Simmering Soups and Stews
Italian Dinner Soup [1]
Gail Gladding-Pullara of Oregon, Wisconsin, won honorable mention in a Best of the Midwest Recipe Contest for this simple, crowd-pleasing soup. "My family loves this recipe," she says. "It’s easy and tastes like you’ve been cooking for hours."
Spicy Beef, Bean and Vegetable Stew [5]
Affordable beef chuck roast, apple, parsnip and sweet potato slow-simmer in broth flavored with dark beer, herbs and spices. Warm corn bread muffins and cold winter night optional.
Tortilla Soup [9]
Turn leftover turkey (or chicken) into soup in just 20 minutes by adding pantry-ready ingredients such as salsa, chicken broth, and tortilla chips.
Tortilla Soup [10]
Chicken and Kielbasa Winter Stew [13]
Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but this hearty supper soup takes just an hour to make. The secret? Deli-roasted chicken and precooked sausage. Pair with breadsticks or a crusty baguette for a perfect winter meal that will fill your house with good smells.
Shredded Pork Posole [17]
Hominy is the signature ingredient in this traditional, chililike Mexican soup.
Shredded Pork Posole [18]
Cream of Any-Vegetable Soup [21]
Simmering for hours is so Sunday afternoon! On weeknights, whip up this easy and nutritious soup using whatever veggies you have on hand.
Apple Harvest Chili [25]
Fresh apple, dried fruit and cashews add color, sweetness and crunch to a ready-in-45 vegetarian chili. For a twist on the traditional toppers (and to hint what’s inside), garnish with apple slivers.
Apple Harvest Chili [26]
Hearty Minestrone Soup [29]
Susan Corley of New Albany, Ohio, shared her version of the classic Italian soup in New Albany Cooking with Friends, a cooking club project that took regional honors in the 2007 Tabasco Community Cookbook Awards. Susan often slow-cooks a pot of the soup for family meals during the holidays.
Pumpkin Parsnip Bisque with Hazelnut Toasts [33]
Puree wintry vegetables like potato, leek and parsnip into a velvety soup. Don't skip the crisp, buttery dippers. They're delicious dunked in the soup.
Tex-Mex Cheesy Chicken Chowder [37]
Nina Swan-Kohler of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, loves easy-to-make dishes that travel well to football games or other events. Tex-Mex Cheesy Chicken Chowder is one of her favorite recipes. "It uses a variety of convenience foods that are stirred together in one big pot, and brings out the great flavor of all the ingredients," Nina says. More of her recipes are in her cookbook, Tailgates to Touchdowns, Fabulous Football Food.
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup [41]
Canned soup and chicken broth speed prep time for this main-dish soup. The recipe comes from a Minnesota cafe.
Thai Butternut Squash Soup [45]
Butternut squash, chicken broth, coconut milk, brown sugar and seasonings combine for a creamy, rich soup. For added flavor, top with Thai Gremolata, a mix of fresh basil or cilantro, chopped peanuts and finely shredded lemon peel.
Kansas City Steak Soup [49]
Our version of the classic Kansas City steak soup uses lean ground sirloin mixed with veggies and seasoned with a blast of steak sauce and Worcestershire. It cooks in just 25 minutes.
For more soup and stew recipes created by Midwest Living® in honor of the Midwest states, click on "Midwest Soups State by State" in the Related Links box below.
Creamy Brie Soup [54]
Fresh, simple ingredients define this soup from David Scott, chef/owner of the Avalon Cafe in Weston, Missouri. White wine, cream, white wine vinegar, Brie and fresh herbs create a rich appetizer or main dish. Our recipe also tells you how to adjust the ingredients to make Brie Fondue!
Creamy Brie Soup [55]
Bacon and Baked Potato Soup [58]
Bacon is versatile and dependable, amping up most dishes. Our cheesy potato soup, for instance, just seems to call for salty-smoky crumbled bacon. So we stirred some in and sprinkled the rest on top. If you like seasoned bacon, try pepper-rubbed bacon in the soup. Complete the menu with crusty bread and a tossed salad.
Love bacon? Find more bacon recipe ideas at the link below to "Our Best Smoky, Sizzling Bacon Recipes."
Pumpkin, Chickpea & Red Lentil Stew [63]
This hearty soup boasts a bounty of veggies and seasonings, including pumpkin or squash, fresh ginger, lime juice, cumin and fresh cilantro.
Three prize-winning soups [67]
These three soups rank among our 20 all-time favorite recipes from the last two decades of Midwest Living®. This trio features white bean and chicken chili (left), the winner of our 1990 great chili search; beans and ham (middle), perfect with warm corn bread on a cold day; and a Reuben soup (right), which packs the flavors from a Reuben sandwich in a bowl.
To see all the winners, click on the link below to "Our 20 Best Recipes of All Time."
