As we have determined, I am the self-proclaimed lazy parent. I also love cooler weather and everything it entails. Cool weather + lazy momming = easy soup recipes. I most often use canned ingredients because I’m putting things together at the last minute, but I am confident all of these would be good/better with fresh ingredients. My favorite thing about any soup is the ability to mix it up — most of my recipes are subject to change, depending on what’s in the pantry when I’m cooking and who might be the picky eater in the crowd, so take note of ways to adjust for your preference.
And now, unlike your typical recipe blog, I’ll try to keep the extra words at a minimum to hit you with the recipes fast.
Chicken and Rice Soup
This is THE soup. My signature food to take to a new mom or a sick friend. It’s the one I’m most often asked about, and it’s embarrassingly simple to make. It’s a bit of a choose your own adventure (add carrots and celery if you’d like, for example or adjust the liquid to your preference — we like ours extra creamy).
Ingredients:
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2-2 cups of shredded or cubed chicken (I’ve used canned chicken which works well too)
1 cup of instant rice
Directions:
Heat broth and cream of chicken soup together and mix thoroughly. Add chicken, then rice and cover for 5 minutes. Season as desired (I usually do salt, pepper, and garlic).
Chicken Taco Soup*
Ingredients:
2 cans chicken broth
1 can salsa (I blend it as this thickens the soup and eases the mind of picky folks who don’t like onions or peppers)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
2 cups shredded/cubed chicken (again, canned chicken will work)
1 packet taco seasoning
Directions:
Throw it all in to simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and season as desired (I usually add more spices, and often an extra can of beans or corn, depending on what I’ve got)! Best served over Fritos with cheese and sour cream. Oooh or with grilled cheese!
*An easy swap for the beefy taco would be ground beef and beef broth instead of chicken and chicken broth.
Cheesy Potato Soup
Ingredients:
1 large bag of frozen potatoes (I like shredded or cubed)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 block cream cheese
shredded cheddar cheese
sauteed onions or onion powder
Directions:
Throw potatoes, chicken broth, cream of chicken, onions or onion powder in the crockpot and heat on low for 5 hours or high for 2.5 hours. The last 30 minutes to 1 hour, add in the cream cheese in small blocks and stir. Go ahead and throw in your shredded cheese as well to give it time to melt! I usually mash the potatoes a bit before serving as it thickens the soup a bit. Serve with bacon and cheese as toppings!
Beefy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
2 cans beef broth
1-22 oz. small cans of tomato paste (depending on your love for tomatoes, you could used diced tomatoes instead)
all the cans of vegetables you like (black beans, green beans, corn are my veggies of choice)
half a bag of cubed hashbrowns
Directions:
Brown ground beef (add onions, garlic to taste) and drain meat of grease. Throw everything else in a pot and cook until frozen potatoes are tender. Season to taste.
I don’t have established recipes yet for some other favorites, but I’m on the hunt for the perfect broccoli cheese soup, so if you’ve got a quick and easy one (don’t come at me with anything challenging and drawn out), drop it in the comments!
