17 Soup Recipes That Feel Like a Hug in a Bowl

Edited by Isabel Ehlert

I did not used to be a soup person. For most of my 20s and 30s, soup struck me as the food version of giving up. Like, “I am too tired to cook a real dinner, here is some liquid food.” Then I had a year that knocked the wind out of me a little, and I started making soup. And I started understanding what people meant when they called something comforting.

Now I have a soup rotation, and these are the ones I come back to over and over. Some are quick. Some simmer all day. Every single one of them tastes like somebody is taking care of you. Bookmark this list for the first cold week of fall, the first sick kid of the winter, and every Sunday night that needs to be quieter than the rest of the week.

“Every single one of them tastes like somebody is taking care of you.”

Soup 01

Zuppa Toscana (Keto).

This is the Olive Garden one, except better, and made in your own kitchen, and without the carbs if you are watching for that. Italian sausage, cream, kale, a little garlic, and that broth that has somehow become more than the sum of its parts. The keto part means cauliflower instead of potatoes, which sounds wrong and tastes completely right.

My husband, who is not a soup man, asks for this. That is the highest endorsement I can give a recipe in this house.

Soup 02

Chicken Tortilla Soup.

The base is tomato and chicken broth and just enough spice to make your nose run a little, in the best way. Tender chicken, black beans, corn, all the toppings, and crispy tortilla strips on top that you have to keep adding because they keep getting soaked into the soup and you cannot have soup without crunch.

I make this when somebody needs a little waking up. It is not a sad-day soup. It is a get-back-up soup.

Soup 03

Instant Pot Pierogi Soup.

This tastes exactly like a pierogi melted into a creamy potato soup, which is to say it tastes like everything good about Polish food without any of the rolling-out-dough commitment. Potatoes, cheese, butter, a little cream, and frozen pierogi dropped right in at the end.

If you have never had this kind of soup, it might change your whole opinion of soup. I do not say that lightly.

Soup 04

Cheesy Potato Soup.

If you are going to have one potato soup in your life, make it this one. It is creamy enough to feel rich, cheesy enough to feel like comfort food, and chunky enough to actually be filling. Top it with bacon and green onions and you basically have a loaded baked potato in soup form.

I make this on snow days. My mom Carol made it on snow days. There is no version of a snow day that is not improved by a pot of this soup on the stove.

“I make this on snow days. My mom Carol made it on snow days. There is no version of a snow day that is not improved by a pot of this soup on the stove.”

Soup 05

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup.

This is the chicken noodle soup that does not taste like a can. The broth is rich. The chicken is actually tender. The noodles are the thick kind, the ones that feel like a real noodle and not a wet ribbon.

When somebody in the house starts sniffling, this is the first thing I make. Carol always said chicken soup was medicine and she might have been onto something.

Soup 06

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup.

The crockpot version, for the days when you want chicken noodle soup waiting for you when you walk in the door, not after another hour of stove work. Same idea, but the broth gets extra rich from cooking all afternoon, and the chicken practically shreds itself when you take the lid off.

I add the noodles in the last 20 minutes. Everything else is set-it-and-walk-away.

Soup 07

Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup.

This one tastes like the inside of a cheeseburger, which I will keep saying because I keep meaning it. Ground beef, potatoes, cheese, all in a broth that is somehow creamy without feeling heavy. It is hearty enough to be a whole dinner.

If you have a picky eater who refuses soup, try this. The cheeseburger framing seems to get them past the soup hurdle every single time.

Soup 08

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup.

Like a chicken enchilada turned into a soup, with all the cheesy creamy goodness and none of the rolling. Beans, chicken, green chilies, cream cheese stirred in to make it luxurious. Top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado, a little cilantro if you are a cilantro person.

I serve this when I want soup night to feel like a little event. It has that energy.

Soup 09

Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Soup.

Imagine the inside of a chicken fajita: peppers, onions, chicken, all the warm spices. Now put it in broth. That is this soup. It is bright and warm and has just enough heat to feel like it is doing something for your mood.

I make this when I want Mexican food but I do not want the heaviness of cheese and chips and the whole thing. It scratches the same itch.

Soup 10

Easy Crockpot Potato Soup.

This version uses frozen hashbrowns, which is one of the smartest cheats in soup-making. The hashbrowns break down a little and create that perfect creamy-chunky texture without any peeling or chopping required.

It is the easiest soup on this list, and somehow not the worst. That is the magic of a really good shortcut recipe.

Soup 11

Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup.

This is a grown-up soup. Hearty pieces of beef, pearled barley, carrots, celery, a beef broth that has been cooking long enough to taste like it knows what it is doing. It is the kind of soup that makes you sit down at the table to eat it instead of standing at the counter.

I serve this with a hunk of bread and call it dinner. Nobody complains. Half of them ask for seconds.

Soup 12

Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

The copycat that actually tastes like the Panera one. Creamy, cheesy, broccoli-forward without being broccoli-aggressive. The kind of soup that tastes like a treat even though you made it in your own kitchen with regular grocery store ingredients.

Make a double batch and put half in the freezer. You will thank yourself in February.