13 Cozy Soup Recipes to Warm You Up This Fall

Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup
Photo: Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee

There's no better antidote for a cool, blustery day than a warm bowl of soup. And since fall is right around the corner, we gathered a roster of recipes you can keep in your back pocket, ready to pull out as soon as that first gust of chilly wind hits. Some of them lean super-seasonal, like this Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Crème Fraîche and Whole Baked Pumpkin Soup; others are year-round delights you can take particular comfort in this season. Read on for all 13 recipes.

01 of 13

French Onion Soup with Roasted Poblanos

French Onion Soup with Roasted Poblano
Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee Montiel

At Tzuco in Chicago, the French onion soup arrives to the table piping hot, topped with a bubbling layer of Gruyère cheese. Hiding under the blanket of cheese, a thick slice of baguette soaks up a soup suffused with flavor from a mountain of jammy onions, balsamic vinegar, and bay leaves. French onion soups can lean quite beefy, but chef Carlos Gaytán uses a gentle base of chicken broth that allows the allium flavors to truly shine. Poblano chiles add a mild, vegetal heat and slight charred flavor. To ensure even caramelization, keep the onions in an even layer while they cook.

02 of 13

Collard Greens Ramen

Collard Greens Ramen
Greg DuPree

Chef Todd Richards is known for his personal, globally inspired take on Southern cuisine, and his Collard Greens Ramen is no exception. Riffing on a memorable bowl of yaka mein he had as a child, Richards' soup begins with a pot of collards and a generous pour of bourbon, which cooks down into an intense potlikker. Shichimi togarashi, a Japanese spice blend of dried orange peel, ginger, sesame seeds, nori, and a mix of dried chiles, finishes off each bowl. As Richards puts it, each ham-hock-enriched, noodle-laced bowl is a hearty thank you to his past — with a strong Southern accent.

03 of 13

Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Crème Fraîche

Butternut Squash Soup with Creme Fraiche and Bacon
Erin Kunkel

Roasting butternut squash with honey and a touch of salt intensifies the natural sweetness of the squash and caramelizes the honey. Take time browning the onions; cooking them low and slow deepens the foundational flavor of this hearty soup.

04 of 13

Caldo de Pollo

Caldo de Pollo Recipe
Victor Protasio

Barely covering the chicken legs with water, along with a few aromatics, quickly produces a flavorful and rich chicken stock that's lightly spiced with jalapeños and sweet tomatoes. If you want a spicier broth (this version is pretty mild), use a paring knife to cut small incisions in each chile before adding them to the soup. Read John Paul Brammer's essay, The Healing Magic of Caldo de Pollo.

05 of 13

Cauliflower Soup with Herbed Goat Cheese

Cauliflower Soup with Herbed Goat Cheese
© Nicole Franzen

This luscious, creamy cauliflower soup from chef Anne Burrell gets a delicious topping of crispy roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts, plus a sprinkle of herbed goat cheese. It can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to three days.

06 of 13

Whole Baked Pumpkin Soup

Whole Baked Pumpkin Soup
Aubrie Pick

Baking pumpkins whole traps steam inside the vegetable, resulting in a lush, velvety pumpkin puree, and making the skins easy to remove. A simple reduction of dry white wine mingles with butter to balance the sweetness of the pumpkin.

07 of 13

Smoked Ham Hock and Lentil Soup

Smoked Ham-Hock and Lentil Soup
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

"I love making this lentil soup when the weather begins to cool," says 2017 F&W Best New Chef Nina Compton, chef-owner of New Orleans hot spot Compère Lapin. "The ham hock aroma hangs around the kitchen beautifully; the smell alone makes you warmer. Adding a little ginger and lemongrass brightens the soup and reminds me of being back home in St. Lucia. Using local okra reminds me of my Louisiana home and adds a different texture." To make your own croutons for this rich, brothy ham hock and lentil soup, toss three cups of cubed baguette with three tablespoons of butter and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; bake at 375°F, stirring three times, until toasted, about 15 minutes.

08 of 13

Broccoli and Potato Soup

bowls of broccoli potato soup
Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones

The bright green broccoli florets floating on top of this hearty soup make it especially eye-catching, but it's the broccoli stems that do the real work. They're cooked with the potatoes and then pureed to form a creamy base. A final sprinkle of grated Parmesan gives the soup an extra savory touch.

09 of 13

Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons

Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas

This creamy, soul-warming soup from the legendary Ina Garten's cookbook, Modern Comfort Food, captures everything there is to love about chicken pot pie. Plenty of aromatic vegetables, a rich, silky broth spiked with tarragon and cream sherry, and tender chicken (or leftover Thanksgiving turkey) deliver pure comfort in every spoonful. The flaky, buttery puff pastry croutons (made from store-bought dough!) are an irresistible finishing touch.

10 of 13

Basque Garlic Soup

Basque Garlic Soup
Greg DuPree

Sopa de ajo is a balm for a cold day enjoyed throughout Spain. The piping hot bowl of garlicky, smoky broth is filled with tendrils of eggs, thickened with bread, and heightened with a splash of sherry vinegar. In the Basque region, this soup traditionally uses a bread called zopako ogia that has a broad, dry crust, and very little crumb, making it perfect for thickening soup. This soup, from writer and cookbook author Marti Buckley, calls for a baguette that's very well-toasted — almost burnt — in olive oil to add body and roasted depth. The piquant broth is also infused with an entire head of garlic and thickened with egg. Some recipes call for a poached egg to float in each bowl of soup, but beating the egg and stirring it into the hot soup infuses each bite with flavor and the delicate wisps of egg add a beautiful texture to the broth. With a short ingredient list, this seemingly simple soup is truly elevated by each addition.

11 of 13

Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup with Thai Curry

Sweet Potato–Coconut Soup with Thai Curry
© John Kernick

A trio of coconut — coconut oil, coconut milk, and toasted coconut flakes — makes its way into this fragrant and lovely soup from cookbook author Melissa Clark. Fresh cilantro sprigs add a bright green pop.

12 of 13

Vegetarian 15-Bean Soup

Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup
Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee

Can't make up your mind about whether to make bean or lentil soup? Grab a bag of 15-bean soup mix from the dry goods aisle at the market and make this flavorful, hearty soup instead. Bean and lentil soups like this one are often cooked with a ham bone or a smoked ham hock, but there are other ways to add flavor to a pot of soup, especially when you want something vegetarian. Here, we add a few Parmesan cheese rinds, which add depth of flavor and umami when simmered with a pot of soup, stew, or even pasta sauce. (Feel free to swap in a vegetarian-friendly Parmesan, if you avoid eating cheese made with animal rennet.) Serve the soup with a loaf of warm crusty bread.

13 of 13

Creamy Mashed Potato Soup with Dashi

Creamy Mashed Potato Soup with Dashi
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Dashi and soy sauce add umami to buttery leftover mashed potatoes in this cozy soup from chef Shota Nakajima. As a kid, whenever he was hungry, he'd grab anything left over from the previous meal to make soup or fried rice. "I grew up in a Japanese family, and I was taught to never waste anything," Nakajima says. This soup is his riff on a recipe from his mother. Add milk for a creamier texture, or more dashi for a thinner consistency. Substitute any mashed vegetable you have on hand, such as cauliflower or sweet potato, but be sure to finish the soup with generous pats of melting butter and an extra drizzle of soy.

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