A Monday Soup Roundup

I think they should just call January “National Soup Month” because that’s all I really want to cook or eat. Today, I’m rounding up the most popular soup recipes that I’ve featured here on the blog, as decided by YOU! They’re delicious and very easy to make. Enjoy!

Creamy Tortellini Soup

What You Need

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons fennel seeds use to your taste
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
• 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 4-6 cups roughly chopped kale
• 1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1 pound fresh cheese tortellini

What You Do

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, garlic, thyme, basil, oregano, fennel, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, until very fragrant. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of your crockpot. Stir in the tomato paste, carrots, and celery.
2. To the crockpot, add the wine, broth, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5.
3. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, stir in the kale, cream, parmesan, and the tortellini.
4. Serve the soup topped with additional parmesan and fresh oregano, if desired.

AMOTS Hacks: I made a couple of little tweaks to this recipe from what is shown here. I used spinach instead of kale, 2% milk instead of whole, and I added some shredded chicken to please my meat-eaters.

Recipe inspired by Half Baked Harvest

Italian Soup

What You Need

• 1 pound mild or spicy Italian sausage
• Olive oil
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes (I tripled the number of potatoes to give this soup a little more heft for my boys. I swapped the russet potatoes for sweet potatoes and it was amazing! I think a mixture of both would be good, too.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• Red pepper flakes
• 8 cups chicken stock
• Salt & pepper
• Few big handfuls of fresh kale, chopped
• Splash of half and half or cream, for richness
• Parmesan cheese and crusty bread for serving

What You Do

1. Get a little bit of olive oil going in a soup pot over medium heat. Brown Italian sausage, crumbling it into little pieces. Drain any extra fat.
2. Add in onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add in garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you’d like.
3. Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower the hit and simmer until potatoes are softened, roughly 10 minutes or so.
4. Before serving, stir in chopped up kale and swirl in a bit of the half & half (heavy cream works, too, or if you want this to be dairy free, you can just leave this out and you won’t miss it).
5. Pour into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Recipe inspired by A Life From Scratch

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

What You Need

• 2 boxes of uncooked Uncle Ben’s wild rice with seasonings
• 1 Rotisserie chicken
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 3/4 cup celery, chopped
• 3/4 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, rinsed (optional)
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons salt-free seasoning blend (such as Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute OR Mrs. Dash’s Original Blend)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or substitute more butter)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste

What You Do

1. Place the uncooked rice, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, chicken broth, and the seasoning blend in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or on the low setting for 7-8. In the last 1/2 hour of cooking, add the rotisserie chicken to the slow cooker. (I prefer using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breasts…the chicken doesn’t dry out then.)
2. Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the flour and let the mixture cook for 1 minute. Whisk the mixture slowly while adding in the milk. Continue to whisk until all lumps have dissolved. Allow the mixture to thicken and become creamy.
3. Add this creamy mixture to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add additional water or milk to your preference if the consistency is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe and photos inspired by The Little Spice Jar

Meatball Tortellini Soup

What You Need

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 bag of frozen Italian-style meatballs (I love the Rosati meatballs that you can find in the frozen section; the smaller ones work best)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (best if they’re the ones seasoned with basil)
• 1 cup of sliced carrots
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 4 cups of chicken broth (or add more if soup seems light on broth)
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 package of cheese-filled tortellini
• 3 cups of spinach
• Shaved parmesan cheese for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

What You Do

1. Sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil until tender in a large soup pot.
2. Add frozen meatballs and brown.
3. When meatballs are warm, add in tomatoes, carrots, and mushrooms.
4. Cover with chicken broth.
5. Once broth begins to boil, add the tortellini.
6. Top with spinach. Let simmer for 15 minutes and then serve immediately.
7. Finish with shaved parmesan cheese and some warm crusty bread and you have yourself a dinner.

To make in the slow cooker, sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil until tender in a large soup pot. Add frozen meatballs and brown. Then, place these ingredients and all but the tortellini and spinach in the slow cooker. Before serving, add tortellini and let simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach, simmer five more minutes, and serve.

Turkey Sausage, Kale, and White Bean Soup

What You Need

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 4-5 turkey sausage links
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 15 ounce cans of cannellini beans
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 bunches of kale (Liz uses spinach but I think the kales gives this dish a little more bite)
• 2-4 cups of chicken broth (depending on whether you want this to feel more like a soup or stew)
• Yia Yia’s Greek seasoning or Cavender’s seasoning to taste
• Grated or shaved parmesan cheese for topping

What You Do

1. In a large soup pot, saute sausages until cooked through (remove from casings first).
2. Remove sausage from the pot and set aside.
3. In the same pot, saute the garlic and onion until translucent, add one cup chicken broth, tomatoes, salt and pepper, and Greek seasoning to taste.
4. Rinse and drain beans and add to soup. If soup is too thick, add more broth.
5. Add grated/shaved parmesan cheese to taste (the Scheidlers like a lot!).
6. Add kale.
7. Finally, add more salt, pepper, Greek seasoning, and parmesan if needed.

Happy Monday!

xo,