Nothing answers a cold, dark evening like a pot of soup. It stretches a small amount of meat or a few cans of beans into dinner for six or eight, it reheats better than almost anything else, and most of it can be made while you do something else.
These 18 winter soups and stews are every soup, stew and chili recipe on Sip Savor Mix. They are grouped by style so you can pick based on what you want tonight and how much time you have. About half are stovetop recipes that finish in 45 minutes to an hour. The rest are slow cooker recipes that cook all day.
Each entry lists the real total time from the recipe card and how many it serves. For the slow cooker recipes, that time includes the LOW setting cook time, so plan on a morning start.
One note before you start. Soup is only as good as its seasoning, and most of these need more salt at the end than you expect. Taste after the final simmer, add salt in small pinches, and finish with something sharp like lemon juice or vinegar if the pot tastes flat. That last step matters more than any single ingredient.
Creamy soups
These get their body from a roux, from cream or from blended vegetables. None of them is thin. Add the dairy at the end and off the heat when the recipe says so, or it can curdle.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
A butter roux, tender broccoli, grated carrot and sharp cheddar stirred in off the heat. The cheese melts smoothly because the soup is not boiling when it goes in. Grate the cheddar from a block, since pre shredded cheese is coated with starch and turns grainy. This is the soup to make when you want dinner in 45 minutes.
Time: about 45 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe with the printable card
Creamy Tomato Soup
Canned San Marzano tomatoes, butter, onion and tomato paste that is roasted in the pot until it darkens, then a splash of cream and fresh basil. The roasted paste is what gives it depth without hours of simmering. Serve it with grilled cheese and there are no complaints.
Time: about 45 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Creamy Tomato Soup recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup
Russet potatoes cook in chicken broth all day, then sour cream, cream and sharp cheddar go in and it gets topped like a baked potato with bacon and green onions. Mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken it. It makes eight servings and reheats gently on low heat.
Time: about 7 hours 55 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut squash, apple, sage and a pinch of nutmeg cook for six hours, then get blended silky with cream and a squeeze of lemon. The apple adds sweetness and the lemon keeps it from tasting flat. Use vegetable broth and it is vegetarian. Toasted pepitas on top add crunch.
Time: about 6 hours 20 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup recipe with the printable card
Brothy classics
Clear, golden broths that lean on bones, aromatics and time. These are the soups you want when someone is under the weather or when you need something lighter than a chili.
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Bone in chicken thighs, carrots, celery and herbs cook into a rich golden broth, then wide egg noodles go in for the last half hour. The bones and skin are what make the broth taste homemade, so do not swap in boneless breasts. Feeds eight and freezes well if you leave the noodles out and add them when reheating.
Time: about 7 hours 15 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup recipe with the printable card
Italian Wedding Soup
Small beef and pork meatballs are baked, not fried, then simmered in a Parmesan chicken broth with tiny pasta, carrots and spinach. Baking the meatballs keeps them tender and saves you from standing over a skillet. Everything comes together in just over an hour.
Time: about 1 hour 5 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Italian Wedding Soup recipe with the printable card
Tuscan White Bean Soup with Kale
Canned white beans, kale, garlic, rosemary and tomatoes in a brothy soup that turns creamy when you puree a scoop of the beans and stir it back in. It is on the table in 50 minutes and it is meatless as written. A drizzle of good olive oil and grated Parmesan finish it.
Time: about 50 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Tuscan White Bean Soup with Kale recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
A smoky tomato chicken soup with black beans and corn, topped with crisp baked tortilla strips, avocado and lime. The chicken thighs shred with two forks after six to seven hours on LOW. The toppings are half the meal, so do not skip them.
Time: about 6 hours 55 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham
Dried green split peas cook with a ham bone or smoked hocks, carrots, celery and onion until thick and smoky. No soaking is needed, and the peas break down on their own over the long cook. A teaspoon of vinegar at the end brightens the whole pot.
Time: about 8 hours 45 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham recipe with the printable card
Bean and lentil soups
Beans and lentils are the cheapest way to make a filling soup. These two are meatless as written, thick enough to eat with a fork and even better the next day. Both start with canned or dried pantry staples, so you can make either one without a trip to the store. Rinse canned beans well, since the liquid in the can is salty and starchy and will cloud the pot.
Hearty Lentil Soup
Brown lentils simmer with carrots, celery, tomatoes and smoked paprika, then greens go in at the end and a squeeze of lemon wakes everything up. Lentils need no soaking and cook in about 30 minutes. It makes six servings for a few dollars and it is a full meal on its own.
Time: about 1 hour | Serves: 6
Get the full Hearty Lentil Soup recipe with the printable card
Chipotle Black Bean Soup
Canned black beans, fire roasted tomatoes and chipotle peppers in adobo blended into a thick, smoky soup in 45 minutes. Blend half and leave half whole for texture. Top with sour cream, cilantro and crushed tortilla chips.
