How to Make Soup: Homemade Stocks, Broths & Beginner Soup Recipes

Learning how to make soup is one of the best ways to build confidence in the kitchen. Soup teaches many of the same kitchen skills used in everyday meals, including chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients, sautéing, seasoning, simmering, and tasting as you cook. Once you understand the basic steps, you can create hundreds of different soups using fresh ingredients, leftovers, or pantry staples.

This lesson is part of our Basic Cooking Lessons series. It explains how to make homemade stocks and broths, the difference between cream and broth-based soups, ways to thicken soup naturally, and how to build great flavor from simple ingredients. This lesson is also the starting point for our complete Soup Recipe Collection.

What Makes a Good Soup?

A delicious homemade soup starts with a flavorful base and layers of ingredients that cook together slowly. While every recipe is different, most soups include the same basic building blocks.

Many soups become even better after sitting overnight because the flavors have more time to blend together.

Stock vs. Broth vs. Soup

Stock, broth, and soup are closely related, but they are not exactly the same. Understanding the difference makes it easier to choose the right base for a recipe and helps beginner cooks understand how soup is built.

Stock often has a richer texture because bones release natural gelatin as they simmer. Broth is usually lighter and may already include salt and seasonings. In many everyday recipes, the words stock and broth are used interchangeably, and either one can make a delicious soup.

How to Make Homemade Stock

Homemade stock is made by slowly simmering bones, vegetables, herbs, and water. It creates a flavorful base for soups, sauces, casseroles, and many other recipes. The long, gentle cooking time draws flavor from the ingredients and creates a useful base for soups, sauces, casseroles, rice, and other meals.

You do not need expensive ingredients to make stock. It is often made with leftover bones, vegetable trimmings, herb stems, and other ingredients that might otherwise be thrown away.

Basic Steps for Making Stock

1. Add the ingredients to a large pot. Place the bones, vegetables, herbs, and seasonings in a stockpot or large soup pan.
2. Cover with cold water. Add enough water to cover the ingredients by about one or two inches.
3. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Watch the pot carefully and reduce the heat as soon as the water begins to boil.
4. Simmer slowly. Keep the stock at a gentle simmer. A rapid boil can make the stock cloudy and may break the ingredients apart.
5. Skim the surface. Use a spoon to remove foam or excess fat that rises to the top.
6. Strain the stock. Pour the stock through a fine strainer into a clean bowl or pot. Discard the cooked bones and vegetables.
7. Cool safely. Divide the stock into shallow containers so it cools quickly before refrigerating or freezing.

How Long Should Stock Simmer?

Longer is not always better. Vegetable stock can become bitter or muddy-tasting if it cooks for several hours. Meat and bone stocks usually benefit from a longer simmer because they need more time to develop flavor.

Homemade Stock Recipes

Choose the stock that best matches your recipe. While each stock uses different ingredients, they all follow the same basic simmering method.

Make a large batch when you have time and freeze it in small containers. Homemade stock is useful for soups, stews, sauces, gravies, rice dishes, and casseroles.

Building Flavor for Great Soup

Professional cooks don't simply put everything into a pot at once. Instead, they develop layers of flavor as the soup cooks.

Whether you're making chicken noodle soup, vegetable soup, chili, chowder, or a creamy potato soup, these same techniques will help every recipe taste better.

Start with Aromatic Vegetables

Many soups begin by gently cooking onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a small amount of butter or oil. These vegetables are called aromatics because they add wonderful flavor and aroma to the finished soup.

Cook them over medium heat until they become soft and slightly translucent. They should become tender without turning dark brown.

Add Ingredients in the Right Order

Different ingredients cook at different speeds. If everything is added at once, some vegetables may become mushy while others are still undercooked.

Adding delicate ingredients near the end of cooking helps them keep their color, texture, and fresh flavor.

Season a Little at a Time

Seasoning is easier when you add small amounts throughout cooking instead of adding everything at the beginning.

• Add dried herbs early so they have time to soften and release their flavor.
• Add fresh herbs during the last few minutes of cooking.
• Taste before adding extra salt since many broths already contain sodium.
• Black pepper is usually best added near the end for the freshest flavor.

How to Thicken Soup

Some soups are meant to be light and brothy, while others are creamy and thick. Fortunately, there are several easy ways to thicken soup depending on the style you're making.

Choose the method that best matches your recipe. Some methods add richness, while others simply make the soup slightly thicker without changing the flavor very much. Not every soup should be thick. Broth soups are meant to stay light, while chowders and cream soups are naturally thicker.

How to Make Cream Soups

Cream soups begin much like broth soups, but part or all of the soup is blended until smooth. Milk, evaporated milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream is then added to create a rich, creamy texture.

Three Easy Ways to Make Cream Soup

Great Vegetables for Cream Soups

Almost any cooked vegetable can become a delicious cream soup. These vegetables are especially popular because they blend into a smooth, naturally creamy texture.

Once you've learned how to make cream soups, you'll be able to create dozens of variations simply by changing the vegetables, herbs, or seasonings.

How to Make Broth-Based Soups

Broth-based soups are some of the easiest soups to make because they start with a flavorful stock or broth and build from there. These soups are usually lighter than cream soups while still being filling and nutritious.

Chicken noodle soup, vegetable soup, minestrone, egg drop soup, and many international soups all begin with a well-seasoned broth.

Basic Steps for Making Broth Soup

1. Sauté onions, celery, carrots, and garlic until softened.
2. Add homemade stock or broth.
3. Add vegetables that need the longest cooking time.
4. Add meat, beans, rice, barley, or potatoes.
5. Stir in quick-cooking vegetables, pasta, or leafy greens near the end.
6. Taste and adjust the seasonings before serving.

Practice with These Broth-Based Soups

How to Make Hearty Soups & Stews

Hearty soups contain larger pieces of meat, vegetables, beans, or potatoes and are filling enough to serve as a complete meal. Stews are similar but contain less liquid and are usually thicker than traditional soups.

These recipes are perfect for cold weather, meal planning, and using leftover meat and vegetables.

Try These Hearty Soup Recipes

Soup Types at a Glance

Not all soups are prepared the same way. Some are light and brothy, while others are rich, creamy, or packed with hearty ingredients. This quick guide can help you choose the type of soup you'd like to make.

Soup Recipe Collections

Now that you've learned the basic techniques for making soup, it's time to put your new skills into practice. Browse by category to discover new family favorites.

More Cooking Lessons That Build Soup Skills

Soup making combines many basic kitchen techniques. These lessons will help you continue developing the skills you practiced throughout this page.

Frequently Asked Questions