There’s nothing like a comforting bowl of soup when it’s cold outside. Here are 10 of my family’s favorite soups for cold weather.
It’s that time of year again . . . that’s right, soup weather is here!
Now don’t get me wrong, I make and enjoy soup throughout the year, but it’s never tastes better than on a cold winter day. A steaming bowl of homemade soup (with a little buttered bread on the side) is as comforting as a warm hug.
As a kid I wasn’t a huge soup person, but I guess you could say it’s grown on me as I’ve matured haha. While I still don’t love every soup I’ve ever tasted, I’ve found some good, tried and true soup recipes that I turn to again and again.
So today, with no further ado I’m sharing 10 soups I make for my family that I think you’ll love too!
10 Favorite Soups for Winter Days
1. Taco Soup
The number one favorite soup in our family (and the soup that ALL the kids will eat) is Taco Soup!
Make it with ground beef or turkey, or try it with shredded chicken. It’s a dump and go sort of recipe using lots of canned tomatoes and beans. The simplicity of this soup has saved me many a time when I haven’t had to time to make anything “fancier”.
This Chicken Taco Soup soup used to be my go-to, but lately I’ve been making this Ground Beef Taco Soup recipe more often. Both are super yummy served with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream on top!
2. Classic Chicken Soup
Everyone should know how to make a classic chicken soup. To be honest, I don’t follow a specific recipe for mine, although this one looks good. I often make mine from the carcass of a whole chicken, or use chicken broth that I made previously and froze.
For chicken noodle soup, I cook some egg noodles on the side and add them to the individual bowls for whoever wants them! (The kids like their chicken soup with noodles but Pablo prefers his without.)
3. “Leftover” Turkey Soup
I tried this recipe from my favorite food blogger several years ago and immediately knew it was a keeper. I love the creaminess of this soup and the addition of rice adds some heartiness.
If I don’t have leftover turkey on hand (let’s be honest, I usually don’t) I just use chicken instead.
4. Creamy Beef and Tomato Noodle Soup
I tried this yummy soup recently for some variety from my regular soups and subsequently added it to my “tried and enjoyed” list to make again. The noodles and ground beef make it very kid friendly, but it has an elevated taste that adults will enjoy as well.
I’m planning to make it again next week and I may try adding the cooked pasta at the end to the individual bowls like I do with chicken noodle soup, that way I can easily leave the pasta out for whoever doesn’t want it.
5. Beef Vegetable Soup
I’ve not always been a huge fan of vegetable soups – even though I know they’re good for me – but you can’t help loving this yummy beef and vegetable soup with it’s fall-apart-tender chunks of beef. I always watch for chuck roasts to go on sale at Kroger and then scoop up one (or more) so that I can make this soup.
The recipe calls for beef broth but I’ve made it plenty of times with chicken broth since I often have homemade on hand, and the soup still tasted amazing. (I do add a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce to the broth because it seems to add a beefier flavor.)
6. Zuppa Toscana
This soup is a new favorite for Pablo and me. Apparently it’s an Olive Garden copycat recipe, though I’ve never ordered Zuppa Toscana at the restaurant. It’s full of flavor and so satisfying on a cold winter day.
The recipe calls for two cups of cream but the last time I made it I used one cup of cream and a cup of whole milk and it tasted just as yummy (and was at least slightly less fattening haha.)
7. Caldo de Pollo
This soup differs from a regular chicken soup in that you don’t shred your chicken but instead serve drumsticks whole in a your broth. Cilantro adds a little something extra to this comforting soup.
Here’s the original recipe, though we typically make it with just drumsticks instead of a whole chicken like the recipe calls for.
For the kids I’ll often take their chicken off the bone and shred it before serving, but Pablo and I have ours just like the recipe shows.
8. Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
I love this white chili recipe, which you can make in the slow cooker or just on the stove. We enjoy it the same way as taco soup, topped with chips, cheese, and sour cream. I often skip the cream cheese that the recipe calls for but it’s yummy with or without.
If I don’t have as many ingredients on hand I’ll make this simpler white chili recipe which is also a time-tested favorite that my mom made growing up.
9. Potato Soup
Nothing says cold weather food like a good potato soup. This particular potato soup recipe calls for simple ingredients and is easy to make which I love.
10. Ham Soup
If you make ham over the holidays and have a big ham-bone left over you need a good ham soup recipe. I don’t know what it is about cooking with a ham bone but I always feel so domestic haha. My mom also made a ham soup with white beans so this soup always reminds me of her cooking.
What are some of your favorite soups for cold weather? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for stopping by the blog today!
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