Simmering Soups and Stews
Spicy Beef, Bean and Vegetable Stew [1]
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.
Maple-Chile Butternut Soup [5]
This is a great dairy-free (and cholesterol-free, too) soup in its own right, but a drizzle of Asian-spiced maple syrup adds a wonderfully unexpected kick and dramatic red flourish. The recipe comes from The Birchwood Cafe Cookbook [6] (University of Minnesota Press, $29.95).
Italian Dinner Soup [10]
Gail Gladding-Pullara of Oregon, Wisconsin, created this simple, crowd-pleasing soup. "My family loves this recipe," she says. "It’s easy and tastes like you’ve been cooking for hours."
Italian Dinner Soup [11]
White Surprise Chili [14]
This high-protein main dish looks like navy bean soup but is actually a mild chicken chili.
White Surprise Chili [15]
Tortilla Soup [18]
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 [19]
Tuscan Lamb and White Bean Stew [22]
Woodsy rosemary makes this a perfect dish for fall and a lovely change from traditional beef stew. Serve with crusty bread or ladled as a sauce over pappardelle noodles.
Chili Verde with Corn Bread Croutons [26]
Bulgur wheat lends meaty texture, fiber and protein to soups and stews, where it can cook in the broth. In our sweet and savory chili, we match the grain with salsa verde, peppers and edamame—a weeknight meal that makes it oh-so-easy to be green.
Chicken Dill Soup [30]
Cathy Schneider of DeKalb, Illinois, shared her family-favorite recipe for a chicken soup that has just enough twists to keep it interesting: sweet potato, green beans, brown rice and fresh-tasting dill. (If you prefer less dill flavor, just reduce the amount. The soup will still be delicious.)
Chicken Dill Soup [31]
Chicken and Kielbasa Winter Stew [34]
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 [38]
Hominy is the signature ingredient in this traditional, chililike Mexican soup.
Shredded Pork Posole [39]
Hearty Vegetarian Chili [42]
Many vegetarian chilies eat more like soups, but ours is built to satisfy a meat-lover. Bulgur wheat and mushrooms combine to mimic the texture and flavor of ground beef; chili powder, smoked paprika and chocolate stout lend deep, authentic flavor without a long simmer.
Lake Chowder [46]
Angry Trout Cafe in Grand Marais, Minnesota, makes this buttery, dill-flecked chowder with lake trout, a mild-flavored and relatively oily fish. The recipe tastes just as good with salmon or whitefish.
Lake Chowder [47]
Gingered Chicken Meatball Soup with Brown Rice and Basil [50]
This healthy, Asian-style soup is ready in only 45 minutes. Ingredients such as rice vinegar, fresh ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce add tangy and savory accents.
Gingered Chicken Meatball Soup with Brown Rice and Basil [51]
Cream of Any-Vegetable Soup [54]
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 [58]
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 [59]
Hearty Minestrone Soup [62]
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.
Tex-Mex Cheesy Chicken Chowder [66]
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 [70]
Canned soup and chicken broth speed prep time for this main-dish soup. The recipe comes from a Minnesota cafe.
Thai Butternut Squash Soup [74]
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.
Mushroom Soup [78]
Betsy Koss of Boyne City, Michigan, shared her recipe for velvety mushroom soup. It tastes rich and creamy but is actually dairy-free. The trick is to puree a little bit of white rice into the soup.
Mushroom Soup [79]
Kansas City Steak Soup [82]
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.
Soy-Ginger Soup with Chicken [87]
Somen are thin Japanese wheat noodles. Find them at Asian groceries or large supermarkets, or substitute vermicilli in this light chicken soup.
Creamy Brie Soup [91]
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 [92]
Bacon and Baked Potato Soup [95]
Bacon is versatile and dependable, amping up most dishes. Our cheesy potato soup 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.
Bacon and Baked Potato Soup [96]
Pumpkin, Chickpea & Red Lentil Stew [99]
This hearty soup boasts a bounty of veggies and seasonings, including pumpkin or squash, fresh ginger, lime juice, cumin and fresh cilantro.
Chipotle Black-Bean Chili [103]
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 [107]
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.
Antlers Wild Rice Soup [108]
Red Bean, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Stew [112]
Vitamin-rich sweet potatoes and creamy peanut butter complement spicy Cajun seasoning in this easy chicken slow-cooker stew.
Picky Eaters Meatball Soup [116]
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 [120]
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.
Veggie Cheese Chowder [121]
Ham Florentine Soup [124]
Florentine-style dishes have one thing in common: heart-healthy spinach. In this case, the leafy greens combine with chunks of ham in a chowderlike soup. For best results, remove spinach stems before cooking.
Ham Florentine Soup [125]
It's Italian Sausage Soup [128]
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.
Simply Ramen Chicken Soup [132]
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.
Sweet Heat Beef Stew [136]
Cayenne and dried green chili peppers bring the heat, while beer soothes the palate. Serve with cornbread.
Sweet Heat Beef Stew [137]
Ginger-Carrot Soup [140]
Combine caramelized onions, ginger, carrots and a sweet potato for this creamy, pretty soup.
Ginger-Carrot Soup [141]
Ratatouille Bisque [144]
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 [145]
Chicken-Artichoke Brie Soup [148]
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 [152]
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.
Carrot Soup [156]
Rich carrot soup gets a tangy edge thanks to a secret ingredient: parsnips. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Carrot Soup [157]
Creamy Wild Rice Soup with Maple Bacon [160]
Whip up this comforting soup in just 45 minutes. Swap out the chicken with chopped, roasted turkey to save even more prep time.
Creamy Shrimp and Rice Soup [164]
Test after test, our staff raved about this flavorful seafood soup. It has cream but no flour, so it tastes rich without being as heavy as most cream soups—perfect for those first days of spring, when you crave lighter fare, but the weather's still chilly.
Tomato Basil Bisque [168]
Basil pesto adds pizzaz to this flavorful blend of vegetables and herbs.
Tomato Basil Bisque [169]
Knoephla [172]
German-Russians settling the Dakotas put Red River Valley potatoes to good use in this creamy-rich potato-filled base with noodle dough cooked. It's white-on-white comfort food.
Knoephla [173]
Spring Tortellini Soup [176]
This family-friendly soup takes advantage of a couple of convenience products to come together in minutes. (New to broccolini? Available in large supermarkets, it's a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale. It has longer, thinner stalks than broccoli and a more delicate texture. If you can't find it, use regular broccoli.)
Spring Tortellini Soup [177]
Asian Chicken-and-Shrimp Soup [180]
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 [184]
Asparagus slices add color, and the dill and lemon zest add fresh flavor to salmon that’s packed with protein and heart-healthy.
Quinoa Harvest Chili [188]
This hearty and uber-healthy vegetarian chili recipe comes from Brianne Jamerson of Indiana. If you'd prefer a looser texture, just add extra water or broth.
Quinoa Harvest Chili [189]
Aunt Maude's Southwestern Turkey Chili [192]
Pureed corn thickens the hearty mixture of beans, veggies and turkey. A tailgating crowd-pleaser.
Sausage and Tortellini Soup [196]
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.