Have you noticed that there is a bit of a chill in the air in the early morning? Do you know what that means? No, it is not pumpkin spiced latte time. It means that the season of soup is rapidly approaching. Yes, of course, you can eat soup at any time of year, but there is something about the chill in the autumn air, and the smell of decaying leaves, that calls out for a big bowl of restorative soup. Today, we are going to look at 7 Soup Recipes To Master This Fall. Let’s take a look.
1. Split Pea and Ham Soup
The first recipe we are going to look at is for Split Pea and Ham Soup. I’m sure I’ve written about the first time I had Spilt Pea Soup before, but I can’t seem to find it, so that I will tell it very quickly here. I was only thirteen or fourteen and doing yard work for an older couple that my mother new to earn a little spending money. I think it was early November, so it was pretty cold out. When we broke for lunch, the women, a French-Canadian, served me a big bowl of green slop. I’d never seen anything like it before and had no interest in eating it. I didn’t want to be rude, and I was starving from working all morning, so I took a bite despite all my hesitation. I couldn’t believe how good it was. It was a little sweet, salty, and spicy. I ate two full bowls of split pea soup that day, though I didn’t know that’s what it was.
It took me years to figure out precisely what it was. Once I realized that it was Split Pea soup that I’d eaten all those years ago (I was in my mid-twenties one I figured it out), I added to my regular rotation of recipes. I still make it at least three times a year. In fact, I ate Split Pea Soup for dinner less than a week ago.
The recipe below is my version of that soup I ate over twenty years ago on that fateful fall day. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. Also, this soup freezes very well, so make it in big batches and freeze it down.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Diced Ham
- 2 cup Diced Onion
- 1 cup Diced Carrot
- 1 cup Diced Celery
- 2 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or to taste
- 2 cloves Garlic, Chopped
- 1 cup Dried Split Peas
- Salt & Pepper To taste
- 2 L Chicken Stock or Water
- 1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the olive oil along with the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the ham and garlic into the mixture and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add in the cayenne and thyme along with the split peas cooking for 3 minutes.
- Finally, add in the stock or water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the peas are tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with buttered bread.
2. Tomato Basil Soup
Tomato and basil are a match made in heaven. Whether it is on a Margherita pizza, a Caprese salad, or a big bowl of tomato basil soup, you just can’t go wrong with that combination. This soup is just as great in the summer as it is in the dead of winter. What’s more, is that it is quick and easy to make. The recipe below can be put together in about twenty minutes and has only a handful of ingredients. Now, what could possibly be better than that for lunch on a beautiful autumn day?
Ingredients
- 1 can Whole Tomatoes I used reduced salt
- 1 Baseball Sized Onion
- 2-3 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 cup Whipping Cream
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- To taste Salt and Pepper
- 8-10 Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onions and garlic
- Add the olive oil, onions, and garlic to a medium sized pot and place over medium heat.
- Cook the onions and garlic until the onions are soft. About 5-8 minutes.
- Add the reaming ingredients and purée using an immersion blender or a standard blender.
- Put back on the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Served with grilled cheese sandwiches.
3. Roasted Butternut Squash
I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like butternut squash soup. In this version, the squash is roasted first to give the soup more depth and a slightly sweeter flavour. If you would like to change this soup up a little bit, you can add 1 tbsp of curry powder when sautéing the vegetables. You can also add a touch of coconut milk. And that is kind of the thing about this soup; it is surprisingly versatile. Play around with it. You may be surprised to see what you come up with.
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash, Diced about 8 cups
- 5 sprigs Thyme
- 1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 medium Onions, Peeled and Sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic, Sliced
- 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves
- 2 L Water
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Toss the squash with the thyme sprigs, 1/2 the olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Spread the squash out in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Roast the squash on 400°F for 40 minutes, flipping the squash after 20 minutes.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat.
- Add in the remaining oil, and the butter along with the onion.
- Cook the onions for 6 minutes then add in the garlic, cooking for another 2 minutes.
- Add the maple syrup into the pot and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove the thyme sprigs from the roasted squash and discard.
- Add the squash into the pot along with enough water to cover it by 1 inch.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add in the thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer the soup for 10 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Purée the soup using a stick blender.
- Serve with a drizzle of cream, cracked pepper, and thyme leaves.
4. Apple and Parsnip
Apple and Parsnip soup is one of my all-time favourites. I also like to add either crispy bacon or prosciutto to the soup, along with a pinch of cardamom. I didn’t include cardamom in the main recipe because it is an ingredient that a lot of people aren’t comfortable with. But, a pinch or two in this recipe really takes it up a notch.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 lbs Apples, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 ea Medium Onion thinly sliced
- 2 ea Cloves of Garlic chopped
- 3-4 ea Sprigs of Thyme
- 4 L Water or Stock
- 1 pinch Cinnamon
- to taste Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Sauté the onions over medium-high heat with the oil for 4 minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients, cover everything with at least 1 in with water.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer until the apples, parsnips, and onions are cooked.
