With the cooler temperatures, it's time to pull out your biggest pot and start whipping up some hearty soups. Our versions of traditional favorites don't require hours of labor over a hot stove, and we've got a recipe for every day of the month.
Unless otherwise indicated, heat up these soups at medium on your stove top.
by Sandy Gluck / Photo by Getty Images
Vegetarian Soups
1. Ravioli Heat canned vegetable broth with a little garlic and a good amount of flat leaf parsley leaves. Add cheese ravioli, cook until done and serve with Parmesan cheese and pepper.
2. Vegetable Soup Heat vegetable broth with scallions, garlic and rosemary. Add green beans, diced tomato, sliced mushrooms and thick slices of zucchini. Cook until vegetables are tender and serve with grated cheese.
3. Pumpkin Heat a couple of cans of vegetable broth with a can of pumpkin puree. Add a touch of ground ginger, a little brown sugar and a splash of cream. Garnish with crushed amaretti cookies or toasted almonds.
4. Dad's Corn Chowder Take a can of broth, a can of creamed corn, a healthy amount of pepper, some frozen corn kernels and diced red peppers and cook until well combined. Top with oyster crackers.
Still not quite sure how this whole soup-making thing works? Learn more soup tips in the gallery below.
How to Make Soup
by Jessica Hulett
Learn to Simmer Like a Five-Star Chef
It's been said that the mark of a good cook is how well he or she makes soup. It's also a good skill to have, since soup is an easy, economical way to feed your family, and stores well in the freezer. Try these tips and tricks and you'll be a simmering up a big pot of your own in no time.
Peter Cassidy
The Right Stuff
Making soup is a lot easier if you have the right equipment on hand. Here's what you'll need:
Stock pot or Dutch oven: You can execute just about every step in this, but if you're making your own stock, you'll want to have two vessels.
Strainer: You won't need this for every soup, but it comes in handy for making stock, smoothing cream soups, and for skimming fat off of soups.
Blender (countertop or immersion): This comes in handy for pureeing smooth soups or thinning out ones that are too chunky.
Frozen bottle of water: It coos down large pots of soup for storage.
Try: Barley and Lentil Soup
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Start with Stock
"Six cups stock or water"
If you see that in a list of recipe ingredients, don't be fooled into thinking those options are comparable. Good soup starts with good stock, and water pales in comparison. The trick to good soups is the layering of flavors, and each layer should contribute.
Homemade stock is best, of course. And it's not hard to make. If you don't happen to have pounds of beef, chicken or veal bones lying around, you can still whip up a quick and flavorful vegetable stock.
Tip: The only difference between broth and stock is salt; broth has it and stock doesn't. Many store bought "stocks" are actually broths, so make sure to check the sodium content before buying or using. If you're making stock at home, never add salt to it.
Try: Ratatouille Soup
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Cook the Meat
Season the meat with kosher or sea salt and cook it in the pot with a little bit of olive oil or butter over medium-high heat until it begins to brown. This will accomplish two things; you'll bring out the flavor of the meat and leave behind some tasty bits for when you cook the vegetables and deglaze the pot later. Remove it from the pot and set aside.
Tip: Sea salt and kosher salt have richer, more natural flavor than iodized table salt, making them both better for cooking. Kosher salt is much more economical than sea salt, which can be quite pricey.
Try: White Bean and Sausage Soup
Lisa Keenan
Cook the Vegetables
Many recipes call for plopping raw vegetables right into the stock. You can do that, but you'll lose a lot of flavor. Sautéing the vegetables first gets a lot of water out, making flavors richer. In the same pot that you cooked the meat, saute the vegetables over medium-high heat with butter, oil and a little bit of salt, until they release their liquids.
Try: Simply Delicious Vegetable Soup
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Deglaze
Pour a little bit of wine or some of the stock into the pot with the vegetables, and scrape the tasty, caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan.
Tip: Always save some extra stock in case you need it later.
