27 of Our Most Warming Soups and Stews
When it's chilly outside, cozy up to any one of these 27 fantastic soup and stew recipes to warm your bones. From caldo gallego-inspired White Bean Soup with Bacon and Herbs to aromatic Jamaican Braised Oxtails with Carrots and Chiles and savory Tonkotsu Ramen, these are bound to become cold-weather classics in your kitchen.
Vegetarian 15-Bean Soup
Can't make up your mind about whether to make bean or lentil soup? Grab a bag of 15-bean soup mix from the dry goods aisle at the market and make this flavorful, hearty soup instead. Bean and lentil soups like this one are often cooked with a ham bone or a smoked ham hock, but there are other ways to flavor a pot of soup, especially when you want something vegetarian. Here, we include a few Parmesan cheese rinds for added depth and umami.
Herb Garden Matzo Ball Soup
Matzo ball soup gets a glow-up in this version by cookbook author Leah Koenig, with fresh parsley, dill, chives, and fennel fronds in the matzo balls themselves, plus more herbs, lemon zest, and edible flowers adding color and bright, spring flavors to each finished bowl of soup.
Butternut Squash Soup with Crisp Pancetta
In this recipe from chef Tom Valenti, butternut squash is first buttered, seasoned, and roasted with pancetta slices draped over the top to infuse flavor. The finished soup is pureed until creamy smooth and served with the crispy crumbled pancetta for textural contrast.
Cataplana (Portuguese Fish Stew)
This Cataplana from F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple is his version of a savory feast of shellfish and smoky lingui?a hailing from the Algarve in Portugal. Named for the vessel it's traditionally cooked and served in, the stew gets lots of flavor from the Portuguese lingui?a included; you can substitute Spanish-style chorizo or even kielbasa in a pinch.
Classic Split Pea Soup
"I haven't met a bean or pea that I didn't love," says chef Steven Satterfield. Here, he soaks split peas for an hour before simmering them in the soup, so they're more tender and the soup is smoother.
Jamaican Braised Oxtails with Carrots and Chiles
Oxtails — a deeply beefy cut full of connective tissue — practically melt when braised, resulting in savory, tender meat and a rich and glossy gravy. Novelist Bryan Washington's recipe for Jamaican braised oxtails, an homage to one prepared by his mother, is perfumed by plenty of warming spices, hot Scotch bonnet chiles, and fresh thyme, while sweet carrots and creamy beans round out the dish.
Restorative Ginger and Turmeric Noodle Soup
F&W Cooks contributor Hetty McKinnon says this soup is "like a hug" in winter. Garlic oil and ginger-turmeric curry paste add flavor — the paste can keep in the refrigerator for up to seven days and can be frozen, too, so it’s easy to prepare in advance.
Soup Joumou
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
Soup Joumou is a rich and savory beef, vegetable, and squash Haitian stew commonly eaten on January 1 to signify the anniversary of freedom from French colonial rule in 1804. This recipe begins with an epis, the aromatic flavor base that's a backbone of Haitian cooking, which is made by pureeing bell peppers, scallions, onions, and garlic.
Chunky Tomato Soup
For the best texture in this vibrant tomato soup, puree half of the soup until smooth, then stir it into the chunky base.
Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
The queen of comforting soups, this deeply flavorful chicken noodle soup recipe is a tried-and-true classic.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
A slow-simmered, savory tonkotsu broth is the base to this ramen, which is rich from the meltingly tender chashu pork and soft-boiled egg and brightened by the pickled mushrooms.
Smoked Ham Hock and Lentil Soup
"I love making this lentil soup when the weather begins to cool," says 2017 F&W Best New Chef Nina Compton, owner of New Orleans hot spot Compère Lapin. "The ham hock aroma hangs around the kitchen beautifully; the smell alone makes you warmer. Adding a little ginger and lemongrass brightens the soup and reminds me of being back home in St. Lucia. Using local okra reminds me of my Louisiana home and adds a different texture."
Jamaican Stew Peas and Spinners
Red kidney beans, aromatics, coconut milk, a Scotch bonnet pepper, and more come together in these Jamaican Stew Peas and Spinners, which writer Brigid Ransome Washington developed based on her mother-in-law's recipe. While the iterations Ransome Washington enjoyed growing up in Trinidad and Tobago included meat, this version is vegan, but make no mistake: It's still luscious, hearty, and satisfying.
