Soup Season Is Here! All My Favorite Things To Enjoy A Great Bowl of Soup
One of my favorite things about fall is diving headfirst back into making soup. I am one of those strange people that will order soup on an 80 degree summer day but I rarely make it myself in the spring and summer months. So the second fall hits, you’ll find me in the kitchen making soup on Sundays and oftentimes have it going in a crockpot for an easy weeknight dinner.
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I am vegetarian, so I lean more towards vegetable-based soups: Hungarian mushroom, creamy tomato, and a pretty darn good knockoff of Panera Broccoli Cheddar. However, given that I live with two enthusiastic carnivores, I also have chili, a hearty chicken noodle and a really good potato sausage on regular rotation as well.
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I think what makes soup extra special in these colder months is all the lovely things that make it feel like a special dinner. The right dutch oven can make a world of difference; eating soup with wooden spoons is oddly satisfying and a good restaurant-style cheese grater for that fresh parmesean right before eating. Chef’s kiss! It’s not just about the soup, itself, but all of the things that make it such an entire “experience, if you will.
Here are a few of my favorites when making soup. You’ll see everything from my favorite soup base (and hey, nothing wrong with going with Better than Bouillon!) and classic oyster crackers to a hand immersion blender and favorite knife and cutting board.
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Soup of the Day Recipes
First and foremost, a good recipe book to get you going. I do, admittedly, use the world wide web for a lot of new soup recipes, but I love to peruse a good cookbook on a Sunday morning with a hot cup of coffee to get some ideas for what I might want to cook, This is my favorite!
Caraway Non-Stick Dutch Oven
I am a HUGE fan of Caraway as a brand. A majority of my current pans are Caraway and I truly believe how important non-toxic non-stick cookware is for the health of a family. This dutch oven is just absolutely gorgeous and chic and perfect for cooking any soup!
Geedal Rotary Cheese Grater
As I said, I like to have fresh parm on a lot of my soups. This cheese grater is just like the one they use in restaurants. It’s also good to have on-hand for salads or topping off any pasta dishes.
Bistro Tile Stoneware Soup Bowl
I love to have a handle on my soup bowls so that I can hang on to them if I’m, perhaps, not eating a table or just for being able to easily tilt the bowl when you’re looking to scoop up those last bits of soupy goodness.
Newness Soup Ladle
Does this really need an explanation? I went many years without a soup ladle and spilled one too many creations by trying to pour soup directly into bowls from the dutch oven. This has made my life much less messy since I got this.
Raw Essentials Chicken Soup Blend
This beats Better Than Bouillon in my book. This chicken soup blend adds a great depth of flavor to any chicken-based soup.
Souper Cubes Freezer Mold
We almost never can finish an entire pot of soup if I’m not sharing it with family that lives close by. These soup freezer cube molds are perfect for freezing individual portions of soup! Love LOVE this!
Acacia Wood Cutting Board
All soups inevitably need some sort of chopping: onion, garlic, carrots… you name it. I particularly like this cutting board because of the handle. It’s easy to carry from the countertop to the dutch oven on the stove to easily swipe in those chopped ingredients. Plus it just looks pretty!
Wood Soup Spoons
I was influenced to buy these over a Tik Tok where a favorite food influencer was eating her egg drop soup with a wood spoon and it seemed so oddly satisfying. And trust me when I say it’s the loveliest way to eat soup! While these are dishwasher safe, I still like to hand-clean mine.
Bread Proofing Basket
What goes best with soup? A big slice of homemade bread. These bread proofing baskets (it comes as a set of 2) are perfect for baking any sourdough bread. You may be surprised just how fun it is to bake bread!!
Vitamix Hand Immersion Blender
Sure, there are cheaper hand immersion blenders, but I really do think this is worth the cost. I tend to use a hand immersion blender far more often than transferring soup to a blender to blend. And this one does the trick!
Brightland Extra Virgin Olive Oils
I truly believe really good olive oil can make all the difference in flavor when cooking just about anything! This brand is one of my favorites. I almost always use it when I start out cooking onions and garlic which are usually in the base of almost any soup I make.
8-Inch Zester
This might be the hardest working tool in my kitchen. I love to use a lemon zester to finish off any soup with a little bit of lemon rind or a touch of parmsean cheese. I even use it to grate garlic into soups or onto garlic bread. Trust me on this one!
Mastering Stocks and Broths
This is a great reference guide if you’re into making your own stock and broth. And homemade stocks and broths make a world of difference in a soup’s depth of flavor.
Bandiano Silicone Cooking Spoon
I bought these on a whim during a Prime Day shopping spree and I am SO happy I discovered them. The shape make them so good for getting at the round edges of a dutch oven and just generally all around great for scraping and scooping.
Hungry Artisan Food Mill
A good mill helps to create smooth purees and strain things like errant seeds or potato skins if you’re making something like a potato leek soup.
Fine Mesh Strainer
Another great tool, this fine mesh strainer is really useful for skimming the fat off the top of broths or going for a super clear stock. (You’ll see this tip in the above recommended book!
Magnifique Glass Pot Multi-Cooker
Immediately added this to my own wishlist! Made of pure glass so it’s completely non-toxic, this multi cooker has 8 cooking modes like slow cooker, steam, proof and keep warm. Genius.
Homestyle Herbs Soup Blend
This is a french blend of seasoning that works well in so many different soups. I also pulls double duty and works well as a seasoning on fish and roast chicken.
Westminster Oyster Crackers
Last, but not least, the beloved oyster crackers. I like these individual bags as a big bag goes stale pretty quickly if it’s not stored properly. And given my son likes to eat these by the handful, it means he’s definitely not closing up a big bag properly.
Some of my favorite soup recipes? This post would feel totally incomplete if I didn’t share some of my go-to soups!
Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar
I’d love to hear about your favorite soup recipes as well! If you have a favorite stock, base or seasoning that you also love, please share! I’d love to include your recommendations in this post. Happy eating!
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