Cozy, Nourishing Autumn & Winter Soup Recipes

What’s better than a warm, hearty bowl of homemade soup on a crisp day? Soups are the perfect way to get a fix of comfort food without eating a super heavy, creamy meal that will weigh you down or sabotage your nutrition goals. Seasonal produce provides great ingredients for making delicious fall and winter soups for a filling dinner or lunch. The best part is that these autumn and winter soup recipes can be made in big batches and frozen for future meals. All it takes is some slicing and dicing, then set it and forget it. It really is that easy.

Fall and Winter Soup Recipes

In addition to the convenience of preparing these soup recipes yourself, you’ll save a ton of excess sodium and calories that restaurant or store-bought soups are typical loaded with. When you make it yourself, you can control the ingredients to ensure you get the most nutritional bang for your buck.

Thai Pumpkin Soup

If you like things with a kick and enjoy an exotic flare to traditional pumpkin soup, this is a must-try. It’s rich and creamy thanks to the coconut milk and full of healthy vegetables. Pumpkin is a good source of vitamin A, while the potatoes will give you some much-needed potassium and will add to the creamy texture.

Makes 4–6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ⅕ lb pumpkin chunks, raw (can use butternut squash as well)
• 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ¼ c Thai red curry paste (depending on your spice level)
• 2 ½ c chicken stock
• 13.5 oz can of full-fat coconut milk
• black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp unsalted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp chives or green onions, finely chopped
• 2 tsp lime juice

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan at medium-high heat. Cook onion for 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the pumpkin chunks and potato to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic for about 1 minute until fragrant.
4. Add the curry paste to the pan and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes until everything is well coated.
5. Add the stock, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and cover.
6. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
7. Remove lid and allow the mixture to simmer for about 20–25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
8. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
9. Blend soup with an immersion hand blender (or use a regular blender working in batches).
10. Return heat to medium, add 1 cup of coconut milk, and season with pepper.
11. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until heated through.
12. Fill serving bowls equally with peanuts, coriander, green onion, and lime juice. Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with remaining coconut milk.

*Recipe Adapted from My Organized Chaos

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

If you’re a fan of Panera Bread’s Chicken and Wild Rice soup, then you’re going to love this lightened-up version. This soup is one of Panera’s top-rated soups, with good reason. It’s delicious, nutritious, and very satisfying. I used to order it quite frequently until I noticed how thirsty it made me the rest of the day. Then I checked out the nutritional profile and realized that the Panera soup recipe contains 1,470 mg of sodium in just 1 serving! Just to put things in perspective, the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg per day, while those with high blood pressure should consume no more than 1,500 mg per day.

With that said, I knew I could create a healthier version of this winter soup recipe without having to drink 10 gallons of water to quench my thirst after consuming it. This version has all the flavor and texture as Panera’s without the hefty sodium content.

Makes 6–8 Servings

Ingredients:

• ½ c carrots, finely diced 
• ½ c celery, finely diced 
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 2 c water
• 2 c milk, divided
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• ½ c all-purpose flour
• 4.3 oz box of Rice-a-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice + seasoning packet
• scallions, thinly sliced for garnish

Instructions:

1. Place carrots, celery, onion, and olive oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven or stock pan.
2. Allow the carrots, celery, and onions to simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the garlic cloves, chicken stock, water, and 1 cup of the milk to the mixture and stir until combined.
4. Add the pepper, oregano, bay leaf, and shredded chicken. Mix until well-combined.
5. Allow the soup to simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk with ½ cup of flour until there are no lumps.
7. Pour flour mixture into the soup and whisk until combined and no lumps remain.
8. Place the Rice-a-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice the seasoning packet into the soup and mix well.
9. Garnish with fresh scallions.

Recipe Adapted from Wishes & Dishes

Fall and Winter Soups: More Than Just Delicious

You can feel good about adding these delicious, healthy soups to your diet. They are loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and they have fewer calories and less sodium than typical restaurant versions. They also make for great leftovers that can be portioned into individual serving sizes and kept frozen for another meal. If you enjoy a healthy bowl of soup, then be sure to also read up on the benefits of bone broth.