Quick Soup Recipes

A nourishing Mexican classic in only 15 minutes. Beans, a good-quality pantry staple, make this meal healthy, delicious, and affordable.

The kale and smoked chicken sausage are among the last things to be added to the pot here. Much of the flavor comes from potatoes simmered simply in broth.

We recommend having a blender ready to puree this silky green soup, but you can give the broccoli an extra chop before simmering if you only have a hand mixer.

To make a vegetarian version of this soup, replace the bacon with two tablespoons of olive oil and the chicken stock with vegetable stock. Add more seasoning to taste.

Lentils, like beans, are great sources of fuel for your body. Serve with a little rice for a truly complete protein or with crunchy bread, as shown here.

Panfried until crisp, shallots are served as a crunchy garnish; coconut milk and ginger, plus the heat of jalapeno, add up to Asian flavor.

Capture the sweetness of fresh corn in this four-ingredient soup. Freeze portions for up to six months, and then heat them straight from the freezer.

Sometimes called "skins," wonton wrappers are often available in the produce aisle of supermarkets. Look for them next to egg-roll wrappers and tofu.

The smooth texture of acorn squash gives this pureed soup its character; only a little half-and-half and butter are needed.

A quick, final stir of lemon juice after pureeing adds bite to this creamy and refreshing soup. For the tenderest texture, use celery hearts only.

Remove the casings from your sweet Italian sausages before browning them to add to the rustic nature of this soup. You can substitute spinach or chard for the kale if you like.

Chunks of tilapia cook quickly in this full-bodied soup, which is pungent with tomatoes, clam juice, and a hint of bacon.

If collards are not available in your area, substitute other frozen chopped greens, such as kale or turnip or mustard greens.

Only half of the thinly sliced mint leaves are added directly to the soup; the other half are used as an herb garnish.

This quick one-pot soup -- brimming with squash, kale, and cannellini beans -- is perfect after a busy day.

Soba noodles have a nutty, slightly bready flavor, and are bursting with nutrition not found in wheat noodles. We've paired them here with leafy spinach and shiitake mushrooms for a simple, savory meal.

Only the broth and vegetables are up to you to make here; store-bought frozen dumplings are added to the pot near the end of the cooking.

Mash some of the beans to thicken the broth of this hearty, 100 percent vegetarian soup. Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving.

Searing the sirloin rather than cooking through, and then slicing thinly when serving, allows the beef to poach gently in your bowl.

Rotisserie chicken works great with this quick and potent head-clearer. Use up to 3 teaspoons of chili sauce for more of a kick.

This recipe captures both the creaminess of sweet potatoes and the richly layered warmth of chipotle peppers. Serve with a dollop of sour cream for a striking color contrast (and to cut the heat a little).

It's possible to use frozen tortellini here; just be sure not to let the delicate escarole overcook as a result.

We designed this recipe, which serves six, with freezing in mind. Turn a bounty of farm-stand vegetables into a soothing soup to stash away for the cooler months ahead.

Our take on this Mexican standard starts with our own recipe for garlic-pepper sauce, or sofrito, a wonderful seasoning base for all sorts of other meals.

When cooked thoroughly, carrots can be as creamy as any other root or vegetable when pureed, making them a wonderful vehicle for exotic flavors like curry.

Bold flavors like lemongrass, mint, lime juice, and chile sauce make this the perfect soup for when a chill -- meteorological or constitutional -- comes over you. If you can't find fresh lemongrass, look for dried in the spice aisle.

A quick roux pushes this thick and luscious chowder -- almost a baked potato in a bowl -- to the next level of creaminess.

Cabbage has a long history as a restorative, making this quick and light soup -- which also includes leeks, carrots, celery, garlic, and potatoes -- the perfect cap to a long day.

For easy variations on this beloved Italian soup, try swapping zucchini for green beans, kale for cabbage, and chickpeas for cannellini beans.

For a different flavor, use ground nutmeg or cloves instead of cinnamon, or add a Southwestern touch with a small amount of chili powder.