Shrimp Bisque
Sautéed shrimp shells impart a sweet complexity to the foundation of this deeply flavorful bisque. White rice is slowly simmered in the aromatic broth and then pureed to give the soup body and a velvety consistency, without masking the flavor of succulent shrimp. Serve with chopped steamed shrimp and a crusty baguette.
Mushroom-Chickpea Pozole
"Here I use mushrooms to give us that earthy heartiness that you expect from pozole, no meat needed," says chef Marcela Valladolid. "Guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles are soaked and pureed for a perfectly balanced sauce that punches up the savory mushroom broth; the chickpeas are a yummy twist in place of the dried hominy."
White Bean Soup with Bacon and Herbs
The Spanish dish caldo gallego is the inspiration for this warming soup, combining the heartiness of white beans and crisp bacon with a light, herb-infused broth. To keep things vegetarian, you can swap the bacon fat for olive oil or butter and top the soup with another crunchy garnish of your liking, such as croutons.
Manhattan Clam Chowder
This recipe for Manhattan Clam Chowder — known for being tomato-forward with a broth base — has layers of flavor, from the clam broth spiked with white wine to the tender vegetables that are cooked in bacon fat. Half of the clams are roughly chopped, while the other half are left whole in their shells for contrast.
French Onion Soup with Roasted Poblanos
At Tzuco, in Chicago, the French onion soup arrives at the table piping hot, topped with a bubbling layer of Gruyère cheese. Hiding under the blanket of cheese, a thick slice of baguette soaks up a soup suffused with flavor from a mountain of jammy onions, balsamic vinegar, and bay leaves.
Broccoli and Potato Soup
The bright green broccoli florets floating on top of this hearty soup make it especially eye-catching, but it's the broccoli stems that do the real work. They're cooked with the potatoes and then pureed to form a creamy base. A final sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese gives the soup an extra savory touch.
Bò Kho (Vietnamese Beef Stew)
Baguette and bò kho are great friends, but you also can serve the stew over pasta — try it over boiled egg noodles or rice noodles (select pappardelle-size noodles). Add a green salad for a complete meal.
Chicken Soup with Ginger and Cilantro
Here, quick-cooking boneless chicken pieces are gently simmered in a ginger and cilantro-infused broth with a dash of soy sauce. The eye-catching garnish tray doubles as a colorful centerpiece, allowing guests to pile their bowls with aromatic fresh herbs, spicy chiles, and juicy citrus.
Corsican Bean Soup with Greens and Pork
Full of hearty winter vegetables, this comforting soup is filling without being heavy. Dried beans are the key to the satisfying richness of the broth; if you want to use canned beans to save time, stir them in at the end of cooking.
Lentil and Garlic-Sausage Soup
A riff on a classic Italian dish, this garlicky lentil soup skews pan-European, with French lentils, Manchego cheese, and any really good garlic sausage.
Easy Chicken and Dumplings
This satisfying one-pot meal of silky chicken and tender dumplings starts with searing chicken thighs to render fat to cook the mirepoix in, building a flavorful base for this classic dish. Self-rising flour, buttermilk, and butter are the only ingredients in the pillowy dumplings, which come together in the final minutes, cooking right in the creamy soup.
Mole Verde con Pollo with Corn Tortillas
This green mole stands out from the pack of velvety sauces with its nutty, slightly coarse texture. A thin layer of fat on top of the mole is a sign that it's been prepared correctly. Sop up the sauce and tender chicken with plenty of warm corn tortillas.
Chunky Borscht
Brothy and brimming with beets, parsnips, turnip, celery root, and slices of kielbasa, this earthy beet soup gets a finishing touch of sour cream and fresh dill. Serve it in big bowls with plenty of crusty bread for an appetizing cold-weather dinner.
Brunswick Stew
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Brunswick stew is a beloved comfort dish with roots in traditional Southern cuisine. Origin stories are murky because several regions throughout the South — all with name ties to Brunswick — claim to have made it first. The ingredients vary by region; this version uses pork shoulder, corn, potatoes, and lima beans.