There are too many other, more “important” things to worry about cooking. After all, between the ham or turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie, who has time – or the desire – for soup?! If that’s how you feel about Christmas soups, you’re missing out; you can use soups as appetizers, palette cleansers between courses, or side dishes. For that matter, you can use them as light lunches or warm, comforting dinners on any of the nights around Christmas. So check out these 25 Christmas soups and see which ones you like best.
1. Christmas Soup
Whether you realized it or not, there is a Christmas soup called Christmas soup, and I’d be entirely remiss to leave it off the list. It’s a rich, flavorful tomato-and-cheese soup (almost like thin queso) that’s vegetarian-friendly and full of filling pasta. It takes only 5 minutes to prepare and another 2 hours to cook in the slow cooker.
2. Potato Soup
Most people would agree that Outback has one of the most delicious potato soup recipe you can find, which is why I like this copycat recipe so much. It’s thick, buttery, and creamy, and with or without the optional toppings, it’s a massive hit. (I encourage you to add them, though. Bacon, cheese, and green onions make everything better.)
3. Spinach Artichoke Soup
If you love spinach artichoke dip, then you’ll also be a fan of this spinach artichoke soup. The two taste remarkably similar; only the consistencies are different.
4. Broccoli Cheddar Soup
This copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup is one of the best recipes for broccoli cheddar soup there is. It’s wonderfully cheesy and buttery, and it has the most fantastic taste. Plus, it contains a lot more than just cheese and broccoli, as there are also carrot sticks, celery, and more. It’s a thick, hearty soup, and it pairs perfectly with dark, crusty bread.
5. Mushroom Soup
Homemade cream of mushroom soup is an entirely different experience from the kind you get in a condensed Campbell’s can. Made with tender chunks of real mushrooms, diced onions, minced garlic, your favorite dry red wine, fresh herbs, and more, you won’t believe the two soups are even marginally the same. If you’re looking for a mild but tasty, surprisingly filling Christmas soup, give this one a try.
6. Butternut Squash Soup
I serve butternut squash soup fairly often around the Thanksgiving holidays, but all of the ingredients are still in season for Christmas, as well. It’s a warm, comforting, slightly sweet, and earthy soup that’ll put a smile on the face of anyone who eats it.
7. Chestnut Soup with Bacon and Chives
You won’t need chestnuts roasting on an open fire to enjoy them this Christmas. Try putting them into a soup with bacon, chives, carrots, celery, leeks, nutmeg, and shallots instead. It makes a lovely, flavorful, somewhat salty soup that’s perfect for Christmas lunch.
8. French Onion Soup
A friend of mine once said of French onion soup: “Once you get past the bread, it’s just thin, oniony broth. I don’t like it.” I was floored. I’ve always loved French onion soup, particularly this French onion soup, so I was pretty sure she’d just never had it made with a good recipe. I prepared Julia Child’s French onion soup for her that weekend, and she was a total convert. It’s hard for anyone to dislike anything so rich, cheesy, and packed with flavor.
9. Lentil Soup
If you prefer soups with a bit more chunkiness to them, this lentil soup is ideal. It’s vegan-friendly and has a delicious vegetable broth and diced tomatoes base. To that, you’ll add all kinds of goodies, like onions, carrots, garlic cloves, lentils, red pepper flakes, curry powder, thyme, cumin, collard greens, and more. It doesn’t get much more filling than that.
10. Pumpkin Soup
If you’re a pumpkin in the fall and winter months kind of person, then you may already be a fan of pumpkin soup. If you’ve not tried it, though, now’s the time. It has a rich, earthy, and herby pumpkin flavor, and thanks to the four tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, it’s thick and creamy, as well.
11. Christmas Tortellini Soup
Christmas tortellini soup is a thin-broth soup with a lot of yumminess to make up for the thinness. There’s bacon (or pancetta), onions, cheese tortellini, tomatoes, spinach, and more. Add some Italian seasoning and garlic for flavoring, and you’ll have a tasty, cheesy Italian dish in soup form.
12. Lobster Bisque
You can whip up this phenomenal lobster bisque in less than half an hour, and it takes surprisingly little effort to do so. It’s buttery, garlicky, and just a bit spicy, thanks to the cayenne. The best part, though, are the large chunks of tender, melt-in-your-mouth lobster meat that you’ll get in every bite.
13. Easy Tomato Soup
This quick and easy tomato soup takes only 25 minutes to make and is one of the best recipes for tomato soup you’ll ever try. It has the perfect balance of tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and salt, and you can top it off with parmesan and croutons for an extra bit of cheesy crunch. Pro tip: Serve this with a buttery, ooey-gooey grilled cheese on the side. Your tastebuds – and everyone else’s – will thank you for it.