With just a little prep, these toothy meatballs of ground chicken and creamy ricotta, steaming in a lemony broth, can be yours in half an hour.

Believe us when we say "chunky" -- every ladleful of this colorful, rosemary-inflected soup brims with turkey, sweet potato, escarole, and tomato.

Supple shrimp simmer for only a minute in this sweet and creamy soup, which gets a little heft from angel-hair pasta and a little bite from a quarter-cup of lime juice.

Our version of this Mexican classic is inky with chili powder and bursting with pulled chicken and white hominy -- but don't forget to have avocado, radishes, and tortilla chips on hand to garnish!

Give your pots and pans a rest with this sumptuous, slightly spicy puree of corn, yogurt, milk, lime juice, coriander, and cayenne, dotted with shrimp, avocado, and tomatoes.

Similar to our Classic Minestrone, this minestrone bursts with beans, carrots, and tomatoes, but there's a daring twist -- this version is done entirely in the microwave.

Best known on these shores as a Japanese snack or appetizer, edamame (soybeans) add surprising color and a bright, smoky freshness to any meal, even a classic corn chowder.

So many mushrooms go into this earthy and aromatic soup -- more than a pound before cooking -- that the vegetarian version is as hearty and intense as the version that uses chicken broth. (We provide both versions.)

For a classic garnish, be sure to serve plenty of oyster crackers with the chowder. Try them crushed and sprinkled over the top.

Our lentil soup is as thick and hearty as a chili, but the flavors are a little more subtle. It's still nice on a wintery night, though.

Dried currants add a fruity, exotic undertone to meatballs of pork and beef in this dark, soothing soup. On her show, Martha doubled all the ingredients for this recipe for an extra-large batch to serve eight.

This healthier take on a classic soup includes lots of greens and turkey meatballs. Be sure to have enough Parmesan on hand for both the meatballs and as a garnish.

Looking for a soup that's both delicious and unconventional? This vegetarian soup combines parsnips, potatoes, leeks, and apples.

We like new potatoes, rather than more starchy ones like Yukon Gold, in this creamy stew of cod, milk, clam juice, and vegetables. They hold their shape better as they simmer, adding color and definition to the presentation.

Emeril calls this "new-style" "because the kale is cut into thin strips and is cooked only until crisp-tender, which differs from the more traditional version."

There's no better way to bring out the creaminess in eggplant than by roasting. Simply mash the results with onion, garlic, and broth for a naturally luscious, dairy-free soup.

We whip egg yolks with the broth to give this soup, with its chunks of cod and potatoes, a thick and glossy consistency.

Use quick-cooking barley as a time-saver. It has the same nutty flavor as pearl barley, but it cooks in approximately half the time.

Butternut squash is a great substitute if you have no pumpkin to use in this slightly sweet, slightly savory recipe. Have an immersion blender ready to incorporate the stock correctly.

One of the many benefits in making a thick, hearty veggie soup that's ready in just 20 minutes -- there's even less chance of overcooking anything.

Butternut squashes have a hard rind and a golden orange flesh. Similar to other types of winter squash, such as acorn, they are at their best from early fall through winter.

We've stripped down spring onion soup to its barest essentials -- onions, chicken stock, salt, and olive oil -- but the result is a supple and sophisticated celebration of the season.

Minestrone is such a familiar taste to most people that even subtle adjustments to the recipe can seem far-reaching. Here, collards in place of escarole or kale add a subtle level of bitterness and crunch.

A quick mash of garlic, chiles, coriander, and caraway seeds at the beginning of this recipe guarantee that the warming, pungent flavors and aromas permeate the chickpeas, tomatoes, and red peppers from the outset.

Watch as Irwin Simon, EO of Hain Celestial Group, joins Martha in the kitchen to make this simple, healthy take on Asian chicken soup.

No-cook soups like this Spanish classic -- juicy with ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers -- are the perfect antidote to the heat of an open stove. Make it at least 30 minutes ahead of time to chill properly.

Be careful when adding the cream at the end of this sumptuous and brightly colored chowder of butternut squash, onions, and corn, as too much heat may cause it to separate.