50 Real Food Soups for Cold Winter Nights

I find it supremely satisfying that a bowl of steaming hot soup has the power to assuage, even in a small way, a dark night of the soul. 

Soup is there for us when we need comfort, nourishing us when we’re weak and bringing us elbow-to-elbow with people we love on cold winter nights.

Soup became our family tradition on Christmas Eve after church. It was usually potato or pumpkin soup, loaded with cheese and chives and crispy bacon. We ate around candlelight with Christmas china and teacups of eggnog or hot cider.

We had split pea soup with chunks of ham or sausage on grey January days full of homeschooling and music practice. Chicken soup was medicine when anyone was feeling under the weather–to this day, when I’m sick I rarely crave anything as much as chicken noodle soup!

I hope you’ll warm up your winter with these 50 real food soup recipes I’ve compiled for you. Soup is one of the easiest real foods to make from scratch–and it’s so simple to make an extra large batch and enjoy the leftovers throughout the week! Serve bowls or oversized mugs of soup with muffins (like these heavenly lemon blueberry buttermilk muffins), French bread, or a quick artisan loaf.

For the true soup fans, you might be interested in one of my favourite cookbooks, Ladled. It’s a gorgeous cookbook devoted to the art of soup-making, with beautiful photographs and an introduction for each recipe. You can buy it on Amazon.

Photo by Red and Honey

Delicious Broths and Soup Bases

6 Simple Steps to Nourishing Homemade Bone Broth @ Red and Honey (photo credit)

Broth-Based Soup @ Whole Intentions

Photo by Natural Chow

Soup Classics

Amazing Irish Beef Stew @ Red and Honey

Bean and Sausage Soup @ Real Food Eater

Beef Vegetable Soup @ Simply Rebekah

Chicken Noodle Soup @ Richly Rooted

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder @ Real Food Eater

Cream of Broccoli Soup @ Our Small Hours

Creamy Potato Soup @ Our Small Hours

Easy Beef Soup with Herbed Dumplings @ Raia’s Recipes

Easy Black Bean Soup @ Eat, Play, Love…More

French Onion Soup @ Richly Rooted

Hamburger Stew @ Artful Homemaking

Heartwarming Chili @ It’s a Love/Love Thing

Hearty Beef and Barley Stew @ Natural Chow (photo credit)

Hearty Clam Chowder @ Richly Rooted

Hearty Minestrone @ Don’t Waste the Crumbs

Quick and Easy Veggie Lentil Soup @ Raia’s Recipes

Taco Stew @ Well Fed Family

Tomato Basil Soup @ Don’t Waste the Crumbs

Tortilla Soup @ Don’t Waste the Crumbs

Vegetable Soup @ Growing Up Triplets

Photo by Whole Intentions

Slow-Cooker Soups

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup @ Mason Jar Values

Crockpot Venison Stew @ Whole Intentions (photo credit)

Mexican Corn and Potato Chowder @ Don’t Waste the Crumbs

Tuscan White Bean Soup @ Artful Homemaking

Photo by Raising Generation Nourished

Squash and Winter Vegetable Soups

Butternut Squash Bisque @ Smithspirations

Curried Winter Squash Soup @ Mother of a Hubbard

Paleo Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Garlic Sage Butter @ LivinLovinFarmin

Pumpkin Soup with Dumplings @ My Cultured Palate

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup @ Raising Generation Nourished (photo credit)

Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup @ Back to the Book Nutrition

Yellow Crookneck Squash and Pea Soup @ GAPS Diet Journey

Photo by Life Currents

Unusual Soups and Flavors

Broccoli and Pea Potage with Thyme @ Life Currents (photo credit)

Cauliflower Chowder @ Raising Generation Nourished

Codfish and Mushroom Soup @ GAPS Diet Journey

Ginger, White Bean and Chicken Soup @ Raia’s Recipes

Grilled Pork and Split Pea Soup @ Raia’s Recipes

Hearty Breakfast Soup @ Red and Honey

Leek and Beet Top Soup @ GAPS Diet Journey

Sage and Sausage Cauliflower Soup @ Raia’s Recipes

Zucchini-Basil Soup @ Food Hunter’s Guide