Oh, for the love of soup – warm, creamy, healthy – no wonder it is my favorite way to eat a meal. I love that you can get all your protein, veggies, and even fruits into one pot. I love that they are warm and comforting on a cool day. I love that you can top them with cheese, croutons, and crackers. I love to accessorize them with buttermilk cornbread!
About this time last year, I shared my first soup post with you and I wanted to arm your autumn with more of my favorite soup recipes. If you missed the post last year, you can click here to check it out and get caught up on all of my favorites.
This year I knew I would be sharing a great soup post with you guys, so I have been stepping up my soup game and really venturing out. With that said, these are all super easy and super delicious, so don’t be afraid!
I wanted to highlight the lovely fall ingredients you can get this time of year. Fresh corn, pumpkin (hello, fall!), mushrooms, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash will help you usher in the colder months. I made all of these on the stove, but also tried them all in the crock pot and both work great! If you want to put them in the crock pot before work, just put it on low. If you have a timer on your crock pot, then set it for six hours. Soups really are better when they are cooked long and slow, and even better leftover!
Up first: Vegan Pumpkin Corn Chowder. This soup is a classic comfort food. For everyone that loves pumpkin, this is the best and healthiest way to enjoy it. It is subtle and if you just hate pumpkin, just omit it and the pumpkin spice seasoning! I made this with salad for a baby shower and everyone loved it. My family ate it for a few days after and they gave it a thumbs up, also. I will probably make this again over the holidays as a first course. It will go amazing with a leftover turkey and cranberry sandwich, too!
Ingredients
- 2 Celery Stalks-chopped
- 2 Carrots-peeled and shredded
- 4 Ears Corn (or a bag of frozen corn)
- 1 Yellow Onion-chopped
- 1 Sweet Potato-chopped into bite size pieces
- 2 Boxes Vegetable Broth
- 1 Clove garlic
- 3 TBSP flour
- 1 Can Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Yellow Squash-chopped and roasted
- 1 1/2 Cups Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
- 1 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions: In large sauté pan, add olive oil and onions and heat on medium-high until softened. Add celery, garlic, and carrots and cook about three minutes. In large stock pot, add cooked onions, garlic, celery and carrots, sweet potato and vegetable broth. Cut corn off of cobs and add to pot. Add seasonings. Cook about 35-40 minutes, or until veggies are cooked. Roast yellow squash in oven on 375F degrees until done (about 15 minutes), remove from oven and add to soup. Add pumpkin. Add flour to coconut milk and whisk until smooth, then add to soup. Cook over low heat until warm again. Serve with goat cheese crumbles and croutons.
Next on the list: Tuscan Black Bean and Kale Soup. This soup is so hearty and so easy to make. It’s very healthy, and you can easily make it vegan by just omitting the sausage. I have made it with and without the sausage, and it is delicious both ways.
I have been a fan of black beans since I was a kid and my sweet, Colombian Aunt Nancy introduced me to them. I love finding new ways (like with sweet potatoes in tacos) to include them in our menu, and this soup is a perfect addition to the fall soup rotation! Serve it with your favorite bread or salad, or just offer some crackers to float in it because it is a complete meal all on its own!
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet or spicy Italian sausage
- 2 cans black beans (or you can cook them from dry the day before)
- 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3-4 bunches kale (it cooks way down), roughly chopped
- 52 oz vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
Directions: In large stock pan, sauté onions, garlic, celery, and carrots until softened. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium 25-30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. You can also simmer soup on low for a couple hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Third up: Cream of Mushroom. Here’s a soup to warm and comfort you from your mouth all the way down to your toes. It gets all of its flavor from using an assortment of mushrooms. I have cut some of the fat out, but if you’re not concerned with that, add full cream to amp up the flavor and comfort. Also, I used red wine but you can omit that and just add a little more chicken stock. If you want to make it vegan, just use vegetable stock and coconut/soy/almond milk instead.
You can make this ahead of time and freeze it to replace all of the recipes that call for the cream can soups, too. I am sure you could can it, but I have no idea how to do that, so you are on your own. I freeze it in quart size freezer bags so I have the perfect amount to use in the crock pot or casseroles. I used this last year to make my favorite holiday casserole, green bean casserole, and it is perfect.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs assorted mushrooms (I used baby portabella, shitake, cremini, and button), thinly sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup red wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup milk, divided
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions: In large stock pot, melt butter and sauté mushrooms, garlic, and onion until tender and browned. Add wine and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced (about five minutes). Add chicken broth, half-and-half, 1/2 of the milk, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. In small bowl, whisk cornstarch and remaining milk. Stir into soup until thickened.
And finally: Tomato Soup. This recipe is from Erica at Simple Bites Gourmet (disclaimer: I work there!) and we sold out of it because it was so good! We served it with grilled cheese sandwiches, of course. Even though the weather was still hot in October, this was our top seller that week! To me, there is nothing more comforting than tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, and my kids agree. This will be a staple on my soup rotation this winter. Watch for it in our soups of the week rotation, and instead of making it, you can just come in and enjoy a bowl! (Hint: we have it as our soup of the month for October!)
Ingredients
- 12 tomatoes (big slicing tomatoes like a beefsteak), quartered
- 1/4 onion, chopped
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp parsley flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Directions: Toss tomatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking pan. Roast for 15 min at 400F degrees. Meanwhile, sauté onions and garlic in stock pot. Add roasted tomatoes and remainder of ingredients. Simmer one hour, then puree with a stick blender or in batches in blender or food processor. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches.
