Five Soup Recipes Your Family Will Love

When the temperatures drop, I crave soup. It’s the perfect dinner on a crisp autumn day.  As a kid, I wasn’t crazy about it, but now I am older and wiser and definitely way more of a “foodie” than my family ever dreamt possible. And I love making soups.

Soup is easy to prep for, easy to clean up after (one pot to wash!), and lasts for several nights. Plus, it freezes beautifully and you can make a double batch to put away for another week. That also makes it a practical dish to take to someone who is recovering from surgery or just had a baby. If their fridge is already overflowing with casseroles, they can save your soup for later!

We do branch out and try new recipes, but it’s tough not to come back to our favorites time and time again. These are my top five soup recipes, in no particular order. Try them and you’ll see why we make them again and again!

1. Mexican Chicken Soup  

I love Ina. I think we could be friends. And I have never made a Barefoot Contessa recipe I didn’t love. I only use two split chicken breasts (as opposed to her four) and add some extra celery and carrots instead. I also leave out the cilantro and tortillas. Top each bowl with shredded cheese, sour cream, and sliced avocado. It is, as Ina would say, fabulous.

2. Butternut Squash and Apple Soup 

This recipe seems a lot fancier than it actually is! We usually use onions instead of leeks to save a few dollars. We skip the “Toasted Spice Rub” and just season to taste with chili powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. We also skip the “Spiced Candied Walnuts” (though I’m sure they’re delicious). The hubby and I made this the day before I went into labor so we would have something in the fridge when we came home with a newborn! It will always be a favorite.

3. Chicken Noodle Soup  

With cold weather comes colds, and few things make you feel better than a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup. This Emeril recipe is an oldie but a goodie. Easy, simple, delicious. I skip the mushrooms and use egg noodles instead of vermicelli, but otherwise, I follow the recipe exactly. Always a winner!

4. Broccoli Cheese Soup  

This recipe only makes four servings, so I tend to double it. It calls for a one-pound package of frozen broccoli, but I use two pounds of fresh broccoli instead. I also add several shredded carrots (so it’s more like Panera Bread’s broccoli cheese soup). I try to pretend it’s healthy with all the broccoli and carrots, but the cheese and cream sort of cancel that out! Comfort food.

5. Roasted Potato Leek Soup  

Yum. That is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this soup! The second should be “easy” because you don’t even have to stand over a pot on the stove – everything gets roasted in the oven. The wine does help to get up the crispy bits, although we don’t actually put the roasting pan on the burners (it’s still hot enough from the oven).  Throw it all in the food processor and you have soup! We skip the crème Fraiche and replace it with a bit of sour cream. This soup is actually in my fridge right now.

BONUS! White Bean and Chicken Chili  

I know chili is not really a soup, so I didn’t count it as one of the five, but this is my FAVORITE chili recipe. I just made a double batch for my little guy’s first birthday party. I use three poblano peppers because I can’t ever find Anaheim chilies. I cut the half-and-half down to 2 cups (or even less), and I roast 2 bone-in breasts for the cooked chicken. I also skip the tablespoon of Tabasco unless I know that I’m serving it to people who like spicy food.  

I hope you’ll try these soups! And I hope you love them as much as we do. What are your favorite soups? Do any of y’all have a great tomato soup recipe you could share?  I cannot find a recipe for tomato soup that I love enough to add to the collection!