Image via Complex Original
One of the unfortunate side effects of the crisp fall air? Cold and flu season. If you've found yourself with a stuffy nose, sneezing, and all the other symptoms that comes with a cold, cheer up: sipping on hot soup is just what the doctor ordered, and we've got 10 recipes you'll want to gulp down. Put down that can of condensed chicken soup that you found in the back of your pantry and get out a pot and wooden spoon. Here are the best soups to crush a cold, and they go far beyond chicken noodle.
Spicy Sesame Pork Soup with Noodles
This soup tastes as soul-satisfying as it is to make. It's a long haul—but the smoky, spicy, long-simmered end result is completely worth it. Plus, the spicy kick will clear out your stuffed-up sinuses. Get the recipe on Food52.
Mushroom Barley Soup
Layers of flavor, each more concentrated than the last, are the key to this mushroom soup. You begin by browning pancetta and over the course of about 20 minutes, you add aromatic vegetables, tomato paste, both fresh mushrooms and rehydrated porcinis, soy sauce and sherry. This soup has flavor in spades. Get the recipe on Food52.
Lentil and Sausage Soup for a Cold Winter's Night
The beauty of this soup is that it manages to be soul-warming but doesn't leave you feeling slow and heavy. The broth is light and aromatic with wine and marjoram, and you;ll feel like you've won the lottery each time you come across a piece of garlicky sausage. Get the recipe on Food52.
Smoky Minestrone with Tortellini and Parsley or Basil Pesto
Nutritious ingredients (like the many vegetables in this soup) are paired with the indulgent (bacon, cheese tortellini) to yield our favorite way to eat virtuously. The smokiness of the bacon permeates the minestrone, imbuing the tomatoey broth with intense flavor. The bright, rustic pesto is the exact final addition this soup needs, adding a garlicky, herbal kickGet the recipe on Food52.
Joan Nathan's Chosen Matzo Ball Soup
This is like the ultimate refined version of chicken and dumplings, except better thanks to replacing leaden dough balls with feather-light matzo meal dumplings. Get the recipe on Food52.
Chicken "Stoup"
Combine the throat-coating broth of soup and the heartiness of a stew that's chock-full of meat and vegetables and what do you get? A stoup. It has the substance of a meal but enough hot broth to open up your airways. Get the recipe on Food52.
Turkey Pho
Look no further for a home for turkey leftovers. The turkey meat and stock combine with warm, toasted spices to yield a warm, hearty, comforting soup. Don't forget to squeeze some fresh lime juice for a hint of acidity to wake the soup (and you) up. Get the recipe on Food52.
Mexican Chicken Noodle
Think: chicken noodle soup with the amazing mexican flavors of tomatoes, lime and a little spice. Best of all, it's super simple to make when your cold has you feel lackluster. Get the recipe on Food52.
Abuela's Sopa de Avena con Pollo (Grandma's Chicken and Oat Soup)
This is a comforting and hearty cool-weather soup with an aroma of unsual spice pairings and olives that will make your kitchen smell absolutely intoxicating. If you don't have the veggies you need and your cold has you wanting to hole up at home, don't worry. You can use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge with the same delicious result. Get the recipe on Food52.
Reform Jewish Penicillin
This soup tastes like your mom's chicken noodle if it went on an exotic trip around the world—and didn't come back until it had partied in every discothéque, tiki hut, and cabana there was. Consider us reformed. Get the recipe on Food52.
