Try these easy and delicious homemade soup recipes! Soup is an easy way to use leftovers and get meals on the table fast and so wonderful when it’s cold!
Here are some easy healthy soups that you can simmer all day if you like. They are easy to make, to freeze or to use for 2-3 days after you make them at mealtime or in lunches. Don’t be afraid to experiment with them and add your own favorite spices.
You can use canned soups if you like. On a cool winter’s day, a nice hot bowl of canned chicken noodle soup can really be good when served with crackers, fruit and mom’s love. Add some of your own ingredients to make it seem more homemade, like that small container of frozen cooked chicken, or add that leftover ham to canned split pea soup. Any leftover veggies can be added to canned vegetable soup. You can add your own spices to canned soup, too.
I’m not sure why, but sometimes gently simmering canned soup in a pan for 5-10 minutes somehow adds to the flavor a little, rather than just nuking it in the microwave.
Soup Tips:
- Tie up your onion peels, carrot peels and celery tops in a cheese cloth to cook and make vegetable, beef or chicken stock. (Or use your old panty hose! LOL Just Kidding…)
- When using canned soup, don’t be afraid to add things like fresh, canned or frozen vegetables.
- Add some mushrooms, onions, celery or carrots to canned soup.
- Keep a container of leftover vegetables in the freezer for something like this.
- Think out of the box. Add the vegetables or chunks of beef to tomato soup for a different taste.
- Spice it up. Adding just a few of your own spices will totally change the taste of canned soup.
Tasty Soup Recipes
This first recipe calls for barley. For years I didn’t know what barley was until I had this soup. Don’t be afraid to try it. It is good for you and tastes good too, even to a picky eater like me. ;-) This soup is about as low-cal, healthy, and filling as they come. You can find it easily in any grocery store in with the rice. It’s a nice change to barley from rice and noodles.
Easy Chicken Barley Soup Recipe
This easy chicken barley soup recipe has always been a family favorite! It’s a healthy and delicious comfort food soup that everyone loves!
- Yield: 2 quarts
Ingredients
1/2 cup barley
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 carrot, diced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup chicken
1/4 tsp. turmeric (optional)
salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Rinse and cook the barley in the broth as instructed on the package.
- Halfway through, add the vegetables, chicken and seasonings.
Here’s a basic easy vegetable soup recipe. You can add to it or take away according to what different vegetables you have on hand or what your family prefers. Certain vegetables take longer to cook than others so you will need to adjust the time when you throw them into the pot to cook. For example, potatoes and carrots will need to start cooking an hour or hour and half before serving while peas can go in 30 minutes before.
Don’t be afraid if you have to dump everything (except rice and noodles) in to simmer all day. I find that most stews and soups can handle it all going in together and simmering for several hours.
PrintEasy Vegetable Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Soup Stock Ingredients
1 beef soup bone
2 quarts water
2 Tbsp. salt
pepper, to taste
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. allspice
Soup Vegetable Ingredients
3–4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 (16 oz.) cans whole peeled tomatoes (If you don’t have canned tomatoes, add tomato juice or V-8 instead.)
Instructions
You are basically making soup stock in the first 2 steps. If you have canned or frozen stock soup stock, you can use that and skip steps 1 and 2.
- Simmer stock ingredients 2 hours.
- Remove bone, cool and skim fat.
- Add the soup vegetable ingredients to the soup stock.
- Simmer 2 more hours.
- Remove bay leaves.
Notes
You can throw in a handful or two of rice, noodles or barley during the last hour of cooking. If you like, you can also add any leftover veggies like corn, peas or green beans.
To “spice” up your life and this soup add:
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/2 tsp. basil, dried
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Egg Flower Soup Recipe
- Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
1 green onion, chopped (top included)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp. salt
dash pepper
Instructions
- Stir the onion into the eggs.
- Heat the broth to boiling in a 3-quart saucepan.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Pour the egg mixture slowly into the broth, stirring constantly with a fork.
- Boil about 5 minutes until the eggs are done.
