Make These Fall Soups for Instant Comfort

Some butternut squash soups can be too sweet; here, almond butter, lime juice, and slightly spicy salad mix-ins keep the flavors lively. For a heartier dish, add a few cooked medium shrimp (warmed first in a little hot water) to each bowl.

Reader Sheila Piccini, of Port Townsend, Washington, uses a mix of wild mushrooms when they’re in season and less expensive. We also tried the recipe with a mix of cremini and common mushrooms, and it was equally delicious.

Not quite enough pumpkin for you? Serve it in Mini Pumpkin Bowls.

Earthy sweet potatoes add depth to this vegetarian chili. New Mexico chile powder is fruity and mild, so don’t be scared off by the generous amount called for here. Feel free to swap in any other kind of chile powder you have on hand–just use less of it.

A far cry from the storebought packages, real ramen starts with amazing broth. This simplified version can be made in a long afternoon—or started the day before.

The last of late-summer’s corn, cooked so it still has a light crunch, accents this silky squash soup.

Warm and comforting, this chowder combines the smoky richness of black cod with hearty potatoes, tender kale, and a hint of vermouth. The addition of tomatoes and a square of kelp or kombu deepens the flavors, creating a nourishing and satisfying soup.

Warm spices and caramelized onions underscore the natural sweetness of pumpkin and butternut squash in this comforting dish. The easy swirl of ginger butter at the end adds a bit of flavor and a lot of style.

At the community garden where she tended a plot, Olympic Peninsula cookbook author Kate McDermott often helped create a budget-friendly communal “stone soup” of produce contributed by her fellow gardeners. Like the soup in the folktale, this recipe can be made with whatever bounty of vegetables comes your way. It’s from the author’s second cookbook, Home Cooking with Kate McDermott.

“Diners were going to fall for this soup before it ever crossed their lips,” says chef and cookbook author Joanne Weir. “Its vibrant orange color and sweet smell of fresh carrot mingling with heady notes of licorice would pave the way for their first satiny sip.”

Nutty sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, give this soup deep flavor. Find them at farmers’ markets and well-stocked grocery stores.

“The ingredients here are healthy and simple, and each one contributes to the flavor profile and color contrast,” says Chef Martin Yan. The northern Chinese soup is versatile too; omit the chicken to make it vegetarian, or add fresh water chestnuts for more texture.

A puréed salsa made with roasted pumpkin seeds helps give this posole a rich flavor and chowderlike texture.

The success of this soup depends on really good canned tomatoes and long, slow simmering so that all the flavors meld and mingle. The recipe is adapted from one in Cowgirl Creamery Cooks.

Reader Christine Datian, of Las Vegas, likes to use lots of spices in this soup recipe. Our version is medium-hot, but if you like it a little spicier, use the higher amount of serrano chile and a pinch more cayenne.

We like the robust flavor of red Swiss chard in this soup recipe from Sunset reader Juliet Grossman, of Temecula, California. You could also make it with green Swiss chard, which is milder, or spinach.

If you’re not a fan of fruit-based soups, you could easily substitute potatoes or more parsnips for the apples with equally delicious results.

We’d serve this with warm naan bread. If you don’t have curry paste, you can use curry powder instead; just add it after sautéing the onion so it doesn’t burn.

This soup is built on root vegetables roasted until sweet, dense, and crisply browned. Roast meatballs at the same time, pour in broth, and you have soup straight from the oven. Warm some bread alongside the soup while you’re at it.