8 Hearty Soups That Eat Like a Full Dinner

You make a pot of soup for dinner, and by nine o’clock everyone’s back in the kitchen looking for toast.

That used to happen at my house every single time.

So I got picky, and a soup only makes it into my dinner rotation now if nobody needs a second meal afterward.

These are the ones that keep everybody full until morning.

1. French Onion Soup

Three pounds of onions cook down slowly in butter and olive oil until they’re deep brown and jammy, and that’s most of the recipe.

Beef stock, dry sherry, thyme and a bay leaf go in next, then each bowl gets toasted baguette and a thick layer of Gruyère under the broiler.

It takes about an hour and a half and serves six.

The onions need patience, and turning up the heat to rush them burns the edges before the middles soften.

With the bread and cheese on top, one bowl really is dinner.

2. Lasagna Soup

All the parts of lasagna people like, none of the layering.

Ground beef, garlic, onion and dried herbs simmer with tomatoes and broth, then broken lasagna noodles cook right in the pot with a handful of spinach.

A spoon of ricotta and some mozzarella go on each bowl at the end.

It’s one pot and about thirty-five minutes.

The noodles keep drinking the broth as it sits, so if you expect leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl.

3. Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Chicken pot pie filling you eat with a spoon, with a biscuit for dunking where the crust would be.

Chicken, Yukon gold potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, celery, corn and peas simmer in broth with thyme, then butter, flour and a little cream thicken it into something close to gravy.

About forty-five minutes, eight servings.

Any biscuit works on the side, including the ones from a can.

Rotisserie chicken cuts the time down if you have one.

4. Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

This tortilla soup is thick, almost like chili, because tortilla strips get stirred in at the end and break down into the broth.

Chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, garlic, enchilada sauce and broth all go into the slow cooker at once.

It needs ten minutes of hands-on time and six to eight hours on low, and it serves eight.

Temper the Greek yogurt with a few spoonfuls of hot broth before stirring it in, so it turns the soup creamy without curdling.

Top each bowl with avocado, more yogurt and crushed tortilla chips.

5. Kielbasa Potato Soup

Kielbasa is already cooked and already smoky, which is why this soup tastes like it simmered much longer than it did.

Sliced sausage, Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, celery and corn cook in chicken broth with smoked paprika and a few red pepper flakes.

Cream and cheddar go in at the end.

It’s forty-five minutes and feeds eight.

Brown the kielbasa slices first and leave the fat in the pot, since that’s where most of the smoky flavor comes from.

6. Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Wild rice is chewier and nuttier than white rice, and it holds its texture in soup where white rice goes soft.

Chicken breasts, carrots, celery, onion, garlic and thyme simmer with a cup of wild rice in broth, then a butter and flour roux and a cup of cream make it thick.

It takes about an hour and serves eight.

Check the package, because pure wild rice takes close to an hour to cook while a wild rice blend is usually faster.

Rotisserie chicken works if you want to skip cooking the breasts.

7. Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e fagioli means pasta and beans, and this version adds ground turkey to make it a real dinner.

Turkey, onion, carrots, celery and garlic brown first, then tomatoes, broth, cannellini beans, fresh rosemary and smoked paprika simmer together with small pasta.

A splash of red wine vinegar at the end brightens the whole pot.

About forty minutes, eight servings.

Ground beef or Italian sausage works just as well if that’s what you have.

8. Italian Minestrone

Minestrone is the meatless one here, and it still eats like dinner thanks to two cans of cannellini beans, potato and pasta.

Onion, carrot, celery and garlic start the pot, then fire-roasted tomatoes, vegetable broth, rosemary and oregano go in with a Parmesan rind.

Kale or spinach goes in at the very end.

Fifty minutes, six servings.

Save your Parmesan rinds in the freezer for exactly this, since one rind gives the broth a savory, cheesy depth.

Tips for Soup That Fills You Up

Protein and starch are what turn a soup into a meal, so look for at least one of each in the pot.

Cook pasta and rice in soup to just tender, since they keep softening in the hot broth after you turn off the heat.

Add cream and cheese over low heat and don’t let the soup boil afterward, or it can split.

Bread on the side counts, and a grilled cheese counts double.

Notes on Storing Leftovers

Most of these keep four days in the fridge in a sealed container.

Soups with pasta or rice thicken a lot overnight, so thin them with broth or water when you reheat.

Broth-based soups freeze for about three months, and cream-based ones are better eaten within the week.

Freeze single portions and you’ll always have something ready for the nights you can’t face cooking.