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I am anxiously awaiting the cookbook and in the meantime gathering ideas from your soup category to try. Thank You! I am 78 and still learning!
Keep watching Auda. Within the next couple of months (now that winter is here) we will be posting all kinds of things on soups from different recipes to how to make the basics. You make me feel better to know there is not something wrong with me. I have been cooking and doing house cleaning for over 40 years and I still find ways to do things differently. I couldn’t figure out if I was a slow learner or what. I guess it would be a dull world if we didn’t keep learning new things.
Wow Auda, I’m 60 and still learning and it’s so much fun at this age! :D I am so looking forward to soup recipes! I love to use my tabletop roaster to make soups and stews, it’s the greatest!. I also use my crockpot a lot and look forward trying new crockpot recipes. Thank you, Jill, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Living on a Dime website!
Auda, I’m 70 and also still learning. Been married 40 years and have learned that my husband just likes the basics. Jill and Tawra’s recipes are so simple, with affordable grocery ingredients, and darn yummy! I also am eagerly awaiting volume one book, I know I’ll put it to constant use. Blessings. Roxanne
My 16 year old son likes to make a soup with a top ramen base. After the noodles are barely done he cracks and egg and quickly stirs it in. This is his version of “egg flower” soup. It smells good but I haven’t tried it as of yet. I asked him where he got the recipe and he said it just sounded good one day.
Baked Beans with Apples
Ingredients
4 apples
1 (28 oz/796 ml) can (28 oz/796 ml)crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
2 2cloves garlic, minced
1 1cup cup(250 mL) (250 mL) apple cider
3 3tbsp tbsp(45 mL) (45 mL) fancy molasses
4 tsp(18 mL) cider vinegar
1tbsp (15 mL) dry mustard
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
3 3cans (19 oz/540 ml) cans (19 oz/540 ml)pinto beans or navy beans, drained and rinsed
Preparation:
Peel and dice 2 of the apples; set aside.
In saucepan, bring tomatoes, onion, garlic, apple cider, molasses, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add beans and diced apples, stirring to coat. Scrape into 10-cup (2.5 L) casserole.
Peel and thinly slice remaining apples; overlap on beans. Bake, uncovered, in 300°F (150°C) oven until thickened, about 2 hours. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes; refrigerate, uncovered, until cold. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Or freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Reheat over medium-low heat.)
Thanks; that chicken barley soup especially sounds terrific.
Oh Jill!
I am getting in the mood for hot soups on cold winter nights. They warm my soul as much as my tummy:) Thanks for the yummy recipes!
the other day I made Micheal Smith’s Maritime Chowder.
Never made a clam chowder before. But to say it was his recipe is sort of a fib. I had his recipe on the computer but as usual I changed a few things.
Anyway that being said it was wonderful.
His tips for it were you could add any firm fish as well as clams even a can of tuna fish. I added shrimp
He says use evaporated milk but I used half and half and water. I saw him make this recipe and he said he never used canned milk until he met his wife. She lived on a remote island off the shore of NFLD where canned milk was used for everything. So he added it to her specifications and decided that it was really good. So the canned milk is optional.
He says to perk it up a bit add some horse radish to it. I love horse radish so when I served myself a bowl I put a tsp into mine only. It was really good. I am sure if you put it into the soup directly nobody would know what it was they would just enjoy it and then ask your secret.
If anyone wants the recipe I can copy and paste it or you can do a search typing Michael Smith’s Maritime Chowder and it comes up with many other of his soup recipes.
I have read somewhere on here that you freeze all the “little bits” of leftovers and then when you have enough make a soup out of it. Is there anything in particular that you add to it to flesh it out? I have been saving leftovers here and there and have vegetables, beef and chicken, etc. I wanted to try this.
Thanks for all you guys do!!
Jacqui I’m sorry I’m not sure I understand what you me mean by flesh it out. Usually all you have to do is add all of your leftovers to beef, chicken or veggie broth, depending on what leftovers you are using and heat it up or you can let it simmer. If you want a thicker soup let the broth and meat simmer for several hours without a lid on it to help thicken then add your veggies. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of leftover mashed potatoes to it to thicken a soup. Not sure if this helped or not. Let me know.
