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There's nothing quite like a hot bowl of soup when the chilly wind is howling outside the window. Just cradling a soup bowl in both hands or inhaling its fragrant steam makes you feel warm and fuzzy. So when fall rolls around, dig out that soup pot and make a hearty, comforting bowl filled with autumn vegetables, creamy coconut milk, or more noodles than you think you can eat.
Related: The Best Soup Spot in Every State
Basil is often paired with tomatoes in soup, but dill is a great way to change things up with a bright, herbal flavor. Carrots and onions add sweetness to this easy recipe that uses pantry ingredients. Top it with a little plain yogurt for extra creaminess.
Recipe: Ready Set Eat
It's easy to overindulge during the holidays, and this soup is a great way to offset that. It's full of nutrient-packed ingredients such as kale, carrots, and white beans, and chicken sausage adds a helping of healthy protein as well as flavor.
Recipe: Recipe Runner
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Broccoli cheese soup is popular, but this roasted version is a new way to give the old standby some life. Roasted broccoli adds a richness and sweetness, and maybe your thermostat would benefit from having the oven on for a while. A combo of muenster and cheddar make it extra cheesy.
Recipe: I Am Baker
If you are a fan of creamed corn, you'll love this. Lots of frozen corn and a potato make up the bulk of this soup, which gets a few pulses with an immersion blender to make it smooth and creamy. Cilantro, sour cream, and cheese toppings appeal to practically everyone.
Recipe: Ahead of Thyme
Don't be fooled by the name: This recipe has nothing to do with the sandwich. It's a quick beef vegetable soup that uses ground beef — sometimes called hamburger. Since you don't have to cook the beef for a long time for it to become tender and it uses a lot of frozen and canned veggies, it's a great fall weeknight meal.
Recipe: Dinner at the Zoo
This vegetarian soup is extra hearty thanks to the barley and is full of mushrooms and other vegetables. Coriander, smoked paprika, and cumin give it an earthy depth of flavor. With so many mushrooms, even dedicated meat eaters will be satisfied with this soup.
Recipe: The Mediterranean Dish
Related: Hearty Meatless Meals Even Carnivores Will Devour
Creamy chicken and wild rice makes for a great variant of traditional chicken soup. Because wild rice takes a lot longer to cook than white rice, this hearty recipe is cooked in a crockpot, but you can also use an Instant Pot to speed it up.
Recipe: Well Plated
This smooth, creamy soup is beautifully colored to brighten chilly autumn days. Carrots are sweet, and freshly grated ginger adds a lemon-like brightness to the flavor. To make it worthy of a special occasion, sprinkle roasted pumpkin seeds on top.
Recipe: Food Network
Heat up your fall with this Caribbean style pumpkin soup. It includes a scotch bonnet pepper for heat, along with mild curry powder, nutmeg, and thyme for seasoning. If you love pumpkin but are sick of sweet pumpkin spice, this is a great way to get some variety.
Recipe: Saveur
Who knew homemade ramen could be a weeknight meal? Use miso paste and fresh tomatoes to make a super fast but flavorful broth. Then just cook up some chicken (or use leftovers!) and noodles, and let everyone assemble their bowls as they like. (Upgrade your ramen with these 15 Hacks to Make Instant Ramen More Delicious.)
Recipe: Ahead of Thyme
If you're sick of plain tomato soup, try this creamy Parmesan version that has a lot more going on than a can of Campbell's. Fresh cheese-filled tortellini and a thick soup base with canned tomatoes and cream makes this more like a pasta dish you eat with a spoon than a wimpy soup.
Recipe: Punchfork
Baked potato soup is so good, but if you're watching your carb intake, it's off limits. Instead of potatoes, try this cauliflower version that's still got all the good stuff such as bacon and cheese. Roasting the cauliflower instead of boiling it ensures that it's sweet and adds that roasted flavor you'd get in a baked potato.
Recipe: Andie Mitchell
Laksa is a popular Malaysian street food. It's made with a fragrant mix of lemongrass, chiles, ginger, garlic, and spices, but you can get all those things in a laksa curry paste mix pre-made from an Asian grocery store. Once you have that, you just need broth, coconut milk, rice noodles, and whatever toppings you like.
Recipe: Rasa Malaysia
Chicken pot pie is one heck of a comforting meal, but it's also a lot of work fiddling with a crust. Instead, try this soup version that's got all of the same vegetables and chicken as the classic, just in a thinner, creamy broth. Serve it with biscuits as a stand-in for the pie crust.
