When the weather turns chilly, it's time for a bowl of soup, and the one thing that makes it even better is a nice loaf of homemade bread. Options are infinite, but these ideas should get you started.
1. Roasted Parsnip Soup
Parsnips are a seriously underrated vegetable and deserve more of a spotlight. This soup brings out their sweet, earthy character through roasting, which is then accentuated with a dab of miso.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 425°F. Toss parsnips with oil, salt and white pepper on a rimmed sheet. Roast 30–35 minutes, turning once, until tender and golden-edged.
- Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a soup pot over medium. Cook onion 7 minutes. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add parsnips and broth; simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; blend smooth with an immersion blender. Blend in remaining butter.
- Whisk miso with 1/2 cup warm soup until smooth. Return to pot with lemon juice. Rewarm gently if needed.
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2. Thai Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin is a common addition to Thai red curry, and this Thai-inspired soup blends the elements together. If you wanna keep this vegetarian, yes, use soy sauce, but fish sauce really is the move.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oil in a soup pot over medium. Soften onion, 6–7 minutes. Stir in ginger and curry paste for 1 minute.
- Add pumpkin, broth, coconut milk, soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir; bring to a gentle simmer.
- Partly cover; cook 22–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pumpkin crushes easily with a spoon.
- Remove from heat; blend smooth with an immersion blender. Stir in lime juice. Rewarm gently, 1–2 minutes if needed.
3. Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup
Ginger is probably the best spice out there for carrot soup. Be sure to roast the carrots until slightly caramelized to bring out their natural sugar.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 425°F. Toss carrots with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt on a rimmed sheet. Roast 30–35 minutes, turning once, until tender with browned edges.
- Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a soup pot over medium. Cook onion 7 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic for 1 minute.
- Add carrots, broth and remaining salt. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; blend very smooth with an immersion blender.
- Stir in coconut milk, vinegar and white pepper. Heat on low 3 minutes without boiling.
4. Tomato Bisque Soup
I'll leave the question of whether it can truly be a bisque without seafood to the pedants. Regardless, this is an excellent creamy tomato soup.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 425°F. Toss tomatoes, onion, and garlic with oil, salt, and pepper on a large rimmed sheet, keeping tomatoes cut-side up. Roast 35 to 40 minutes until soft with browned edges.
- Meanwhile, combine broth, rice, and tomato paste in a soup pot. Cover; gently simmer 20 to 25 minutes until rice is very soft.
- Scrape vegetables and all juices into pot. Simmer 5 minutes; remove from heat.
- Blend thoroughly with an immersion blender, keeping blade submerged. Press through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan; discard skins and seeds.
- Add cream; warm on low 3 to 5 minutes until steaming, not boiling. Divide smooth bisque among 4 bowls.
5. Vegetarian French Onion Soup
Yes, it is possible to do a vegetarian version of French onion soup. I'd strongly recommend using mushroom stock instead of vegetable stock, though, which helps mimic the deep savoriness of the original.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 400°F. Toss onions and shallots with melted butter, oil, salt and pepper in a large roasting pan. Spread evenly.
- Roast 70–85 minutes until soft and deeply golden, not blackened. Stir every 20 minutes, more often near the end. Transfer to a soup pot.
- Add sherry and 1/2 cup measured broth to the warm roasting pan. Scrape up browned juices with a wooden spoon. Pour into soup pot; add remaining broth, thyme and bay leaf.
- Simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Meanwhile, toast baguette on a baking sheet at 400°F, 6–8 minutes until crisp. Heat broiler.
- Discard bay leaf. Divide soup among 6 broiler-safe bowls on a rimmed sheet. Top each with toast and equal portions of Gruyere. Broil 6 inches from heat, 2–4 minutes until bubbling and browned.
- Rest 5 minutes. Warn diners: bowls are still hot.
6. Instant Pot Chicken Soup
This Instant Pot chicken soup is a comforting one-pot meal that's practically effortless to make yet loaded with amazing flavors! The Instant Pot pressure cooking method allows chicken breasts to cook quickly and become incredibly tender while the vegetables and herbs infuse the broth!