Jacqui I think Sandi maybe answered your question on the soup by adding things like rice and noodles.
When I do the leftover soup, I will add leftover rice, or add some sort of noodles or pasta about 10 minutes before it’s done. If it seems a bit skimpy, I add canned or frozen vegetables. I’ve even occasionally done it as a cassarole with mashed potatoes or biscuits on top and baked in the oven. Leftover gravy is especially good in this.
Hi Jill:
I like to add instant mashed potato flakes to chowders to thicken and give some flavor. I get the pouches when they are on sale for $1 or less, for example “loaded” (sour cream, cheese, bacon flavor) works super in a corn or clam/fish chowder. It can help to “doctor” up a canned soup also, or help thicken up a sauce for a casserole.
Donna
Great idea Donna. I had heard of using the instant soup before but didn’t think about using all of the different flavored ones. Duhhhh!!!
how long is homemade chicken broth good in the fridge? .. i made some 3 days ago but i left it in the fridge to make chicken and rice vegi soup . i hope its ok ..
Rose they say it can be kept any where from 4-5 days to a week or two depending on the situation. Personally I keep mine for about 5 days if it has been sitting in the fridge that whole time. 3 days should be just fine and of course like with anything if it smells or taste funny then toss it. That still is a good way to know.
One more thing — after making BBQ beef stew saturday night, I had about 12 oz of the gravy/stock left over, so I froze it in a cup in the freezer. Next batch of broth/gravy over my stew beef is free!
Oh Rose,
I think only 3 days in frig it’s fine — I would stash in the freezer today, though or try to use today.
Jill, we are making good progress on taming the “take out monster”. Sat was BBQ beef stew, Sunday was a lasagna, with 1/2 going directly to freezer for aother day. tonight is a beef roast in crockpot.
(I admit we did go out last night for a special occassion, though) (Guess who turned 60! I told my son it’s “the new 40!)
So far the dishes have been keepers!
Way to go Donna and Happy Birthday. I’m glad to hear 60 is the new 40 because that is what I turned my last birthday too. You really are doing a good job on your meals it sounds like and you have such good ideas you sound like a good cook too. It will get easier and easier too for you. It’s like breaking any habit and starting a new one it may seem hard or awkward at first but if you keep at it there will come a time when you won’t even think about it.
You may already do this but keep a list of the meals you posted here and for the next week or so then on those days when you can’t figure out what to have just use something off of your list. For me and many others figuring out what to have that night is 3/4 of the battle.
A couple bits of info on the “freezer soup”. I add some hamburger than has been browned and drained and some shell noodles. My kids always loved the “squirt” from the juice inside the noodles. My son makes this and still uses the shell noodles. Also, if your veggies are a little skimpy, just add a can of mixed veggies or a can or bag of corn. This really seem to beef it up (no pun intended). As for left over pot roast. The first day, from the crockpot, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy (used juices from pot plus a can of gravy) and mixed veggies. Two days later, hot roast beef sandwiches with a salad. Two days later, I shredded the rest of the roast and mixed it with my famous home-made barbeque sauce (equal parts cola soda and ketchup with a little bit of brown sugar and cook in a pot until it is the right consistency). You may like your sauce thicker – if so, just cook it slower and longer, then put meat into pan with sauce and cook on low until it is hot. I only had hot dog buns in the house, so used those with some cole slaw. With some fruit for a side, a very good dinner. I try to use every bit of my leftovers and since my husband doesn’t like the same thing several days in a row, I try to mix it up and use the same meat but fixed in a different way. Hope you try the Barbeque sauce. You will be surprised how good it is. My kids only wanted my sauce, never bottled. Any leftovers from the barbeque will make a nice lunch the next day.
