6 Fall Soups Everyone Is Cooking Right Now
October is officially soup season.
Across the country, cooler nights, football weekends, pumpkin season, and earlier sunsets are pushing cozy dinners back to the front of the menu. And judging by what major food sites are publishing this month, Americans are firmly in the mood for big bowls of chicken, pumpkin, beans, potatoes, and creamy fall comfort food.
Delish’s October dinner lineup is packed with cozy dishes, including its new Marry Me Chicken Gnocchi Soup, while Serious Eats editors recently shared eight soups they are turning to this fall. Food Network also updated its collection of more than 100 warming soups and stews on October 1.
If you’re wondering what deserves a spot in the soup pot this month, these six recipes fit October perfectly.
Pumpkin Soup
October without pumpkin would almost feel suspicious.
Pumpkin is everywhere right now, and savory recipes are getting some of the attention usually reserved for pies and coffee drinks. Serious Eats editors recently included wild rice and pumpkin soup among the dishes they were looking forward to making this October.
Delish has also been featuring pumpkin tomato soup as part of its current soup collection.
At home, pumpkin soup can be kept incredibly simple. Pumpkin purée, broth, onions, and warming spices create the base. Coconut milk or cream can make it richer, while curry powder, sage or chili flakes can move it in completely different directions.
Serve it with grilled cheese and suddenly the canned pumpkin sitting in the pantry has a job that has nothing to do with dessert.
Marry Me Chicken Gnocchi Soup
One of the more noticeable soup trends this October is turning familiar comfort-food flavors into a one-pot dinner.
Delish featured Marry Me Chicken Gnocchi Soup in its October meal recommendations and again among the comfort foods its editors are making this fall. The recipe combines rotisserie chicken, gnocchi, and a lightly creamy broth with the flavors associated with the popular Marry Me Chicken recipe.
It is also exactly the sort of meal busy households appreciate in October. Delish lists the recipe at about 35 minutes, making it realistic for a weeknight rather than something reserved for Sunday afternoon.
Add garlic bread or a simple salad and dinner is basically handled.
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup never really disappears, but this fall its shortcut version is getting plenty of attention.
Southern Living recently highlighted Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup as its most popular fall soup. Instead of starting with raw chicken and simmering a pot for hours, the recipe uses store-bought rotisserie chicken and comes together in roughly 30 minutes.
That makes it particularly useful during October, when school schedules, sports, Halloween preparations and regular workdays can collide.
Carrots, celery, onion, noodles, broth, and shredded chicken keep it familiar. The rotisserie chicken simply gets everyone to the table faster.
Sometimes the recipes people repeat most are not the fanciest. They are the ones that work on a Wednesday night.
White Bean and Kale Soup
Not every fall soup needs hours on the stove.
Serious Eats recently selected a 30-minute white bean and kale soup as one of its editors’ favorite fall soups.
The appeal is easy to understand. Canned white beans can go straight into the pot with broth, garlic, onions, and herbs. Kale gets stirred in near the end, and Parmesan or toasted bread can finish the bowl.
It is the kind of recipe worth keeping in your back pocket because much of it can come directly from the pantry.
And once October gets busy, that matters.
Potato Soup
Some soups whisper fall. Potato soup practically announces it from the kitchen.
Creamy potato soup remains prominent in current fall recipe collections. Food Network includes potato soup among the classic bowls people reach for when cold weather arrives, while Delish’s current soup page features Crock-Pot Potato Soup among its newer seasonal recipes.
The formula is reassuringly straightforward: potatoes, onion, broth, and something creamy, with cheese, scallions, or bacon added depending on how indulgent you want dinner to become.
The slow-cooker version is especially useful on days when you would rather have dinner cooking before you remember to worry about dinner.
By evening, all that’s really missing is bread.
Relatable: The Cozy Soup Formula You’ll Want on Repeat When Dinner Feels Impossible
Beef and Barley Soup
October also marks the return of soups that are hearty enough to count as the entire meal.
Beef and barley fits that description nicely. Allrecipes recently included slow-cooker beef barley soup among its recommended weeknight dishes for the colder part of the year.
Beef, barley, carrots, celery and broth slowly cook into something much closer to a stew than a light starter.
It is also a good weekend option because the longer cooking time works in its favor. Start it in the afternoon, forget about it for a while, and eventually the house begins smelling like someone has been unusually productive.
October Was Made for Soup
Right now, soup is not some approaching seasonal trend. It is the seasonal trend.
Food Network updated its major soup collection on October 1; Delish is filling its October menus with creamy soups and stews, and Serious Eats editors are actively sharing the bowls they’re making this month.
And the best part is that fall soup does not require complicated cooking.
Grab a rotisserie chicken. Open a can of pumpkin or beans. Pull out the slow cooker. Add bread.
October has already arrived, and the soup pot might as well stay on the stove.