Recipe: Damn Delicious
The broiled, gooey cheesy top is the best part of French onion soup, so don't skimp on the bread and gruyere in this recipe. The second-most important thing: taking time to truly caramelize the onions. A half-hour or more cooking them down is worth it in the end. (Here are more than a dozen Classic, Budget-Friendly French Dishes.)
Recipe: Gimme Some Oven
We don't know what it is about meatballs, but they're comforting in every form. Albondigas are the Mexican version, and float around in this broth-based soup with big chunky vegetables flavored with coriander, cilantro, and safflower, a spice similar to saffron.
Recipe: Muy Bueno Cookbook
Turkey noodle soup has got to be the most popular way to use up leftover turkey meat after Thanksgiving. This version is a classic recipe that only takes 30 minutes start to finish. It's great with canned chicken broth, but if you have time and want to go all out, make your own turkey stock from the turkey carcass. (After the main event, these Ways to Spice Up Thanksgiving Leftovers will come in handy.)
Recipe: Averie Cooks
Don't be intimidated by making a Thai-inspired soup: Most of the complex flavors come from ready-made curry paste. Coconut milk is what makes this creamy, and fresh lime juice and cilantro add a pop of freshness at the end.
Recipe: Cookie and Kate
Avgolemono is a simple Greek soup made with chicken broth, eggs, lemon, and rice. The egg yolks are blended with the hot broth to make the soup creamy. It's an ideal soup to eat when you're ill, because the eggs mean it's full of protein, the lemon is good for a sore throat, and it's creamy without dairy.
Recipe: Food & Wine
Ditch the tomato soup and grilled cheese for this fun fall rendition. Instead of summer tomatoes, use canned pumpkin puree for a festive and beautiful soup. It's so easy that you'll have plenty of time to make the gruyere-stuffed grilled cheese croutons.
Recipe: Creme de la Crumb
Good things come to those who wait, and pho is no exception. The Vietnamese beef and rice-noodle soup is ideal for cool weather, but it takes a lot of simmering and effort. It's worth it when you sit down to a steaming bowl filled with fragrant spices, fresh herbs, and umami-filled fish sauce.
Recipe: Serious Eats
Split pea soup gets a bad rap, but it's overdue to come back in fashion. This recipe is made in an Instant Pot, so it's fast enough even for a weeknight. If you have leftover ham and ham hocks from holiday brunches, this is a great way to use it to the fullest.
Recipe: Simply Happy Foodie
Pozole is a Mexican soup filled with plump hominy kernels, which can be bought in cans. This version of the soup includes pork shoulder, along with a couple types of dried chiles that give it its deep red color. Don't skip fresh toppings such as onions, radishes, and lime, which make the rich soup pop.
Recipe: Mexico in My Kitchen
Indian and British cuisine mix in this filling soup that's yellow with turmeric. This recipe starts with whole spices that are toasted and ground fresh for maximum flavor. Apple and sweet potato give it a little sweetness, and the curry powder adds a whole mix of spices at once.
Recipe: Serious Eats
A mashup between two of the best comfort foods is a genius idea. This soup combines chicken noodle soup and mac and cheese into a creamy, chunky, and cheesy soup filled with chicken, broccoli, and red bell peppers. (Sample some of this fun mac-and-cheese trivia.)
Recipe: Country Living
This slow cooker soup uses fresh vegetables available in the dead of winter, such as carrots, celery, zucchini, and cabbage. Everything goes into a slow cooker with red lentils and Parmesan cheese rind, and four to six hours later it's ready for a drizzle of fruit olive oil and grated Parmesan.
Recipe: A Beautiful Plate
The slight sweetness of pumpkin goes well with the savory flavors in this Thai-inspired soup. Fish sauce and roasted chile paste add depth to the broth that's made creamy with coconut milk. Snow peas and fresh basil add pops of freshness.
Recipe: Country Living
Fall means football, but attending games and tailgating may still be on hold for some this year. This beer cheese soup is great for a home football-watching party. It's got four kinds of peppers, so it's reminiscent of nacho cheese, and the chili-spiced Chex add a great, fun crunch.
Recipe: Half Baked Harvest
Pears in soup aren't exactly common, but why not? They add some sweetness to this pureed soup made with parsnips and rosemary. It's a great, unique soup to use up some autumn produce.
Recipe: Cafe Johnsonia
Good mushrooms are always available, and make up the bulk of this creamy Hungarian soup. It's tinged orange with paprika, and white wine, soy sauce, thyme, and dill give it complexity. It's great with bread or croutons for dipping, but serving it over egg noodles would be a good alternative.
Recipe: The Modern Proper