Fall and winter can be a depressing time for some, especially if we arent spending it at the ski resort. Bitter cold and a lack of daylight can really get you down in the dumps. But these chilly months also have a big upside: soup season! So here are some of the best soup recipes for cold weather.
While a nice hot bowl of soup (or chili) might not make it warmer outside, it can warm the body and spirit; whiskey can too, but thats for another article. To help fight the fall and winter blues, pick your favorite soup below and serve it piping hot.
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1. Classic Tomato Soup
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Had to start with a classic, right? Our version of tomato soup gets its richness from canned San Marzano tomatoes and a dash (or 1/3 cup) of heavy cream. Enjoy with some grilled cheese or drink directly out of an oversized mug. Get our Classic Tomato Soup recipe.
Related Reading: 5 Tomato Soup Pairings for Full Fall Meals
2. Loaded Baked Potato Soup
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Basically this soup is like a melted baked potato. If its cold outside and you want to warm up, is there anything else you really want? Get our Loaded Baked Potato Soup recipe.
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3. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
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Given that its squash season, you might as well take a stab at this easy butternut squash soup. We recommend roasting the squash first so you can scoop out the flesh with a spoon, no fancy knife work needed. Get our Roasted Butternut Squash Soup recipe.
4. Bacon and Egg Soup
Soup for breakfast? Not only is it possible but its delicious, especially when you add spinach and cheese to the bacon and eggs. Get the Bacon and Egg Soup recipe.
5. Miso Soup with Napa Cabbage and Udon
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This Japanese-inspired soup is hearty but healthyand vegan, too. If youre not, you can poach eggs in the broth for a bit more protein. Get our Miso Soup with Napa Cabbage and Udon recipe.
6. Turkey Mulligatawny Soup
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Much to the dismay of the Soup Nazi, you too can make your own mulligatawny. Despite the long list of ingredients (most of which are spices) this dish is easier to make than it looks, and its a genius way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. But it works just as well with rotisserie chicken. Get our Turkey Mulligatawny Soup recipe.
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7. Kale and Parmesan Egg Drop Soup
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Simple. Delicious. What more do you look for in a soup? Our version of the Italian stracciatella is thickened with eggs and parmesan cheese, making it an excellent soup to make with ingredients you probably already have sitting in your fridge. Get our Kale and Parmesan Egg Drop Soup recipe.
Related Reading: This Spaghetti Carbonara Is the Pantry-Friendly Weeknight Pasta Youll Make on Repeat
8. Soondubu Jjigae (Korean Kimchi Tofu Soup)
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This spicy, soulful soup is to Koreans what a warm bowl of chicken soup is to most Americans: comfort food. Kimchi might sound like an odd ingredient, but once you try this spicy, tangy soup with custardy pieces of silken tofu, youll love it. Pro tip: The longer the kimchi has aged, the better. Get our Soondubu Jjigae recipe.
9. Crock Pot Chicken Soup
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Just to be clear, there are less time-consuming versions of chicken soup. This recipe takes around nine hours to make. But like anything that spends all day slowly cooking, the results are worth the waitand the actual work you put in is minimal. Just chuck a whole chicken in the slow cooker withveggies and thyme and lit it simmer. It makes its own rich broth, and the chicken meat will practically shred itself, its so tender. Get our Crock Pot Chicken Soup recipe.
Related Reading: 21 Easy Slow Cooker Soups and Stews
10. Pesto Chicken and White Bean Soup
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For a more Mediterranean take on chicken soup, this flavor-packed melange of chicken, hot Italian sausage, creamy white beans, and tender zucchini and onions gets herby basil pesto stirred into the pot. Serve with country bread for sopping it all up, and extra pesto to dollop on top. Get our Pesto Chicken and White Bean Soup recipe.
11. Creamy Mushroom Soup with Blue Cheese Toasts
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Leave all thoughts of condensed cream of mushroom soup from a can far behind. This fresh, from-scratch mushroom soup cooks down 2 pounds of shrooms with butter, sherry, thyme, and onions for deeply delicious flavor (which is even better if you use mushroom broth instead of stock or water). And then, of course, theres heavy cream to make things silky. The blue cheese toasts are optional, but trust us, you dont want to skip them. Get our Creamy Mushroom Soup with Blue Cheese Toasts recipe.
Related Reading: 15 Creamy Mushroom Recipes, No Can Opener Required
12. Barley and Oxtail Soup
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Oxtail deserves your respect and admiration, and should absolutely be in your soup pot. The bones lend body to the broth and the meat comes off in tender shreds. This recipe includes barley, turnip, carrots, and onions for a filling bowl, and red wine to enrich the broth (and warm you up even more). Get our Barley and Oxtail Soup recipe.
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13. Salmon-Miso Sinigang (Filipino Sour Soup)
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This seafood soup adapted from a recipe by Marvin Gapultos is a delicious study in sourness. Lime juice, fish sauce, and umami-rich miso bring tons of flavor to the broth, in which the salmon swims with daikon and mustard greens. Get our Filipino Sour Salmon Soup recipe.
14. Mexican Turkey Meatball Soup
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Got ground turkey? Make it into meatballs for this Mexican-spiced soup with carrots, zucchini, and tomatoes. Its a healthy one-pot dinner that just needs a dash of hot sauce and some tortilla chips to top it off. Get our Mexican Turkey Meatball Soup recipe.
15. French Onion Soup Les Halles
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French onion soup is a labor of loveyou cannot rush the onions; they must be soft, sweet, and dark brownbut its totally worth it, even before you add the cap of crusty-custardy toasted bread and melty cheese. This version is from Anthony Bourdains Les Halles cookbook and is perfect. Get our French Onion Soup Les Halles recipe.