Is there any better comfort food than a hearty bowl of homemade soup in winter? We’ve reached the end of February, and winter has returned with a vengeance. I suspect it will be several weeks before we see any real spring-like weather here in Ontario. Today’s post has five of my favourite homemade soup recipes to take the chill out of those late winter days.

Thanks to everyone who responded to the poll in my winter survival tips post. It seems I’m not the only one who’s always on the lookout for new soup recipes to try.

Soup is the ultimate comfort food

I’ve always loved soup in the wintertime, but I’d never really made homemade soup until the last couple of years. Last winter, when my old slow cooker finally gave up the ghost, I bought an extra large one and decided to put it to good use.

I’ve tried quite a few soup recipes and I’ve chosen five of my favourites to share with you. A couple of them are my own recipes. The others I found on Pinterest and adjusted to make them my own. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.

I love to make big batches and then freeze meal-sized portions for easy lunches. All of these recipes freeze well.

Michelle’s favourite homemade soup recipes

Bean and bacon chowder

I’ll start off with my absolute favourite soup recipe that’s so easy to make. My mum has been making it for years from a recipe she cut out of our local newspaper.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ¼ cup finely chopped green pepper
• 2 – 14 oz. cans baked beans in tomato sauce
• 1 – 28 oz. can stewed tomatoes
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp beef bouillon concentrate, or 1 sachet beef bouillon
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• Few drops hot sauce

In a large saucepan, fry bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and crumble.

Add onion and green pepper to bacon drippings and sauté two minutes. If using a slow cooker, skip this step.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Simmer for 10 minutes over medium-low heat or until hot. In a slow cooker, cook 6 to 8 hours on low, or 3 to 4 hours on high.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Vegetarian chili

This vegetarian chili recipe is so hearty and delicious, you won’t miss the meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• 1 can sliced mushrooms
• 2 large cans diced tomatoes
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
• 4 tbsp chili powder (or 2 pouches Club House chili seasoning)
• Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Toss all ingredients into a big pot or slow cooker. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. If using your slow cooker, cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high 3 to 4 hours.

Add hot sauce as desired depending on the heat level you prefer.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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Chicken pot pie soup

Chicken pot pie is the ultimate comfort food, so I was delighted to find this recipe on Pinterest from The Clean Eating Couple. It’s gluten free, Paleo and made with coconut milk so it’s dairy free as well.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup (3 ways to cook) | The Clean Eating Couple

Cabbage roll soup

Cabbage rolls are so tasty, but I don’t have the patience to make them. This wonderful soup recipe from Dinner At The Zoo delivers all the flavour of cabbage rolls with much less hassle.

I’ve converted this recipe to a vegetarian version by substituting “beefless ground” (soy crumble) for ground beef, and vegetable broth for beef broth.

Cabbage Roll Soup – Dinner at the Zoo

Cream of asparagus soup

Last spring when asparagus was in season, I decided to make a batch of cream of asparagus soup and found this recipe from Amanda’s Cookin’. It was terrific! I added a clove of minced garlic, and used my Nutribullet to blend up the asparagus, onion, and garlic mixture. It was wonderful and creamy.

Cream of Asparagus Soup: delicious, easy recipe for asparagus lovers (amandascookin.com)

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If you’re a soup lover, I hope you give some of these a try. If you do, let me know what you think.

What’s your favourite soup to make? Feel free to share your recipe links below.