10 Best Soup Recipes From Scratch
I come from a culture that puts soup first — literally. In Poland, soup IS the first course, served before the main dish at every lunch and dinner. Rosol on Sundays, żurek at Easter, zupa pomidorowa on weekdays. My babcia made soup every single day, and I’ve carried that habit into my own kitchen. But my soup rotation has expanded far beyond Poland — these 13 soups span Polish, American, Mexican, Japanese, and Vietnamese traditions, all made from scratch, all tested hundreds of times, all guaranteed to make your house smell incredible.
Polish Soups
Żurek (Sour Rye Soup)
Poland’s most distinctive soup: tangy fermented rye broth, kielbasa, hard-boiled eggs. The flavour profile exists nowhere else in world cuisine. If you want to taste something genuinely unique, start here.
Rosół (Polish Chicken Noodle Soup)
Golden, aromatic, healing. Simmered 3+ hours with parsley root, carrots, and fresh dill. This is the soup I make when someone is sick, sad, or just needs to feel loved. Babcia’s medicine.
Zupa Pomidorowa (Polish Tomato Soup)
Polish tomato soup: chicken broth base, cream finish, served over star pasta. Mild, comforting, and the soup every Polish child grows up eating. My kids’ most-requested soup.
American Comfort Soups
Lasagna Soup (Crockpot)
All the lasagna flavours — sausage, marinara, three cheeses — in soup form. The crockpot simmers it while you live your life. Ricotta dollops on top transform it.
Chicken Sausage Kale Soup
Hearty, healthy, full of protein. White beans, chicken sausage, kale, and a parmesan rind. The rind melts into the broth and adds richness that no amount of seasoning can replicate.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Everything you love about a loaded baked potato — cheese, bacon, sour cream — in creamy soup form. Completely indulgent. Zero apologies.
Chicken Noodle Soup (From Scratch)
American-style chicken noodle: simpler than rosol, faster, still deeply comforting. The chicken noodle soup for when you want healing broth without the 3-hour commitment.
Global Soups
Spicy Miso Ramen (Shortcut)
Twenty-minute ramen with real depth. Instant dashi + miso paste + chilli garlic sauce. Topped with a soft-boiled egg that bleeds golden yolk into the broth. Japanese healing soup, shortcut edition.
Spicy Wonton Soup
Handmade wontons swimming in a spicy broth with chilli oil. The dumplings are mild, the broth is hot, and the contrast is what makes this extraordinary.
Vietnamese Pho (Shortcut)
Star anise, cinnamon, and charred ginger create a fragrant broth in under an hour (traditional pho takes 12+ hours). Rice noodles, herbs, lime, and sriracha. The ultimate “I feel a cold coming on” soup.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Smoky chipotle broth with shredded chicken and all the toppings. This is the Mexican entry in my soup rotation — bold, warming, and better each time you reheat it.
Fusion & Rotation
Miso Rosół (Polish-Japanese Chicken Broth)
My two healing soups combined: rosol’s golden chicken broth + miso’s fermented depth + fresh ginger. Topped with both dill and green onions. The most experimental soup on this page and one of the most delicious. Part of the fusion collection.
Crockpot Soup Rotation (4 Soups)
My system for never getting bored: creamy Monday, spicy Wednesday, hearty Friday, healing Sunday. Four soups, four cravings, monthly rotation. Set the crockpot before work, eat soup for dinner. This is how soup culture works in a busy household.