White Surprise Chili [68]
Warm-You-Up Beans and Ham [69]
Cream of Reuben Soup [70]
Chipotle Black-Bean Chili [74]
Tuck this chili into your slow cooker in the morning so you can come home to a warm winter dinner. Omit the meat if you'd prefer a hearty meatless main dish. If you like, add chopped avocado or shredded cheese as toppers before serving.
Antlers Wild Rice Soup [78]
We like the creamy richness of this chunky main-dish soup from Antlers Restaurant at Breezy Point Resort in Breezy Point, Minnesota.
Another comforting chicken soup: Creamy Velvet Chicken Soup, the signature dish in the re-created L.S. Ayres Department Store Tea room (circa 1905) at the Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis.
Missouri Apple Soup [83]
Nancy Rudolph of St. Louis found the ideal balance of curry powder to apple in this creamy soup she makes with Missouri apples. "This is easy and quick to make," she says. "And it's perfect for those first few chilly fall evenings. I like to serve it with a grilled smoked Gouda sandwich for a satisfying meal." Nancy also likes this soup served cold.
Missouri Apple Soup [84]
Picky Eaters Meatball Soup [87]
What do you feed a finicky eater? Midwest Living® Senior Food Editor Diana McMillen puts friends and family in charge of their meal destiny. Each person gets a bowl of meatballs in broth, and chooses from assorted toppers to finish their soup just the way they like it.
Veggie-Cheese Chowder [91]
This easy soup combines colorful veggies—corn, chopped green or red sweet pepper and sliced celery—with cream and three types of cheese products for a pretty, flavorful dish.
It's Italian Sausage Soup [95]
Once a year, Sandy Mafera's women's club gathers for its annual cooking school. The Auburn, Indiana, group comes armed with recipes that fit that year's theme. Italian Sausage Soup was a winner the year their theme was "Elegant and Easy Comfort Food Goes Uptown." The rich and spicy soup is loaded with vegetables and ricelike orzo pasta, plus browned Italian sausage.
Three pumpkin soups [99]
Maple syrup adds sweetness to Gingered Pumpkin Soup (left), which makes a creamy side dish or appetizer. Pumpkin Corn Chowder is a thick soup that blends corn, pumpkin and chunks of sweet potato. Chopped smoked ham tops our Season's Eatings Pumpkin Soup.
Gingered Pumpkin Soup [100]
Pumpkin Corn Chowder [101]
Simply Ramen Chicken Soup [105]
Simply Ramen Chicken Soup gives you a meal in a bowl that's ready in only 15 minutes. Oregano adds a from-scratch taste to the simple soup.
Ginger-Carrot Soup [109]
Combine caramelized onions, ginger, carrots and a sweet potato for this creamy, pretty soup.
Ginger-Carrot Soup [110]
Ratatouille Bisque [113]
This pale orange, chowderlike soup gets a sprinkle of goat-cheese croutons in a recipe from Oakleys Bistro in Indianapolis. You'll get a healthy helping of veggies in this meal: eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, leeks, sweet peppers and tomatoes.
Ratatouille Bisque [114]
Chicken-Artichoke Brie Soup [117]
Bits of spinach and artichoke color this creamy chicken soup. It warms up guests at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, Minnesota. Serve it as a first course or alongside a sandwich for lunch.
Pork and Veggie Oven Stew [121]
Thyme, oregano and lemon-pepper seasoning flavor this oven-baked stew, which includes potatoes, pork, corn and green beans. Like even more corn? We love corn muffins with this dish.
Ground Beef and Salsa Chili [125]
Ground Beef and Salsa Chili, from The Dakota Diner in Webster, South Dakota, can be on the table in 30 minutes or less. Match the pot of chili to your taste by the spiciness of the salsa you choose.
Mushroom Barley Soup [129]
A combination of fresh and dried mushrooms boosts the flavor of this hearty, beefy barley soup.
Mushroom Barley Soup [130]
Tomato Basil Bisque [133]
Basil pesto adds pizzaz to this flavorful blend of vegetables and herbs.
Tomato Basil Bisque [134]
Knoephla [137]
German-Russians settling the Dakotas put Red River Valley potatoes to good use in this soup with noodle dough cooked in a creamy rich potato-filled base. It's white-on-white comfort food.
Knoephla [138]
Sausage and Tortellini Soup [141]
Prep time is just 10 minutes for this slow-cooker soup; combine canned Italian-style stewed tomatoes, frozen green beans, water, a can of onion soup and turkey sausage. Add coleslaw mix and refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini 15 minutes before serving.
Asian Chicken-and-Shrimp Soup [145]
Wayne M. Holub of Mokena, Illinois, makes homemade soup every week. One day he combined the ingredients he liked in Asian dishes and came up with this soup.
Great Lakes Salmon Chowder [149]
Freshwater salmon teams up with potatoes and asparagus for an exceptionally satisfying meal in a bowl.