If You Aren't Putting Toppings on Your Soup, Are You Really Living? (2024)

Soup is delicious and comforting, but it’s not known for being exciting. So often, soup recipes end up feeling like a thrown-together meal of meat, vegetables, beans, noodles, all hanging out in a hot tub of broth. (That sounds like a weird episode of The Bachelor.) But with a few toppings and swirl-ins, it can be zhuzhed up into a beautiful, extra flavorful bowl that is ready for the spotlight, transforming in front of your eyes like Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries.

But where do you start? There are a handful of categories that you can pull from: crunchy, creamy, rich, or fresh and herby—or all four. Take our new black bean soup recipe, for example. We topped that with a handful of Fritos corn chips, a dollop of chile-lime crema, diced avocado, red onion, and cilantro. Maybe that was overachieving, but just look at it. It is a whole lot more appetizing than a bowl of murky black beans, and now all those flavors can dance on your tastebuds as if you’re having a full-on Taco Tuesday in one bowl of soup.

With that beautiful watercolor portrait of fully-loaded black bean soup in mind, here are our pillars of soup toppings, with some ideas to soup up your soup night.

Crunchy

We’ve already discussed Fritos, but any tortilla chip will do, especially for bean soups or, well, tortilla soup. Crushed up potato chips on top of potato soup would be a potato inception, corn nuts could complement a corn chowder, or good ol’ crackers (oyster, buttery Ritz, saltines) are a good standby. Some spiced nuts (like these sambal cashews!) or toasted breacrumbs would be nice on a creamy soup, or even some crispy grains like buckwheat on top of cauliflower soup. To take things to the next level, you could make bacon croutons for your split pea soup, cheesy toast on French onion soup, or grilled cheese croutons for tomato soup.

If You Aren't Putting Toppings on Your Soup, Are You Really Living? (2024)

FAQs

Is soup enough for dinner? ›

Hearty soups like Russian Borsch, Vietnamese pho, and Italian Minestrone are considered as main courses. They have an apt mix of vegetables, protein and carbohydrates in a single bowl. Thick soups that carry not only the broth, but also toppings that make them sumptuous, can be had as your dinner.

Can I leave the skin on potatoes for soup? ›

Can I leave the peel on for potato soup? Yes! You don't need to peel the potatoes for this potato soup recipe. The skin will help the potatoes keep their shape and prevent them from getting too mushy.

Can I live on soup? ›

What Experts Say. "The concept of eating soup to lose weight has spanned decades, but experts say an all-soup diet lacks nutrients and is not sustainable. They do agree it can be smart to eat vegetable-packed soups for some meals, though, as these are filling, nutrient-dense, and low in calories."

How to deepen the flavor of soup? ›

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

Is soup considered a full meal? ›

Soup is commonly a starter in a three-course meal or a tasty lunch served with crusty bread on a cold winter's day. That may be so, , but did you know it is perfectly acceptable to eat soup as a main course? As unlikely as it sounds, it is completely true and most definitely scrumptious.

Can I replace dinner with soup? ›

You can definitely have soup for dinner. Make sure you add some complex carbs into it to keep your tummy satisfied before bed. Adding even a small amount of complex carbs to your diet adds fullness to your diet which will help you in having a goodnight sleep.

Is leaving skin on potatoes good for you? ›

To get the most antioxidants, leave the skins on and choose colorful varieties like red and purple potatoes. The more color, the more antioxidants. Plus, the skin of some potatoes can have up to 12 times more antioxidants than the flesh. Baked potato skin is a great source of potassium and magnesium.

Which type of potato is best for soup? ›

Russets or all-purpose baking potatoes are high in starch and low in moisture. In soups, they will soak up the liquid and lose their shape. This makes them the ideal choice for making creamy soups or thickening a runny soup. Try using Russet potatoes to create the perfect Loaded Potato Soup.

What does adding potato to soup do? ›

The theory is that a potato is the perfect vehicle to absorb excess salt. Just throw it into the pot and simmer it for awhile, remove it after it's absorbed some of the salt, and you're left with less-salty soup. No need to add more liquid or other ingredients to help disperse the extra salt.

Can you live off of soup and salad? ›

If however you eat nothing but very creamy soups and salads with very fatty dressings then that is extremely unhealthy. Eating watery broth and undressed salads with no protein is likely to lead to starvation.

Can you live off cup of soup? ›

You definitely won't be living in any sense of the word I understand. Obviously it depends on how much weight you're carrying and your height etc., but even on 5 cups a day you wouldn't be getting sufficient calories to live that long, and virtually no nutrients, so you'd also be malnourished.

Does eating soup count as drinking? ›

Probably both. If you chew the soup, you are eating it. If you swallow it without chewing, you are drinking it (or about to choke).

What is the most important ingredient in soup? ›

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

How to fix tasteless soup? ›

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt.

What not to do when making soup? ›

The 7 Biggest Mistakes You Make Cooking Soup
  1. Boiling instead of simmering. You want a small bubble or two to rise to the surface of the liquid every few seconds. ...
  2. Not using enough salt. ...
  3. Ignoring water. ...
  4. Overcooking the vegetables. ...
  5. Adding tomatoes at the beginning. ...
  6. Neglecting to garnish. ...
  7. Not trying a pressure cooker.
Nov 19, 2014

Can you serve soup for dinner? ›

Yes, you can. Soup is a great thing to serve at a dinner party, and we're not just talking soup shots as cute appetizers. We're going main course here. It can be an impressive meal that's fully satisfying and relatively inexpensive.

Is soup a solid meal? ›

Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.

Is soup a meal on its own? ›

Absolutely. By any definition of dinner, soup can be dinner. Last meal of the day or the most substantial. On that last point, hearty or substantial, it is all up to you.

Do you count soup as intake? ›

Make sure to count soups, broths, popsicles, ice cream bars, and other foods that contain liquid as part of your intake.

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