Angela Latimer / Bake It With Love
7. Milk and Honey Biscuits
Deliciously moist and flaky, with a comforting honey-milk flavor, and just a hint of herbs, these are sure to be your favorite batch of biscuits ever.
Living the Gourmet / Living the Gourmet
8. Sourdough Biscuits
There is something especially satisfying about turning a little jar of sourdough discard into a pan of warm, flaky biscuits. These Sourdough Discard Biscuits are tender and buttery, with sour cream adding richness and scallions bringing a subtle savory note.
Sylvia Fountaine / Feasting at Home
9. Beef, barley and mushroom soup
Beef, barley, and mushroom soup requires nothing else on the side to be a complete meal. I'd also sub out 1 or 2 of those cups of beef broth with red wine.
Ingredients
Method
- Brown beef in oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high, 8 minutes. Add onion and mushrooms; cook 5 minutes.
- Add broth; cover and simmer 1 hour.
- Stir in barley and carrots. Simmer 40–50 minutes until beef and barley are tender, adding water if needed.
10. Chicken, mushroom and wild rice soup
This is one of those recipes that's designed for using up leftover chicken. Wild rice makes for a refreshing change from the normal rice or noodles.
Ingredients
Method
- Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat; cook mushrooms and carrots 8 minutes.
- Add broth, chicken and cooked wild rice. Simmer 15 minutes until chicken reaches 165°F and carrots are tender.
- Stir in cream; warm gently 2 minutes.
11. Black bean soup
Black bean soup takes on most vegetables, so this is a great fridge-cleaner. I also like more of a consistent puree, but it's great chunky or smooth.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oil on Sauté in an 8-quart pressure cooker; cook onion and pepper 4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, chipotle peppers, cumin, and smoked paprika and cook 1 minute.
- Add the dried black beans, broth, and salt, stirring to combine.
- Seal; cook on High pressure 35 minutes. Release naturally 15 minutes, then vent remaining pressure carefully. If beans are firm, pressure cook 5–10 minutes more.
- Blend about one-third of the soup with an immersion blender. Stir in lime juice.
12. Pasta and bean soup
This is, more or less, a minestrone. If you're planning on having leftovers, cook the pasta separately.
Ingredients
Method
- Cook pancetta in a large pot over medium heat until crisp; drain some fat if it seems excessive.
- Add onion and carrots; sauté 5–6 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Pour in tomatoes and broth; add oregano and basil. Simmer 10 minutes.
- Add beans and pasta; cook until pasta is al dente, about 8–10 minutes. Stir in spinach if using until wilted.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated Parmesan.
13. Sweet potato and lentil soup
Brown lentils and sweet potatoes make for a hearty vegetarian stew. This recipe uses brown lentils, which hold their shape, but I have a soft spot for red lentils, which break down beautifully, although they wouldn't work well in a crockpot.
Ingredients
Method
- Add all ingredients except spinach to the crockpot and stir once.
- Cook on low for 6–7 hours or high for 3–4 hours, until lentils and sweet potato are tender.
- Stir in spinach in the last 10 minutes so it wilts.
- Taste and add more salt or pepper as needed. Serve hot.
14. Rosemary and sun-dried tomato focaccia
This focaccia starts with store-bought dough, and some versions are pretty alright, but it's worth making your own. It freezes great too, and thaws out overnight.
Ingredients
Method
- Bring dough to room temperature. Oil a 9-by-13-inch pan with 1 tablespoon oil; press dough into pan.
- Let rise in a warm spot 45–60 minutes until puffy. Heat oven to 400°F.
- Dimple dough; brush with remaining oil. Add tomatoes, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Parmesan.
- Bake 18–22 minutes until golden and cooked through. Cool 10 minutes; cut into squares.
15. Jalapeno cornbread muffins
Chopped jalapeños add a nice hit of spice to cornbread and make it a snack in its own right. If you don't want to bust out the muffin tin, this works great in a cast-iron pan too.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 400°F; grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
- Stir wet ingredients into dry just until combined; fold in jalapenos. Divide among cups.
- Bake 18–20 minutes until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.