Maggie – these all sound so good! But what size pot roast are you making? My husband usually decimates 3/4 of even a large one at the first meal. Maybe I should hide 1/2 of it before serving. :)
Yes, thank you for all the suggestions! I wasn’t sure of I should add broth or tomato sauce…. sounds like anything goes! I may try both ways.
Thanks again ladies! :}
Jacqui, Thanks for the reminder. For the soup, I usually add a can of diced or whole tomatoes including the juice. I also add any liquid that has been frozen with your leftover veggies and then broth or plain water if you need more volume. Because you are using already seasoned veggies, plain water will cook down into a wonderful broth. I like the color of the tomato broth and even a small amount of tomato jazzes up the flavor. If you don’t have canned tomatoes and want that flavor, you can add tomato paste. I also add fresh tomatoes in the summer or ones I have frozen. Even half a fresh tomato gives a wonderful bright taste to the soup.
I buy the white button-type mushrooms when they’re on sale, and slice and dehydrate them. Store the dried mushrooms in a glass container, and they’ll last 6 mos. or longer.
This hearty soup recipe that follows is a knock-off of Sweet Tomatoes’ mushroom soup, my sister and I created:
1 1/2 c. dried mushrooms-2 chicken bouillon cubes-1 1/2 c. warm water-2 c. Half ‘n’ Half-1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce-a dash of black pepper-2 Tbs. cornstarch-1/2 c. Half ‘n’ Half or milk
In Dutch oven, cover dried mushrooms with warm water. Add 1 c. Half ‘n’ Half and chicken bouillon cubes. Cover. Let stand 20 minutes. Add 1 c. Half ‘n’ Half, worcestershire sauce and black pepper. Remove about half of the mushrooms (and a bit of the liquid) and run them thru a blender to chop them well. Add back in to pot. Stir well. Cook, stirring occasionally over medium-low heat, till soup comes to a boil. In a small bowl, mix the 1/2 c. of Half ‘n’ Half with the cornstarch. When soup begins to bubble, stir this mixture into soup, and stir till it again begins to bubble. Reduce heat and simmer till soup thickens.. Serve hot.
Yum! Homemade soups are SO good! Do try Celery Soup–I usually have about half a celery stock left in the fridge when I decide to make celery soup. Cut through the celery stock every 1/2″ or less (to break up the fibers), cook about 2-3 cups celery pieces in about 3 or 4 cups water until tender. Pour celery and part of the water in a blender. (Save the rest of the water for later in the recipe.) In a small pan, melt 1/4 cup (/2 cube) butter and add 1 finely-chopped onion, frying until tender. Add about 1/2 cup flour to the onion and butter, stir until blended and hot-bubbly. Then pour onion mixture in with the pulverized celery, add some more of the liquid stock, plus some salt, pepper and about a cup of dry powdered milk. Pulverize the mixture until smooth, adding a bit more liquid, as needed to make the soup the right consistency (I like mine like a thick chowder). So good–much better than canned celery soup. I sometimes add about 1/2 pkg. of dry chicken or turkey gravy mix to the soup.
Oops..in my recipe above, I should have typed 1/4 cup flour, not 1/2 cup. The half-cup would work, but you’ll sure wind up with a lot of soup.
Thank you for the vegetable soup basic recipe! We have been trying to cut meat out of our diet here and there for about 2 years now–for financial reasons (meat is expensive!). Even though I’ve been cooking for years, until I read your post, I wasn’t exactly sure what the basic process for making vegetable soup was. I’ve eaten it many times, but never made it, I guess. (How silly! It’s so easy!) I used your basic recipe to make a Moroccan-type stew for lunch today, and it was absolutely wonderful. I want to eat more, but I should probably save some for another day. Thanks again! I appreciate you all very much.
Hi.
This is my best soup. It is nearly free, and my kids love my “garbage” soup. When I roast a chicken I use the carcass for , broth, together with veggie scraps I save in a box in by freezer, like onion tops, bottoms, carrot peel, the tough ends of asparagus, any left over mushrooms, bits of tomatoes that don’t get eaten. You get the idea.
