestrone with Winter Greens
Take your taste buds to Italy without leaving the comfort of your kitchen when you enjoy this minestrone soup. Packed with protein-rich cannellini beans and studded with your choice of shredded chicory, escarole, or kale, the dish is homemade cooking at its finest.
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Ginger-Lemongrass Broth with Noodles, Silken Tofu, and Broccoli
This soup will keep any winter cold at bay thanks to protein-rich tofu and broccolini, which is loaded with vitamin C. The dish is given a kick of spice from the Thai chile pepper.
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Turkey-Pesto Meatball Soup
You need just a few ingredients to make the delicious meatballs for this soup. We mix ground turkey with panko breadcrumbs, egg, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Streamline soup prep by making the meatball-mixture a day early and storing it in the refrigerator.
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Carrot-Ginger Soup
One way to ensure you're maintaining a healthy diet is to eat meals rich in color, like this vibrant orange soup. One pound of cooked carrots, a medium-sized sweet potato, fresh ginger, and shallots are cooked and puréed until smooth. Serve with a dollop of yogurt for a welcome tang.
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Vegetable-Bean Soup
This fuss-free comfort food meal comes together in under an hour and uses easy-to-find vegetables including carrots, celery, and onion. Canned diced tomatoes and vegetable broth are used as a base while cannellini beans add a boost of protein.
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Potato, Broccoli, and Cheddar Soup
Few foods have a reputation for being as comforting as potatoes. Here, the starchy root is boiled with broccoli and shallots then blended with cheese until it forms a smooth, creamy mixture. Serve with crunchy cheese toasts, which are also part of this recipe.
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Wonton Soup
Ground pork, cabbage, scallions, fresh ginger, and sesame oil make a tasty filling for wontons in this favorite soup. Once prepared, the wontons are cooked in a pot of vegetable broth.
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Split-Pea Soup with Spinach and Barley
Split peas and spinach are puréed into a vibrant green soup that's as nutrient dense as it is colorful. A swirl of plain yogurt adds a pop of brightness and creamy texture, while a sprinkle of barley fills your diet with beta-glucan, a soluble fiber that lowers bad cholesterol.
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Basic Chicken Soup
Most people have a go-to chicken soup recipe and this simplified, five-ingredient version is one of our favorites. By using the time-honored technique of boiling the chicken to make the soup, you'll save on time without sacrificing flavor.
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French Onion Soup
This indulgent dish has everything we love about comfort food—it's cheesy, flavorful, and carb-heavy. The savory base is made with three pounds of sweet onions that are caramelized before being added to beef stock. Then, the soup is poured into oven-safe bowls and each portion is topped with a slice of French bread and a sprinkle of grated Gruyère cheese, before being broiled to crispy perfection.
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Bruléed Winter-Bean Soup
Bring bean soup to the next level by garnishing it with homemade croutons and grated Asiago. The cheese melts and gives the hearty soup a layer of creamy texture that complements the other elements of the dish, including kale, carrots, celery, and onion.
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Butternut Squash Soup
Simmering winter squash and onions in the same pot you cooked crispy bacon in is the secret to this soup recipe. It comes together in exactly one hour and is cream-free, meaning you can freeze it in batches to reheat and enjoy as leftovers in the months following.
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Spicy Carrot Soup
Made with five ingredients (plus olive oil and salt), this easy soup comes together in just 35 minutes. Carrots, leeks, and harissa—a hot chile sauce—are simmered together until the flavors meld, then half of the mixture is puréed while the rest is left chunky, achieving a perfectly thick consistency.
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Pressure-Cooker Three-Bean Ribollita
Italian for "reboiled," ribollita is thought to have been created in Tuscany by cooks who wanted to use up leftovers. For our version of the dish, which is made in a pressure cooker, you'll need bacon, a handful of vegetables, garlic, rosemary, and three bean varieties (cannellini, Great Northern, and pinto), as well as day-old bread.
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Fish-Soup Avgolemono
Avgolemono is a velvety egg-lemon-rice soup with a storied history throughout Greece, Italy, Turkey, and the Balkans. Although traditionally it's made with a whole fish, our simplified version can be made with fish broth and chunks of fillets.