8 Hearty Small Batch Soups for Cozy Nights In
There’s a certain kind of cold evening when the only thing that sounds good is a bowl of soup and a blanket.
The trouble is that most soup recipes feed a family of eight, and by day four nobody wants to look at the pot.
These hearty small batch soups make two big bowls, with maybe a lunch left over.
Some are creamy and smooth, and the rest are brothy and loaded with pasta, beans, beef, or sausage.
1. Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Canned tomatoes, onion, and garlic simmered and blended smooth, then finished with cream and fresh basil.
It’s ready in about 30 minutes.
For two, one 28 oz can of whole tomatoes is enough for two generous bowls.
Serve it with a grilled cheese cut into strips for dipping.
2. Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Chicken, carrots, celery, and orzo in a lemony broth, lighter than most soups here but still filling.
For two, use one chicken breast and about half a cup of orzo to four cups of broth.
Orzo keeps soaking up broth as it sits, so if you’re saving a bowl for lunch, cook the orzo separately and add it to each bowl.
Stir in the lemon juice at the end, off the heat, so it tastes fresh.
3. Tuscan White Bean Soup
White beans, garlic, tomatoes, and greens in a herby broth, all in one pot.
One can of cannellini beans is the right amount for two bowls.
Mash a few of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken the broth without any cream.
A drizzle of good olive oil on each bowl finishes it.
4. Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
A creamy chicken soup with carrots, celery, spinach, and soft potato gnocchi.
Shelf-stable gnocchi cooks right in the soup in about three minutes.
Half a package of gnocchi and one chicken breast is the right size for two.
Add the gnocchi right before serving, since it softens and starts to fall apart if it sits in the hot soup.
5. Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Shred the cheddar from a block for this one, since pre-shredded cheese has a coating that makes the soup grainy.
It’s a thick, cheesy soup with small pieces of broccoli and carrot.
Stir the cheese in off the heat a handful at a time, or it can clump and turn oily.
Halving it is easy, since nothing comes in a can.
6. Hamburger Vegetable Soup
Ground beef, potatoes, carrots, and green beans in a tomato broth.
Ground beef is what makes this a weeknight soup, since stew meat would need hours to get tender.
For two, half a pound of beef and a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes is plenty.
A bag of frozen mixed vegetables works here and cuts the chopping down to an onion and a potato.
7. Tomato Tortellini Soup
Cheese tortellini simmered in a garlicky tomato broth, all in one pot.
Refrigerated tortellini cooks in about five minutes, so this is one of the fastest soups here.
Half a 9 oz package is right for two bowls.
Add the tortellini last and serve right away, since it swells and goes soft if it sits in the broth overnight.
8. Italian Sausage and Kale Soup
Browned Italian sausage and kale in a garlicky broth, made hearty with potatoes or white beans.
Brown the sausage well first, since the browned bits on the bottom of the pot flavor the whole soup.
Two links of Italian sausage with the casings removed is enough for two.
Kale holds up in the fridge better than spinach, so this one makes good leftovers.
Notes on Small Batch Soups
A 3- or 4-quart saucepan is the right size for soup for two, since in a big Dutch oven the liquid spreads thin and reduces too fast.
A 32 oz carton of broth is about what a halved recipe needs for most of these.
Freeze leftover soup in single-serve containers, but leave out the pasta, gnocchi, and cream and add them when you reheat.
Taste for salt at the very end, since broth and canned tomatoes vary a lot in how salty they are.
Cool soup in shallow containers before it goes in the fridge, and eat it within three to four days.
A loaf of crusty bread or a quick grilled cheese turns any of these into a full dinner.