My 5 All-time Favorite Fall Homemade Soup Recipes

By Katrina Aceret, ASU Nutrition Communication Student

Fall has arrived, meaning time to cook homemade soups! I’m not a big fan of cooking soup out of the can and I just love how versatile you can make homemade soups.

Below are my favorite fall homemade soups. All the recipes are modified to my preferences, I always put a little cayenne pepper into my soups, so you’ll see it added to every recipe.

I love The Pioneer Woman, and she has one of my favorite homemade recipes that is really easy to make.

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Butter
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
• ½ large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cups cooked chicken, bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups cooked wild rice
• 4 cups cream
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups frozen peas
• ½ cup of mushrooms
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 pinches of cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add celery, carrots, onion, and mushroom. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender for 10-15 minutes until tender.

Add chicken and wild rice then 3 cups cream and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the peas and turn off the heat, add more cream if desired.

Serve once the peas are heated through. Add the two pinches of cayenne pepper and add the shredded cheese.

Pumpkin Soup

You can’t celebrate fall without some pumpkin soup!

Ingredients:

• 2 whole pie pumpkins
• 1-quart vegetable stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• Dash of nutmeg
• Salt to taste
• Extra cream, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pumpkins on a cookie sheet and roast them until slightly shriveled and soft. Allow to cool slightly, the slice in half and carefully scoop out seeds and pulp. Scoop yummy flesh into a bowl. Set aside.
2. In a pot, heat up the pumpkin flesh with the stock and maple syrup until simmering. Mash out the big chunks, the transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until velvety smooth. Add cream and nutmeg, then blend again.
3. Reheat if you need to and serve in a hollowed-out pumpkin.

Tomato Basil Soup

I am obsessed with tomato basil soup during the fall. I binge on it soup every time fall hits!

Ingredients:

• 4 tomatoes peeled, seeded, and diced
• 4 cups tomato juice
• 12 leaves fresh basil
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded cheddar cheese to garnish

Directions

1. Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the stock pot.
2. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.
3. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese.

Thai Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk

If you love pumpkin and coconut, you have to try this soup! I made this for the first time and was impressed with how easy it was!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 ½ cups butternut squash, peeled, chopped
• 1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped or grated
• 1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• 5 oz coconut milk

Directions:

1. Remove the roots and stalk ends from the cilantro. Wash the leaves and dry with paper towel before roughly chopping. Remove any dirt clinging to the roots. Shake off any water and finely chop.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat before adding the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
3. Add the ginger, lemongrass, and cilantro roots and stalks. Cook until the stalk become before adding the pumpkin.
4. Toss the pumpkin in the oil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil before reducing the heat to lower. Cook for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
5. Pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Add most of the chopped cilantro leaves reserving some to garnish the soup. Blend until the soup is speckled with flecks of green.
6. Return to a clean saucepan and add the coconut milk. I like to only add half the milk, reserving the rest for garnish. Serve with shaved coconut, and the remaining cilantro leaves.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 cup small yellow onion chopped
• ¾ cup chopped red bell pepper
• ¾ cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 can beef broth
• 2 ½ tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup uncooked long grain of white or brown rice
• Cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a large pot heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat, once hot add beef to pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally while breaking up beef, until browned. Drain beef and pour onto a plate lined with papers towels. Set aside.
2. Heat remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil in pot then add onions, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and sauté 3 minutes, then add garlic and sauté 30 seconds longer. Pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth and add parsley, basil, oregano and cooked beef, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring just to a light boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
3. While soup simmers, prepare rice according to directions listed on the package, then once the soup is done simmering stir in the desired amount of cooked rice into soup. Serve warm topped with optional cheese and garnish with fresh parsley.

Arizona Farm Bureau’s Fill Your Plate has a variety of homemade soup recipes too! Their searchable database of recipes with help you find a favorite.