- Remove the pot from the heat.
- Remove the thyme sprigs and pureé the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender.
- If you want a really smooth soup pass it through a fine sieve.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
You can also use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water.
For a richer soup finish it with 1 tbsp of butter and 1/4 of whipping cream.
Bacon or prosciutto can be sautéed with the onion to add another element of flavour.
This soup is very simple but tastes delicious. With a few minor changes you can make a good soup great. It really is that easy.
5. French Onion
What can you say about French Onion soup? I guess, be prepared to smell like onions for a few days after making it. This is not a quick soup by any means, but the flavour is out of this world. Take your time caramelizing the onions; that is where all of the flavours in this soup comes from.
Ingredients
- 10 lbs Onions thinly sliced
- 1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 bottle Red Wine
- 1 1/2 L Beef Stock
- 2 tbsp Fresh Thyme Leaves
- Salt & Pepper To taste
- 2 cups Croutons
- 1 cup Gruyere Cheese, Grated
Instructions
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat.
- Add in the olive oil and half the onions.
- Cook until the onions soften and start to caramelize.
- Add in half of the onions that are left and cook until they soften and start to caramelize.
- Repeat this process with the remaining onions.
- Turn the heat down to low and cook the onions, stirring occasionally until they are a deep brown colour and smell sweet. This will take about 4 1/2 – 5 hours though you only have to stir once in a while.
- Turn the heat back up to medium and add in the red wine.
- Cook for about 10 minutes or until half the wine has evaporated.
- Add in the beef stock, thyme, and some salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Taste the soup and adjust seasoning.
- To serve the soup, scoop it into oven-safe bowls, garnish it with croutons topped with the gruyere cheese and cook under the broiler until the cheese melts.
6. White Bean and Chorizo
White Bean and chorizo soup is the least traditional soup on this list, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. Not only does this soup taste amazing, but it only takes half an hour to make. The chorizo sausage does all the heavy lifting in terms of flavour in this soup, so get a good quality sausage. This is also a very filling soup, so I hope that you’re hungry.
Ingredients
- 1 baseball sized Onion. peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 link Dry Cured Chorizo Sausage, diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 ea Red bell pepper, sliced
- 20 ea Green beans, ends trimmed and cut into thirds
- 1 ea Tomato, diced
- 1 can White beans, drained
- 1 L Chicken Stock
- 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 ea Eggs, broken into a shallow bowl
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the olive oil and onions.
- Sauté the onions until slightly softened, about two minutes.
- Add the diced chorizo into the pot and cook for about four minutes.
- Add the garlic and chili into the pot and cook for three minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes then the red pepper.
- Cook the tomato and pepper for two to three minutes and then add in the chicken stock.
- Put a lid on the pot, crank the heat, and bring to a boil.
- Once the soup starts to boil add in the green beans and white beans then boil for another four minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low, add in the eggs one at a time, put the lid back on the pot and simmer for three minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and garnish with parsley.
7. Bacon and Corn Chowder
The final soup on this list is actually a chowder, but, and I’m going to blow your mind here, a chowder is a soup. Bacon and corn chowder is one of the first two dishes my mother ever taught me to cook and I still use her recipe to this day, For me, there is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of this corn chowder. It’s like a big hug from my mom everytime I make it.
Ingredients
- 4-5 small potatoes
- 1 baseball sized onion
- 1 lg can creamed corn
- 1/4 lb good quality bacon
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 cups 2% or Whole milk
- to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
- Peel and dice the potatoes.
- Put them in a pot and rinse them under cold water until the water runs clear.
- Cover them with hot salted water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cook the potatoes for 4-5 minutes after they start boiling.
- Drain and let sit in the strainer until you are ready to add them to the chowder
- While the potatoes are cooking peel and dice the onion.
- Put a medium pot over medium heat and dice the bacon.
- Add the bacon to the pot and cook, stirring once or twice for 3-4 minutes and then add the onions.
- Cook the onions and bacon for about 10 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and the onions are soft.
- Drain off any excess fat and add the creamed corn, cream, and milk to the pot.
- Return to the heat and slowly cook until the dairy is hot.
- Add the potatoes and season the chowder with salt and pepper to taste.
Conclusion
Good soup is not difficult to make and doesn’t have a lot of ingredients. The whole purpose of soup is to fill you up and warm your body and spirit. Soup is the ultimate comfort food. I hope that some of these recipes stand out to you and that you take the time to make them. I don’t think you will be disappointed. What’s your favourite soup recipe? Tell me in the comments below or on Facebook.
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Thank You For this amazing chef soup collection for the fall 2020
Grateful for the recipes that can
help us plan and portion hearty
menu for weeks at a time !!
Terrific recipes, with available ingredients, explained well. Look forward to trying them.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much John.
Where you use whipping cream is it possible to substitute with yogurt
These recipes look delicious and I can’t wait to try them I am a soup lover
Marion that is a good question. I think that yogurt would split in the soups. I would suggest using either whole milk or a bechamel instead of the cream.