14. Curried Cauliflower Apple Soup
Curried cauliflower apple soup may sound a bit strange, but if you need a warm, creamy, sweet, and spicy soup to serve in the colder months of the year, you just can’t beat it. Plus, it’s low in fat, has nine grams of protein per serving, and six grams of fiber. It’s a healthy, hearty soup that the whole family will love.
15. New England Clam Chowder
I work this New England clam chowder recipe into every list of soups I make because it’s one of my all-time favorite recipes and the best clam chowder recipe I’ve ever tried. It has whole baby clams, onions, bacon, and potatoes, making it extremely filling, salty, and umami-flavored to the max.
16. Christmas Cabbage Soup
Christmas cabbage soup takes a little over 4 hours to cook, but the ingredients list is simple – green cabbage, baby carrots, onions, potatoes, cooked ham, chicken broth, and pineapples. Plus, it’s easy to make. It has an interesting, complex flavor that’s entirely savory but hard to pin down. If you don’t like cabbage much, don’t automatically dismiss it. The crushed pineapples help mellow the cabbage’s natural bitterness enough that even non-cabbage eaters usually enjoy it.
17. Stuffed Pepper Soup
If you could take your favorite recipe for stuffed peppers and liquefy it – leaving in chunks of all the best ingredients – this soup would be the result. It has rice, beef, tons of herbs and spices, and more, and it’s one of the most flavor-packed options on the list. It also takes less than an hour to make, which is always a plus.
18. Turnip Soup
This 30-minute, 9-ingredient soup contains onions, turnips, potatoes, Granny Smith apples, chicken (or veggie) broth, salt, curry powder, olive oil, and light cream. It’s lush and hearty like pumpkin soup, but the flavor is much different. It’s a mild, easy-to-digest soup that’s perfect for settling your tummy when it’s acting up. If you want a bit more flavor, add fresh herbs and seasoned croutons once it’s ready.
19. Borscht
Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that borscht is the ideal soup for Christmas. It contains huge chunks of beets and potatoes, so it’s incredibly filling. Its bright red color is super festive. And honestly, it’s just a nice, comforting soup to serve during the holiday season. It has an earthy flavor with just a hint of sharp sourness underneath. It may not be for everyone, but for those of us who enjoy it, it’s perfect.
20. Acorn Squash Soup
This thick yellow soup is almost as fun to look at as it is to eat. It’s vegetarian-friendly, and despite its bright, sweet appearance, it has a rich, earthy flavor. There is a light sweetness underneath from the honey and acorn squash, but there’s no denying that this is a savory, herb-filled soup.
21. Sweet Potato Soup
I’m not sure there’s anything you can’t do with sweet potatoes, and that includes turning them into a scrumptious, spiced soup that’s fit for a king. This soup is fantastically creamy and pairs perfectly with a leafy green salad and a tall glass of your favorite white wine.
22. Beef Stew
This is thick, chunky beef stew at its best. It’s the kind of beef stew farmers’ wives made for their husbands after the longest, hardest, coldest days of the year. If you want to feed someone a stew that’ll keep them full all night and maybe into the next day, this is the recipe you’ll want.
23. Czech Christmas Pea Soup
This Christmas pea soup is a funky shade of green that turns some people off, but don’t let the appearance stop you from trying it because it’s super yummy. It takes about an hour and a half to make, and you’ll add peas, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, marjoram, split green peas, water, and oil. Top it off with some homemade croutons for an extra special treat.
24. Chocolate Soup
Of course, Christmas soups don’t all have to be savory; this chocolate soup is an excellent option if you’re looking for something sweet and dessert-like. It’s delightfully smooth and has a consistency that’s somewhere between thick chocolate pudding and rich hot chocolate. Upon first seeing it, many people think it’s a thicker chocolate gravy, but it isn’t. The taste is spectacular and chocolatey, though, so if you like hot chocolate, chocolate gravy, or chocolate pudding, you’ll probably enjoy this, too.
25. Scandinavian Sweet Soup
Scandinavian sweet soup is another excellent example of a lovely, dessert-like soup option. You’ll make it with dried apples, raisins, dried apricots, prunes, pearl tapioca, and cinnamon. (You can also use star anise if you want a bolder, more complex taste.) Once you bring all that to a boil in water, you’ll reduce the heat and add a cup of apple juice, as well. The result is a delectable soup that’s sweet and fruity. It actually tastes a bit like mulled wine, though it’s lighter and doesn’t include any actual wine. Click on a star to rate it!
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