:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Butternut-Squash-and-Pork-Soup-With-Fish-Sauce-and-Tender-Herbs-FT-RECIPE1121-e8cfe5b1e389466d82aa73832d2abbbd.jpg)
For some, Christmas soup is customary. For others, it’s a cozy way to enjoy the holiday. Whether you need an appetizer or next-level side dish, we’ve curated our favorite soups to accent the festive meal. Ladle up a bowl of Christmas tradition with Tuscan White Bean Soup or opt for the luxurious comfort of Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons. Prefer plant-based? Try our robust Miso-Roasted Vegetable Soup. Whether you’re planning a classic menu or ready to begin a new Christmas soup tradition, our guide has you covered.
Caramelized Onion and Bread Soup with Brûléed Blue Cheese
This reimagined vegetarian riff on traditional French onion soup keeps things bright, flavorful, and balanced with nutty oloroso sherry, mixed caramelized onions, and crumbly Stilton cheese.
Oyster Bisque
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis
Loaded with chunks of potatoes and plump, juicy whole oysters, this light and creamy bisque begs to be served with crusty bread to mop up all of the delicious broth.
Garlic Soup
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
The key to this creamy soup from New Orleans chef Susan Spicer is to cook the garlic and onions slowly over low heat to bring out their flavors. The technique yields flavors that are rich and garlicky without being overwhelming.
Butternut Squash and Pork Soup with Fish Sauce and Tender Herbs
Butternut squash replaces the traditional kabocha squash in this take on the Vietnamese soup canh bi do thit heo; the mellow squash absorbs the rich broth as it cooks with tender ground pork that’s been marinated in fish sauce and sugar.
Celery Root Soup with Lemony Crab
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
Celery root, aka celeriac, is roasted with sweet-tart apple, shallot, garlic, and thyme before it’s blended with stock or broth and ladled over a mound of bright, briny crab salad.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons
This creamy, soul-warming soup from legendary Food Network star Ina Garten’s cookbook Modern Comfort Food captures everything there is to love about chicken pot pie, complete with flaky, buttery puff pastry croutons.
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Chelesa Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Thickened with cannellini beans and cream, this hearty, vegetable-packed soup is made irresistible by garlic confit and crispy pancetta.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Recipe developer Anna Theoktisto caramelizes a mix of meaty cremini mushrooms and earthy shiitake mushrooms for this silky soup that’s balanced by dry sherry.
Miso-Roasted Vegetable Soup
This soup employs an arsenal of umami flavor boosters such as miso, soy sauce, canned tomatoes, and a dash of smoked paprika. The roasted red bell peppers, carrots, onions, and kabocha squash transform into a hearty, robust, totally complex soup that goes great with a crusty hunk of bread.
Potato Leek Soup
Recipe developer Emily Nunn offers two options for making this classic creamy soup. You can serve it chowder-style, with chunks of starchy potato, or throw everything in the blender for a velvety, pureed texture.
Silky Chestnut Soup
Food & Wine / Photo by Rachel Marek / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Gabriel Greco
Silky-smooth and decidedly holiday-worthy, this soup from star chef Wolfgang Puck showcases sweet, earthy chestnuts with fruity ruby port and luscious heavy cream.
Pozole Rojo
This long-simmered Christmas staple built on a foundation of tomato and pork was a favorite of food journalist Priya Krishna’s when she lived in Mexico. “Choose from a selection of toppings: finely chopped onions, sliced avocado, lime, radishes, lettuce, queso fresco. Go big, or keep it simple,” she says. “That’s the true beauty of pozole: No two bowls look or taste exactly alike.”
Cream of Onion Soup
Chris Simpson / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis
F&W food editor Paige Grandjean roasts yellow onions until they’re beautifully caramelized. The sweet flavor shines through in this creamy onion soup, which is enriched with butter and heavy cream and topped with sourdough croutons.
Seafood and Seaweed Chowder
Irish chef JP McMahon combines dry hard cider with dried kelp and aromatics to make a fragrant stock; he first uses it to precook the shellfish, then it becomes the chowder’s base.
Steak and Shrimp Hot Pot
In this recipe from Houston chef Nick Wong, tender rib eye, fresh mushrooms, and sweet shrimp are cooked tableside for an interactive holiday meal — plus, guests can customize each bowl to their liking.
Silky Cauliflower Soup
Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans
Ready in under an hour, this velvety soup relies on cauliflower’s natural starches for its luxurious texture, without the need for cream. Garnish with roasted florets for a welcome bit of contrast.
Roasted Carrot Soup with Fresh Cheese and Black Bread
Roast two pounds of carrots with cumin and caraway seeds, simmer with vegetable broth, and blend with sour cream until silky smooth. Serve the soup with crisped Baltic black bread and crumbled farmer’s cheese.
Avgolemono Chicken Soup with Rice
Diana Chistruga
A Greek Christmas tradition, this lemony, slightly brothy chicken soup from former F&W editor Grace Parisi is thickened with cooked white rice and egg yolks and seasoned with fresh dill.
Smoky Butternut Squash Soup
Easy to make and vegetarian-friendly if you sub in vegetable stock, this creamy soup gets a little smoky heat from canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. A swirl of crème fraîche is a gorgeous way to temper the spiciness.
Stracciatella
Hugh Acheson’s take on stracciatella, a Christmas essential in Rome and Lazio, includes chicken, spinach, basil, peas, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and eggs. The greens are said to symbolize shredded gold for good fortune in the new year.