Try: French Onion Soup
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Soup's On
Add your stock to the pot with the vegetables and bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Then add the rest of your soup ingredients, like pasta, rice or beans, as well as the browned meat. Season with salt and pepper, keep simmering and don't forget to taste often. If you're making a smooth soup, blend it at the end and add more stock to thin as necessary.
Tip: If you're adding delicate herbs or greens that will wilt, save them for the last five to ten minutes of cooking.
Try: Creamy Potato Soup
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Know the Lingo
There are two terms you might come across on your soup explorations, and they're important ones to know:
Mirepoix: This is the holy trinity of soup-making; onions, carrots, and celery. These three ingredients are almost always the base for soups, stews and stocks. Use the classic French ratio of 2:1:1.
Bouquet garni: French for "garnished bouquet," it's a bundle of herbs and spices to flavor soups and stocks. While there isn't one fixed recipe, some common ingredients are thyme, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary. They can be tied with string, bundled up in cheesecloth, or left loose and strained out once they've released their flavors.
Try: Tomato Basil Zucchini Soup
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Bean Soups
If your soup has beans in it, here's what you need to know:
Dried beans are more nutritious than canned, and they're much kinder on the digestive system.
If you're using dried beans, first soak them in water in the fridge overnight, as they'll cook faster and more evenly.
Don't add salt to the stock or water until the dried beans get tender. If you salt them too early, they'll stay tough longer, and they won't soak up any of the delicious flavors of the stock.
If you're using canned beans in soups, don't simmer them for long periods of time, as they'll start to fall apart.
Try: Mexican Bean and Beef Soup
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Cream Soups
Cream soups are thicker and smoother than their chunky counterparts, and people often think they're harder to make. The steps are basically the same, except after the vegetables are cooked in butter or oil, flour is added to the mixture to thicken it and then the stock is whisked in a little at a time.
Cream soups are almost always pureed and strained at the end as well. Properly-made cream soup will have the consistency of heavy cream.
Try: Roasted Cauliflower Soup
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6. Congee Add 3 tablespoons of rice to a couple of cans of broth and a cup of water. Season with salt, garlic, ginger, and toasted sesame oil and cook until the rice is completely broken down and the soup is thick. Finish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and sliced scallions.
7. Hot Pot Heat canned broth with scallions, ginger and garlic and cook until flavorful. Add chunks of firm tofu, shredded cabbage, a splash of rice vinegar and hot sauce. Cook until piping hot.
8. Carrot-Ginger Sauté thinly sliced carrots, fresh ginger and sliced apple in butter and oil until carrots are very tender. Add a combo of carrot juice and vegetable broth and cook a few minutes for the flavors to come together. Puree and serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.
9. Mushroom Sauté sliced mushrooms in butter with scallions. Add enough flour to coat and then gradually add milk (about 4 cups for 3 tablespoons flour). Cook until lightly thickened. Season with nutmeg and a splash of bourbon.
10. Black Bean Soup Sauté sliced scallions with garlic in olive oil until tender. Add canned black beans, canned broth, tomato paste, chipotle chile powder and a splash of sherry. Cook until thickened.
11. White Bean, Rosemary and Garlic Soup Sauté garlic in olive oil, add a can of diced tomatoes, white beans, rosemary, tomato paste, small pasta shapes and canned broth. Cook until pasta is tender.
12. Sweet Potato and Pepper Soup Sauté red and green bell peppers, a poblano pepper and garlic in oil until peppers are tender. Add peeled-and-sliced sweet potatoes and cook until tender. Finish with lime juice and top with toasted pumpkin seeds.
13. Minted Pea Soup Sauté a couple of scallions in butter until tender. Add a package of frozen peas, a handful of fresh mint, a handful of shredded lettuce and a couple of cans of broth. Cook until the peas are tender and then puree.
14. Summer Vegetable Soup Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add chunks of yellow squash, green beans, diced peppers and tomatoes along with a can of broth and cook until tender. Serve with a dollop of homemade or store-bought pesto.
