When half the house is sniffling, dinner usually needs to be warm, straightforward, and easy to eat from a bowl. These 11 soups cover everything from classic chicken noodles and dumplings to ramen, gnocchi, tortilla strips, creamy broth, and a slow cooker option. Some come together quickly for an already-long week, while others make larger batches that leave enough for another lunch or dinner.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Thick and creamy with plenty of vegetables, Chicken Pot Pie Soup brings the filling of a pot pie into a bowl without making pastry. The 45-minute recipe serves 6 with cooked chicken, potatoes, mushrooms, celery, mixed vegetables, chicken stock, and milk. A flour slurry thickens the broth near the end. Serve it with biscuits, crusty bread, or puff pastry pieces when everyone wants something substantial but eating a full plated dinner sounds like too much.
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Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings
Soft homemade dumplings make Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings one of the heartier choices in the lineup. The 1-hour recipe serves 6, using chicken breast and chicken broth with dumplings made from flour, baking powder, butter, and whole milk. The chicken cooks directly in the broth before the dumplings go in, then gets shredded back into the pot. Spoon it into deep bowls when a simple broth alone does not sound filling enough.
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Chicken Ramen
Spicy, savory broth gives Chicken Ramen more punch than the traditional sick-day noodle bowl while still keeping dinner spoon-and-chopstick friendly. The 30-minute recipe serves 4 with ground chicken, ramen noodles, chicken stock, tahini, soy sauce, Sriracha, ginger, garlic, chard, green onions, and a boiled egg. The seasoned chicken cooks separately before joining each bowl. Keep this one for the night when plain chicken soup sounds too mild but a full takeout order feels unnecessary.
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Hot and Sour Soup
Peppery heat and tangy broth make Hot and Sour Soup a useful change when several nights of mild soup are starting to blur together. This 35-minute recipe serves 4 with chicken breast, mixed mushrooms, tofu, eggs, chicken broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and white pepper. Cornstarch gives the broth its familiar body. It works especially well when everyone wants something warm but the table is ready for stronger flavors than standard chicken noodle soup.
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Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Soft gnocchi and a creamy broth make Chicken Gnocchi Soup especially filling for a night when soup needs to count as the whole dinner. The 1-hour recipe serves 8 with chicken breast, carrots, celery, spinach, chicken broth, heavy cream, milk, Parmesan, and gnocchi. The chicken and vegetables cook in the same pot before the gnocchi and dairy finish it. A large batch like this also leaves plenty for anyone who wants another bowl later.
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Gnocchi Soup
Lighter and faster than the longer gnocchi version, Gnocchi Soup reaches the table in 30 minutes and serves 8. Cooked chicken, potato gnocchi, celery, carrots, onion, spinach, chicken broth, and half-and-half turn into a creamy one-pot dinner. The gnocchi cooks quickly once the broth is ready, so the final stretch moves fast. Choose this when people want a substantial bowl but you do not have an hour to spend getting soup onto the table.
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Chicken Tortilla Soup
Crisp tortilla strips and fresh toppings give Chicken Tortilla Soup enough texture to wake up a week of soft, brothy dinners. The 55-minute recipe serves 8 with shredded chicken, tomatoes, corn, green chiles, onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and chicken stock. Cheese, avocado, cilantro, lime, and green onions can finish each bowl differently. Set the toppings out separately so anyone with a smaller appetite can keep things simple while others load theirs up.
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Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Pressure cooking makes Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup the fastest option here, with a listed total time of 14 minutes for 6 servings. Bone-in chicken thighs, fusilli, carrots, celery, onion, chicken broth, garlic powder, and thyme cook together in the pot. Using the chicken bones during pressure cooking gives the broth extra richness without hours of simmering. It is a practical choice for the evening when somebody wants chicken noodle soup and nobody wants to hover over the stove.
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Marry Me Chicken Soup
Creamy broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and pasta make Marry Me Chicken Soup richer than a standard chicken soup without turning it into a complicated dinner. The 40-minute recipe serves 8 with shredded chicken, chicken stock, small pasta, heavy cream, Parmesan, spinach, tomato paste, and thyme. Everything builds in one pot, with the dairy and spinach added toward the end. Keep this one for the night when the household is tired of plain broth but still wants something easy to spoon into bowls.
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Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
Small meatballs and pasta make Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup a hands-off option for the day when cooking dinner later sounds unrealistic. The 5-hour-10-minute recipe serves 6 with chicken broth, small beef or turkey meatballs, carrots, celery, spinach, pasta, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Most of the cooking happens unattended, with pasta and spinach added near the finish. Start it earlier in the day and there is very little left to handle once everyone is ready to eat.
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Italian Penicillin Soup
Silky pureed vegetables distinguish Italian Penicillin Soup from the chunky chicken soups elsewhere in the list. The 35-minute recipe serves 6 with chicken broth, shredded rotisserie chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, Parmesan rind, and small pastina pasta. The vegetables are simmered and blended before the pasta and chicken finish the soup, creating body without heavy cream. It is especially useful when a smoother bowl sounds easier to manage than large pieces of meat and vegetables.
Get the Recipe: Italian Penicillin Soup