Time: about 45 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Chipotle Black Bean Soup recipe with the printable card
Chilis
Chili is the most forgiving thing you can make. It tolerates substitutions, it feeds a crowd, and every one of these makes eight servings. Toast the spices in oil before the liquid goes in. That single step is the difference between flat chili and good chili. Set out toppings in small bowls and let everyone build their own. It makes the same pot work for picky kids and heat seekers alike.
Slow Cooker Beef Chili
Thick beef chili with two kinds of beans, toasted spices, a spoonful of cocoa and a splash of coffee for depth. Brown the beef first so it has texture instead of steaming into crumbles. It cooks all day and tastes even better on day two.
Time: about 7 hours 40 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Beef Chili recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Ground turkey, two kinds of beans, fire roasted tomatoes and a homemade spice blend. It is leaner than beef chili but just as thick, because the beans and tomato paste do the work. Sharp cheddar and sour cream on top round it out.
Time: about 7 hours 20 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Turkey Chili recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Shredded chicken, white beans and green chiles in a creamy broth finished with cream cheese and lime juice. It is mild enough for kids and easy to spice up at the table with hot sauce or jalapeños. Serve with tortilla chips for scooping.
Time: about 6 hours 45 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
Three kinds of beans, sweet potato, bell peppers and fire roasted tomatoes cook low and slow with toasted spices, soy sauce and cocoa. The sweet potato makes it hearty enough to stand in for meat. Finish with lime and pile on avocado, cheese and cilantro.
Time: about 7 hours 20 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili recipe with the printable card
One Pot Chili Mac
Ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes and elbow macaroni simmer together in one pot in 40 minutes, then sharp cheddar melts over the top. The pasta cooks right in the chili and thickens it as it goes. This is the fastest recipe on this list and the one kids ask for.
Time: about 40 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full One Pot Chili Mac recipe with the printable card
Beef stews
Real stews built on chuck roast, red wine and time. The beef needs at least two and a half hours to turn tender, so these are for a Sunday afternoon or a slow cooker morning. Buy a whole chuck roast and cut it yourself rather than bagged stew meat. The pieces will be more even and the cut will be the right one for braising.
Classic Beef Stew
Chuck roast braised in red wine and broth with carrots, potatoes and peas until it falls apart. Brown the beef in batches so it sears instead of steams, then let the oven or a low burner do the rest for a little over three hours. This is the stew to make when you want the house to smell right.
Time: about 3 hours 10 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Classic Beef Stew recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
Bacon, mushrooms, pearl onions and red wine turn chuck roast into the French stew everyone knows. You brown the beef and bacon on the stove first and then the slow cooker takes it from there. Serve over mashed potatoes or buttered noodles.
Time: about 9 hours 5 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon recipe with the printable card
How to use this list
Shop for two at once. Most of these soups share onions, carrots, celery, garlic and broth. Buy those in quantity and you can make a stovetop soup on Tuesday and start a slow cooker chili on Saturday morning with the same bag of groceries. Canned beans and tomatoes keep for a year, so stock up when they go on sale.
Match the recipe to the time you have. The creamy soups, the white bean soup, the lentil and black bean soups and the chili mac are all done in under an hour on the stove. Everything with slow cooker in the name needs a morning start, and the beef stew needs three hours on a weekend afternoon. For a broader mix of quick meals, see the two week fall weeknight meal plan.
Swap without fear. Chicken thighs stand in for breasts in any chicken soup and stay juicier. Any white bean works in the Tuscan soup. Ground turkey replaces beef in the chili mac and the beef chili. Kale, spinach and chard are interchangeable in the lentil and white bean soups, just add spinach later since it wilts faster.
Freeze in portions. Almost every soup here freezes well for up to 3 months. Cool it completely, then freeze in single or double servings so you can thaw only what you need. Leave the noodles out of chicken noodle soup before freezing and add fresh ones when you reheat. Reheat all soups to 165°F. The fall freezer meal prep plan has a full weekend schedule for stocking the freezer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a soup and a stew?
Stews have less liquid and larger pieces of meat and vegetables, and they are cooked longer at a lower temperature so the meat turns tender. Soups have more broth and often smaller pieces. Chili sits somewhere in between, which is why it gets its own group here.
Which soups can I make in under an hour?
Broccoli cheddar soup, creamy tomato soup, chipotle black bean soup, Tuscan white bean soup, hearty lentil soup and one pot chili mac are all done in 40 to 60 minutes on the stove. Italian wedding soup takes just over an hour.
How do I thicken a thin soup?
Mash or blend some of the beans, potatoes or vegetables already in the pot. For cream soups, whisk a tablespoon of cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir it in while the soup simmers. For chili, simmer with the lid off for 20 minutes or stir in a little tomato paste.
Can I freeze soups with cream or cheese in them?
You can, but the texture may separate slightly when thawed. Reheat slowly over low heat and whisk as it warms. For the best result, freeze cream soups before adding the dairy and stir it in when you reheat.
How long do leftover soups and stews keep?
Refrigerate within two hours of cooking and use within 4 days. Reheat to 165°F. Soups with pasta or noodles will soften as they sit, so add a splash of broth when reheating or cook the noodles fresh.
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