15. Quick Barley Soup Cook chopped onions, garlic and sliced carrots in oil until tender. Add quick cooking barley and broth, along with some rinsed dried mushrooms and a touch of ancho chile powder. Cook until barley is tender. Serve with grated cheese.
16. Winter Tomato Soup Cook diced yellow bell peppers in oil until tender. Add canned tomatoes, fresh ginger and carrot juice, and cook until the flavors blend. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
17. Hot Potato and Leek Soup Clean leeks and slice the tender white and green parts. Sauté in a combo of oil and butter along with a sliver of garlic until tender. Add sliced potatoes, milk and a little broth. Season with pepper and nutmeg and cook until the potatoes are almost falling apart.
18. Butternut Squash Soup Halve, seed and peel a medium butternut squash. Cut the squash into chunks and sauté along with a couple of peeled, cored and sliced pears, and garlic until lightly browned. Add broth and cook until the squash is tender. Puree, adding a little half-and-half. Garnish with diced pears.
Meat and Poultry Soups
19. Chorizo Sauté onions in olive oil until tender. Add sliced chorizo, diced potatoes, canned pinto beans and canned broth along with smoked paprika and cook until the potatoes are tender.
20. Tortilla Soup Jazz up canned chicken broth with cilantro, corn kernels, tomato paste and strips of chicken breast. It's cooked until the chicken is done, then just add toasted tortillas along with lime juice.
21. Italian Wedding Soup Add your favorite tiny meatballs to broth along with shredded escarole, elbow macaroni and a healthy amount of Parmesan cheese.
22. Wonton Add sliced scallions, garlic and ginger to canned broth cooking until flavorful. Toss in a couple of handfuls of watercress and pork pot stickers and cook until done. Finish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.
23. Winter Vegetable Soup Combine sweet and white potato chunks, shredded cabbage, a can of white beans, broth and ham in a pot. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
24. Chicken Noodle Combine chicken thighs and drumsticks in a pot with water to cover, an onion with its skin on, a couple of ribs of celery sliced and cook until the chicken is tender. Remove and shred the chicken. Strain the broth, return the chicken along with a couple of cups of thin egg noodles and let it cook until the noodles are tender.
25. Ham and Edamame Soup Cook a meaty ham bone with carrots and onions in broth. Add frozen edamame and cook until the beans are tender. Shred the meat from the bone and return it to the soup. Serve with toasted bread cubes.
26. Hot and Spicy Lentil Soup Cook bacon in a little oil until crisp, then remove bacon and set aside. Add onions, carrots, chopped tomato, chili powder and ginger to the pot and cook for a minute. Add lentils, canned broth and a little water and cook until the lentils are tender. Return bacon to the pot and serve.
27. Tortellini en Brodo Heat canned broth along with basil and parsley leaves, pepper and a little oregano. Add meat tortellini and cook until tender. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
28. Easy Borscht Cook sliced canned beets, sliced carrots, large white beans and chunks of potatoes in broth until the potatoes are tender. Add thin strips of beef sirloin and cook just until the beef is cooked through.
Seafood Soups
29. Creamy Mussel Soup Heat clam broth and some white wine. Add sliced garlic and cleaned mussels. Cover and cook until mussels have opened. Remove mussels from their shells. Combine a little tomato paste and mayo and whisk into the broth to thicken. Add shelled mussels and croutons.
30. Shrimp Chowder Sauté onion, garlic and fresh fennel in oil until fennel is tender. Add chunks of unpeeled red potatoes and broth, and cook until potatoes are tender. Add shelled and deveined shrimp and corn kernels and cook just until shrimp are done.
31. Provencal Fish Soup Heat clam broth with an equal amount of water. Add strips of orange zest, fennel seeds, garlic and tomatoes. Cook until flavorful. Meanwhile combine roasted red peppers (homemade or jarred) with garlic and hot sauce, then puree. Once the broth is flavorful, add chunks of white-fleshed fish and cook just until tender. Float toasted bread topped with red pepper sauce in the soup.
Sandy Gluck hosts Martha Stewart Radio's Everyday Food weekdays at 11 a.m. EST on on Sirius XM.
