Soup is soul food, satisfying and warming on a cold day or night. Sometimes, though, you make a pot of soup that's good and fine, but maybe you wish it were a little bit... better. Maybe you want to take this soup to the next level and give it something extra to improve the taste, texture, or complexity of flavor.
Here are a few tips to take you beyond the recipe and make all your soups sing.
1. Brown or Sear the Meat
If you are adding meat to a soup, sear or brown it in a sauté pan before you add it to the soup. This adds a deeper savory flavor to the whole soup. This trick is especially useful for things like chicken and sausage, which can sometimes get bland and rubbery while floating in a brothy soup.
Similar to searing meat, try roasting your vegetables before adding them to the soup. This gives them a little bit of char and concentrates their flavor, giving the soup a more complex taste.
Try making an easy roasted root vegetable soup with squash, potatoes, carrots, and any other vegetables you like. Roast them for half the amount of time you normally would then mix them into a warm pot of broth. Add some beans or leftover meat from another meal to round it out.
Mash or puree some vegetables in your soup to give it a creamy texture while still having some chunky bits, or puree the whole thing for a silky-smooth experience. If your ingredients won't puree easily (like a beef stew), then try pureeing some white beans and mixing them in.
It’s possible to develop flavors as you go with just water and whatever ingredients you are using, but if you have it handy, use homemade stock. This gives you a jump on the flavor-building process.
When you’re down to the last nub of that block of Parmesan, Pecorino, or other hard cheese, freeze it and toss a rind or two in the pot next time you’re making soup. They will soften and add extra nutty flavor to the recipe. Remove from the soup before serving.
6. Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples
Got a soup that tastes a little bland and unexciting? Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it’s ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients. Some freshly cracked pepper helps, too!
Fresh herbs like parsley, basil, and cilantro lose their flavor quickly if simmered in a hot soup, but they add freshness and bright flavor when sprinkled over top just before serving.
A dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt can add a bit of tang to cool off a spicy soup or balance the sweetness in soups made with a lot of root vegetables.
Go green: Add some spinach or chopped kale or pesto. Get zesty: A squirt of lemon juice or zest could brighten up an otherwise flat soup. Starchy things: Homemade croutons, crushed tortilla chips, or oyster crackers. Clean out the fridge: got cooked beans or rice, a dollop of sour cream, or a splash of heavy cream?
Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.
It may sound a bit strange and unusual for some, but vinegar is a common ingredient in some soup recipes, and there is a good reason for it. If you think about it, vinegar is really a flavor-enhancer (umami). That's why it is so often used in cooking, sauces, and salad dressings. The same is true with soups.
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.
"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.
Fresh herbs and spices will definitely make canned soup taste better and fresher. Depending on the type of soup, dill, basil, rosemary are all good choices. I also love cumin in soups and stews. You can add hot sauce or hot red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.
If a soup is tasting bland in the bowl, consider adding acid rather than salt. A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a dash of yogurt or sour cream can add brightness to the bowl. Our Lemony Chicken Soup will make your mouth water.
To season it, we recommend starting with our Vegetable Soup Mix. It contains celery salt, parsley flakes, garlic powder, sea salt, summer savory, marjoram, thyme, black pepper, turmeric and sage, which are all excellent with root vegetables, so you can incorporate things like carrots or potatoes into the soup.
I'd use a base of onions, celery, and garlic. Then I would use spices and herbs to give the soup a specific flavor: an Italian spice mix, or a Mexican mix, or even a curry mix. I'd put in fresh seasonal vegetables and plenty of fresh-ground pepper. I might add a small can of salt-free tomato sauce or some coconut milk.
Basic principles of preparing soup are also outlined, including starting with cold water, cutting vegetables to size, selecting protein, simmering, and skimming.
You can extract a clean, strong broth from a combination of water and several pantry ingredients. It's all about layering powerful flavor-enhancers that you probably already have on hand—bacon, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns, a Parmesan rind, and, of course, kosher salt.
A squeeze of citrus, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream, a dusting of cheese or a good chile powder, a sprinkling of some herbs or croutons — all can take a perfectly fine soup into the realm of the delectable. Even a spiral of good olive oil to finish and some coarse sea salt can do wonders.
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