Soup, Stew and Chili Recipes

A pot of soup is the most forgiving thing in this collection and the easiest to make boring. Almost every disappointing soup is disappointing for one of two reasons: it was never salted properly, or nothing in it was browned. Both are fixable, and neither is on the ingredient list.

The sections below sort the collection by base, because the base is what determines how you season it and how you thicken it.

Tomato soups and bisques

Tomato brings acid, so these need fat and sometimes sugar to balance rather than more salt. Roasting the tomatoes first is the single biggest flavor difference between two otherwise identical recipes.

Chili

Chili is a stew that happens to contain chiles. It wants long, low cooking and it is better the next day, because the starch from the beans continues to thicken the liquid as it rests.

Chicken soups

Light-bodied and dependent entirely on the stock. If the broth tastes thin, the answer is reduction and seasoning, not more chicken.

Beef and sausage soups

Rich, and built on browned meat. Skipping the browning step here costs you more flavor than in any other group on this page.

Thickening without flour

Most of the soups here get their body from an ingredient rather than a thickener. Pureeing part of the pot and stirring it back in is the cleanest method, and it works for any vegetable soup. Potato does it by itself. Beans and lentils do it as they break down.

Dairy and cheese thicken by emulsion, not by starch, which is why they split when the pot boils. Add them off the heat, and keep the soup below a simmer once they are in.

Potato, cheese and creamy soups

Thickened by starch or dairy rather than reduction. Both split if boiled hard, so these are the recipes where the heat needs watching.

Vegetable, bean and lentil soups

The group that holds up best as leftovers and freezes most reliably. The ones built on beans or lentils thicken themselves as the pulses break down, so they rarely need cream or flour.

Stews

Not soups. There is far less liquid and a longer cooking time, and the main ingredient carries the dish rather than the broth – beef in most of these, sweet potato in the vegan ones.

Noodle and dumpling soups

Pasta and dumplings keep swelling in liquid. If you are making these ahead, cook the starch separately and combine in the bowl.

Why a pot of soup tastes flat

  • Nothing was browned. Onions, meat and tomato paste all taste different after they have caught color in the pan. Liquid cannot create that flavor later.
  • It was salted at the end. Salt added in layers as you build the pot tastes seasoned; the same amount stirred in at the end tastes salty. These are not the same thing.
  • There is no acid. A flat, heavy soup usually needs a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar rather than more salt. Try it on a single spoonful before you commit the pot.

Common questions

Which soups freeze well?

Bean, lentil, vegetable and tomato-based soups freeze reliably. Dairy-thickened and potato soups can turn grainy. Noodles turn to mush, so freeze the broth and add pasta on reheating.

How do I fix a soup that is too salty?

Dilute it with unsalted stock or water and re-thicken by reducing or pureeing part of it. Adding potato does far less than its reputation suggests.

Is chili a soup or a stew?

A stew, by liquid content. That is why the chili recipes here take longer and use less broth than the soups above them.

Can I make these in a slow cooker?

Many of them, but not by simply moving the ingredients across – you lose the browning step, and dairy should go in at the end rather than the start. Use the recipes written for a slow cooker where they exist.