I freeze my broth in 2 cup portions.
When we have broccoli and/or cauliflower for dinner I use another bag for those bits that don’t get eaten or places in a lunch box. I save all those bits, and also when I use fresh broccoli and cauliflowers kids don’t like to eat the tough stems, so I slice those really thin and throw in the bag. when I have two cups of broccoli/cauliflower scraps it is time to make . I use 4 cups of broth, cook the broccoli and cauliflower accessibility really soft. Takes about five minutes after it is brought to a boil. Then I use my stock blender to blend it smooth and taste it, add some salt and pepper, and perhaps some heavy cream or creme fridge. It is divine, and almost a free dinner.
The best part is my kids love the soup and it takes almost no time. Sometimes I serve a toast on the side, if we have
boiled potatoes left over from dinner the day before I heat those up in the soup. Good with crumbled bacon on too!
I make a lot of soups during the winter. One of my favorites is Veggie beef soup. I wanted to drop a bit of a hint to you. Most of my soups are made with canned veggies. In all but the tomatoes I use, I drain the veggies into one container then add the veggies to the soup. In that way, if I need more broth, I have the veggie broth and it is not slanted one way or another. The flavors are combined and seems to make a nicer soup. Also, I do not use potatoes in mine as I read somewhere that potatoes will make the soup a bit bitter. I also add some Italian Seasoning to my soup for another depth of flavor. Now, pair that soup with some buttered crackers and you have a great meal. Another fave of mine is Chicken and Noodles. I always put in frozen mixed vegetables in mine and usually break over my diabetic diet by cooking them thick and putting them over mashed potatoes (love Kluski noodles for this). Just some thoughts.
Hi, everyone! The Egg Flower Soup sounds great. Any suggestions for what to serve along side?
This soup would be great to serve like at the beginning of a meal. It has been suggested that serving a small bowl of soup at the beginning of a meal can help control your eating of the rest of the meal if you are trying to lose weight and this soup is light enough it would be perfect for that type of thing. You can serve the usual crackers, breads,fruits. It would be good if you are having some kind of sandwiches to round the meal out.
I eat it a lot when I am not feeling good and want something light and easy to fix.
I was never much of a soup fan growing up, but have learned how to turn out some decent bowls of the stuff since I got married. Learning about soup stocks,(Including using leftover gravies and roast drippings) and using a crock pot, have sure helped out. I typically make homemade biscuits to go with soup for supper, and I love to put homemade noodles into a pot of soup to make it more satisfying. When the kids were little, I always made a dessert on the night that we had soup. This was my way of “apologizing” for making a meal that I wasn’t crazy about. Now with a variety of my own veggies to choose from, soup seems fine now about twice a month. My husband and I love dumplings, but my kids never liked them. Now that we are empty nesters, dumplings are on the menu again. Just a note, dumplings need to sit on top of meat or vegetable in a crowded soup pot, (not in the broth), to be steamed successfully.
I made a Keto dish from the internet which was very good. All that was in it was browned hamburger ( 1 lb) and canned tomatoes over baked zucchini wedges. I did not have plain canned tomatoes so I used a half a can of tomatoes with jalapenos. Yummy! But a bit hot. I had this dish for two nights and then decided to make hamburger soup with carrots, tomato sauce, celery, onions, beef stock, and potatoes with the leftover burger mix. I served 4 with this, so I got 6 meals with one pound of meat. Of course I used the Dining on a Dime cookbook cornbread to serve with the soup. Everyone who tasted it has decided to add a half can of tomatoes and jalapenos to form the zip when making their own.
The chicken barley soup could be easily made into Scottish cock a leekie soup. Just substitute a sliced leek (white part only and make sure to wash well) for the onion, add a few slices of cooked crumbed bacon, and if you really want to be authentic? Try sliced prunes on top as a garnish. (Seriously try the prunes, they add a great dimension to the soup.)
Also, if I have leftover rice from Chinese takeout, I usually add it to canned soup the next day for lunch to make it more filling.