Soup

A classic ribollita is cooked one day, then reheated and served the next. To do that, just hold back the last croutons so they keep their crunch.

This slight riff on traditional miso soup is your shortcut to a flavorful, bone-warming snack when you need it most. Just pack a thermos with veggies, tofu, and miso in the morning, and when hunger comes knocking, all you need is a cupful of hot water and a couple of minutes. (Using homemade dashi instead of water, or adding instant dashi powder, brings it to the next level.)

Maybe you’re coming down with a cold, or you hit one too many holiday parties. This comforting but complex-tasting soup is just what the doctor ordered.

After making this soup, you'll have plenty of beets left over for tossing into salads at lunch.

Use your leftover turkey carcass to make the stock, and then use it in this riff on classic Japanese ramen.

Despite the name, spaghetti squash is still a vegetable and can get mushy when overcooked. Simply ladle the hot broth over the noodles when you are ready to eat.

A low-fuss soup like this spicy, hearty number is great for a crowd.

A silky, subtly sweet little number that makes fall vegetables feel downright swanky.

Vietnamese pho is built on a long-simmered and aromatic stock infused with charred ginger and onion, spices, and fish sauce, ladled over rice noodles and most commonly served with thin slices of beef. This is not that. We borrowed the technique of charring the onion and toasting the spices to give a quick, weeknight-friendly boost to store-bought chicken stock for this pork and noodle soup.

For a beautiful, almost bone-white soup, don’t let the leeks and onion take on any color as they soften.

Homemade stock made from a whole bird has two upsides: You get a rich, balanced liquid for the gumbo, and plenty of tender poached chicken meat.

"I love this creamy soup so much, I'd bathe in it." –Brad Leone, test kitchen manager

The pasta will continue to absorb the broth as it sits, so use a small noodle like ditalini, stars, or alphabet shapes.

Try pouring the soup directly over the sliced sandwich for an irresistible cheesy bread soup.

The soup equivalent of dipping your bread into tomato sauce, this rustic dish is summer’s comfort food.

A super-juicy watermelon is key; it should feel heavy for its size and sound hollow when tapped.

Summer evenings in Maine can be chilly, especially early and late in the season. When it’s sweater weather, it’s time for this creamy fish chowder recipe.

Because flavors become muted in cold dishes, season this gazpacho as you go and taste again after chilling. Soon this recipe will be in your summer repertoire.

Adding the veggies in phases, from longest cooking first to fastest last, guarantees the ideal texture for each.

This tortilla soup has everything you want: chicken, corn, and, of course, chiles.

Chef and author David Tanis insists on making broth for this restorative and iconic soup (pho ga) from scratch and warns against over­cooking the noodles: “They should be pretty firm and snappy, not flabby.”

Humble cabbage takes center stage in this vegetarian ramen-inspired cabbage soup.

The key to a vibrant green (not khaki) soup: Bring the water up to a boil quickly over high heat, and err on undercooking the peas to preserve their color.

Preparing this soup on the weekend means lunch is ready to grab and go on your way out the door Monday morning.