As we get farther and farther into winter, I am reminded just how much I adore soups.
Actually, that’s a lie. I love soup everyday of the year and I would eat it for any meal of the day. Heck, I could eat soup for every meal and be a happy girl.
I have no idea what it is about soup that I love so much, but a big bowl of soup satisfies my soul in some way.
In fact, earlier this week we awoke without power one morning. When it became obvious that it would remain out for awhile, the kids and I packed up our school books and headed down the road to my mom’s house. She only lives 3 miles away, but her power was on and her coffee maker was ready and waiting!
Anyway, we commenced rummaging through her pantry, looking for something to eat for breakfast. The kids settled on waffles and fruit, but I just wasn’t feeling the love. Then suddenly, my mom exclaimed, “Oh! I know what you want for breakfast! I have a pot of veggie beef soup in the fridge!”
She gave me life and she knows me well. A steaming hot bowl of vegetable beef soup with a generous splash of hot sauce is my favorite breakfast in the world and she knows it. In fact, she later accused me of inventing the power outage just to eat her soup.
The world will never know…
Anyway, back to the soups.
I’ve compiled a list here of 21 spectacular soup recipes to get you through those cold nights. Or mornings if you’re my special brand of weirdo. Some of these are my recipes from this blog, others are compiled from some of my favorite blogs and websites. I hope you enjoy cooking your way through the list!
To make it a bit easier for you to find what you are looking for, I’ve divided the soup recipes into 3 catagories: brothy, creamy and hearty.
21 Spectacular Soup Recipes for Cold Nights
Brothy Soup Recipes:
1. Chicken Foot Broth
I’ll start the list with my own recipe for chicken foot broth. I know. I know. It sounds icky, but if you raise your own chickens and you are throwing away the feet, shame on you! They are packed with flavor and nutrition and are a wonderful base for all sorts of soups.
2. French Onion Soup
This recipe from the Elliott Homestead looks so good it’s distracting me from my work! She says that using purple onions is the key to the perfect French Onion Soup.
3. Healing Chicken Noodle Soup
This is a great place to use that chicken foot broth! I have actually had people pretend to be sick just to get me to make this soup. For reals.
4. Thai Coconut Soup
I debated for longer than is probably normal about whether this soup is “brothy” or “creamy.” In the end I went with brothy, since the creaminess is from the coconut milk and not from actual cream. This is a knock off of my favorite Tom Ka soup that I enjoy when I get the luxury of eating Thai food. One of the joys of moving to the sticks is learning to make these things for myself, I suppose!
5. Chicken Parmesan Soup
This recipe from Ashley at Whistle Pig Hollow is amazingly quick and easy, but some nights, that is exactly the sort of meal that will keep you out of the drive-thru! This is a great one to make with fresh bone broth and leftover chicken.
Creamy Soup Recipes:
6. Cream of Mushroom (or Celery) Replacement
Ditch the can and make your own cream of something soup base with this amazingly versatile recipe from Chris at Joybilee Farm!
7. Scratch Made Cream of Soup
Here’s another great option for a creamy soup base from Emilie at The Toups Address.
8. Best Ever Clam Chowder
And now we are on to my husband Eric’s favorite soup! Yes, I use canned clams. I live in Alabama, so I won’t even bother apologizing for it. It’s delicious. Trust me.
9. Corn and Kale Chowder
This is one of my all-time favorites. It is quick to throw together, it’s tasty and satisfying and I can produce almost all the ingredients right here on my little homestead. What’s not to like?!?
10. Cajun Shrimp Bisque
Oh my stars. When I was pregnant with my oldest I craved bisque. Any kind of bisque. I wanted it everyday. Well, that and Brussels sprouts. Anyway, I really wish I had this recipe from Bev Cooks back then, because I drug poor Eric around to every dive restaurant in town searching for the perfect bowl of bisque. (Yes, it is probably very difficult to be married to me, but we do eat well…) At least he was happier about the bisque than he was the sprouts.
11. Cheese Soup in Homemade Bread Bowls
I actually thought about licking the computer screen when I saw this recipe from Common Sense Homesteading. I love bread, soup and cheese. This is my idea of the perfect meal!
12. Dill Pickle Soup
What?!? I know! I had never thought of such an amazing combo before either and I could just kick myself that the find folks at Noble Pig came up with the idea instead of me!
13. Squash Soup
Got squash? Here’s the soup for you! This is another one that I had trouble categorizing. It doesn’t actually contain any cream, but the squash makes it creamy, so I put it here. I love the addition of the apples to the squash in this soup. Very creative Montana Homesteader!
14. Watercress Soup
Top secret information: my friends and I have a special place where we go pick watercress every March or April. Of course, I can’t tell you where it is, or I’d have to kill you, but I can tell you about a bazillion amazing things to do with watercress. This watercress soup from Learning and Yearning is one of them!
15. Potato Cabbage Soup
So this recipe, also from Learning and Yearning basically combines everything that I would put in a pot of braised cabbage with everything I would put in my potato soup. I’m for it. Then again, I’m half Irish and I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like!
Hearty Soup Recipes:
16. White Bean Chicken Chili
This soup is a meal all to itself. It comes with an interesting story too. And by interesting, I mean you will either love me more after reading it, or it will give you nightmares. The white bean chicken chili is tasty too!
17. Crockpot Venison Chili
Here is another chili recipe from my friend Jill at The Prairie Homestead. Of course you could do this with a meat other than venison, but where would the fun be in that?
18. Chicken and Dumplings
Quinn from Reformation Acres cooks up some really delicious looking things over on her homestead. These chicken and dumplings surely won’t disappoint. This is my children’s favorite meal by a mile and they beg for it at least once a week, year-round!
19. Kielbasa and White Bean Soup with Kale
Here’s another one from Reformation Acres. I tried to pick just one, but that was like having to choose between my children, and that’s just wrong. Kale is one thing that I am able to grow year-round here in Alabama, so I’m always delighted to us it in every way possible!
20. Pulled Pork and Lentil Soup
Eric loves cooking BBQ, especially pulled pork. We love to eat it both fresh and leftover, but I’ll be honest, sometimes you get tired of the same old, same old and your leftovers need to be transformed. That’s why I was so excited when I first saw this recipe from Livin Lovin Farmin! It uses pulled pork in a way that is new and inventive and that, my friends, blows my skirt up. TMI?
21. Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
I don’t usually use my slow cooker. OK, fine, my family banned me from using it after numerous disasters and one minor kitchen fire. (Long story.) Anyway, even I can make this black bean soup in the slow cooker, so it’s one of the few things I actually pull out the crockpot for! It’s great for those days that are just beyond busy in your world.
For more great soup recipes (and other meal) ideas, check out my cookbook!
If you share my love of soup recipes, you might also enjoy my “Yummy Food” Pinterest Board! And of course, Beulah would love for you to sign up for her Mooooooosletter. She’ll deliver all the farm news (and recipes) from the cow’s point of view!
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I had to laugh at your breakfast at mom’s! When I was a child, we moved from Hawaii to California. Chula Vista sure felt colder. Navy pay was not much and feeding a family of six was, well my mom was a darn good cook. Back then, you could actually buy soup bones with lots of meat on them. My mom often sent us to school on a bowl of vegetable beef soup. It was a long cold walk downhill and the soup warmed our tummies and our hearts. Thanks for helping me remember!
The Chicken & Dumplings soup is one of the best recipes that you can try. And the rest in the list are also yummy and delicious. Perfect for your cold nights.