It's National Soup Month!

January is National Soup Month! With chilly days and mixed temperatures, it’s the perfect time to snuggle up with a warm bowl of hearty soup or chili. It’s one of America’s favorite comfort foods through the long, cold days of winter, which makes January perfect for it! We've collected 5 of our favorite homemade soup recipes to share. Chicken, Pork, Vegan, etc - We've tried to cover an assortment of flavors to keep you cozy and celebrating all month!

Tomato and Basil Soup

Ingredients
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle

Ingredients
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups carrots sliced
1 ½ cups diced white onion
1 cup diced celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 ½ tsp fresh thyme, chopped, or ¾ teaspoon dried
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried
2 dried bay leaves
8 cups unsalted chicken stock, or broth
8 ounces wide egg noodles
1 tsp chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Add Ingredients – In a 6-quart slow cooker, add chicken, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and chicken stock.
2. Slow Cook – Cover and cook on the high setting for 3 ½ hours, or on the low setting for 5 ½ hours. Cook until the chicken reaches 160ºF (71ºC), adding more time as needed.
3. Shred Chicken – Remove chicken and transfer to a clean plate. Shred into smaller pieces right before serving.
4. Cook Noodles – Add pasta to the slow cooker and cook on high setting for 25 to 30 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
5. Warm Chicken – Add shredded chicken back to the slow cooker, cover, and let cook for 5 minutes on high heat to re-warm. Season the soup with more salt and pepper as needed.
6. To Serve – Garnish the chicken noodle soup with chopped parsley before serving.

Spicy Sausage, Cheese, & Potato

Ingredients

1lb spicy sausage
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup butter
5 cups cubed peeled potatoes
3 cups water
3 cups 2% milk, divided
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

In a large pot over medium heat, brown and saute spicy sausage, onion and celery in butter. Drain grease and add diced potatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Stir in 2 cups milk, bouillon, salt and pepper. Combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat. Add cheese and stir until melted.

Creamy Vegan Mushroom Stew

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours & drained
1 tablespoon light miso
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
4 cups vegetable stock , divided
2 cups cooked farro , see note
2 cups chopped kale, packed

Instructions

1. Heat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, pour in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add the onions and stir. Sauté the onions until translucent and very soft, about 5 minutes. If the onions start to brown on the edges, lower the heat.
2. Add the rosemary and garlic to the pot and stir until very fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add all of the sliced mushrooms to the pot. Give them a quick stir and then let them sit for a full minute. Once the minute is up, stir them up and then let them sit again for another full minute. Stir them up after that and season them with pepper. Let them sit for another full minute. Once they start glistening, season the mushrooms with salt. Keep stirring and sautéing the mushrooms until they are tender, about 3 additional minutes.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar to the pot and stir. Let some of the strong vinegar aroma evaporate a bit. The mushrooms should be pretty juicy at this point!
5. Remove ⅓ of the sautéed mushroom mixture and place it in an upright blender. Also in the blender, add the drained cashews, miso, nutritional yeast, and 2 cups of the vegetable stock. Blend this mixture on high until completely smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds.
6. Pour the remaining vegetable stock into the pot. Add the cooked farro to the pot as well.
7. Pour the blended mushroom and cashew cream into the pot and stir. bring the stew to a boil and let it simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes—just to let the stew thicken slightly and to let the flavors meld. Then, add the kale to the pot and stir. Keep simmering the stew until the kale is wilted, about 3-4 minutes.
8. Check the stew for seasoning and adjust if necessary (more salt, balsamic vinegar, pepper etc). Serve the stew hot!

Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tps ground ginger
1 tps garlic powder
1/8 tpbs white pepper
3 large eggs
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
thinly-sliced green onions, for garnish

Instructions

1. Make the broth. Whisk together stock (chilled or room-temperature), cornstarch, ginger, garlic powder and white pepper in a medium sauce pan until smooth. Heat over high heat until the stock comes to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
2. Whisk the eggs. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and egg whites in a small measuring cup or bowl. (I find the measuring cup easier for pouring.)
3. Stir in the egg ribbons. Once the broth reaches a simmer, use a whisk or two chopsticks to stir the broth in a circular motion, creating a whirlpool. Then slowly pour the whisked eggs in a very thin stream into the soup as you continue stirring, in order to create egg ribbons.
4. Season. Remove pan from heat. Stir in the sesame oil until combined. Season with salt and additional white pepper to taste, also adding a dash or two of extra sesame oil if needed. (Saltiness will depend on your brand of chicken stock, but I generally find this soup needs an extra ½ to 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt.)
5. Serve. Serve immediately, garnished with lots of green onions and a twist of black pepper.