Best Milk Street Soup Recipes of 2025

Chili Crisp Chicken and Corn Soup

James Ooi—founder of Little Bao Boy, an Asian street food business based in Leeds, England—inspired us with his go-to soup for a quick weeknight dinner. Chicken breast, soy sauce, and canned corn. We were intrigued. Based on his description, we develo

By Hisham Ali HassanSeptember 2, 2025

Romanian-Style Potato and Sausage Soup

In Bucharest, Romania, at Bucataria Local Food, a restaurant owned by brothers Adrian and Gabriel Alexe, we tasted a broth containing aromatic vegetables, potatoes and a local smoked sausage called babic. The dish is one of countless types of borş, or

By Courtney HillMay 5, 2025

Soup from Nothing (Caraway Soup with Parsley and Walnut Pesto)

At Milk Street, this simple, comforting broth is affectionately known as “soup from nothing.” It is our adaptation of a recipe we learned from Oana Udrea, chef at Meșendorf 65 in the Transylvania region of Romania. The heart of the soup is a light but

By Courtney HillMarch 7, 2025

Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorbă de Perișoare)

Ciorbă is a category of Romanian soups that can feature just about any type of meats and/or vegetables, but always has a tart, tangy flavor from an acidic ingredient, such as fermented wheat bran or vinegar. This simple, rustic meatball ciorbă is our

By Hisham Ali HassanMarch 27, 2025

Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Aleppo Pepper Oil

This toss-in-the pot lentil soup proves the transformative power of spices, which give hearty lentils potent flavor and heat.

Indonesian Spiced Beef and Lemon Grass Soup

This aromatic soup is our adaptation of the sop konro that home cook Nobita Budianti demonstrated for us in her kitchen in Jakarta, Indonesia. The blender does much of the heavy prep, pureeing many of the ingredients into a spice paste, called bumbu d

By Courtney HillAugust 26, 2025

Spanish Garlic and Bread Soup

Taught to us by chef José Andrés, this “end of month” recipe transforms simple odds and ends.

By Chris Kimball & Matthew CardNovember 11, 2022

French Onion Soup

Is there such a thing as “light” French onion soup? The answer is an herbaceous, brothy bowl served to Chris Kimball at Bichettes in Paris.

By Courtney HillMarch 7, 2024

Italian Wedding Soup (Minestra Maritata)

This brothy bowl rich with greens is faithful to the wedding soup we learned in Naples—in place of meatballs, shredded beef and pork, added at the end.

By Diane UngerDecember 6, 2022

Garnish-as-You-Like Potato-Leek Soup

Potato-leek soup is a blank canvas for all manner of garnishes. Keep it simple for family—chopped thyme and black pepper—and for a larger gathering, double the soup and set out an array of options so guests can add what they like. With a base of water

By Courtney HillDecember 21, 2024

Umbrian Lentil Soup (Zuppa de Lenticchie)

In her kitchen in Perugia, Italy, home cook Silvia Buitoni taught us how to make brothy but hearty Umbrian lentil soup, or zuppa di lenticchie, a regional classic and a fine example of rustic Italian cooking. Of utmost importance, of course, are the l

By Diane UngerAugust 9, 2021

Thai-Style Coconut and Chicken Soup

This fragrant Thai soup is rich with coconut milk, awoken with chili heat, lime, and lemongrass, and studded with meaty chicken and mushrooms—and its electricity depends on that deep, coconutty backdrop. Ersatz homemade coconut milk provides the rich

By Courtney HillJanuary 21, 2024

Hand-Torn Noodle Turkey Soup

Korean-style hand-torn noodles add rustic, dumpling-like bits to this robust turkey soup that makes the most of holiday leftovers. The noodles are easy to make, no mixer or rolling pin needed. We brown the turkey bones to create broth with deep flavor

By Courtney HillNovember 25, 2024

Italian Bean Soup with Fresh Pasta

“Everyone should eat this,” a reader writes of one of our all-time most popular soups: rustic Italian bean soup, the perfect vehicle for fresh pasta.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Turmeric and Coconut Milk

The popular Burmese soup known as ohn no khao swe is a culinary melting pot featuring ingredients and influences from Burma’s neighbors, including chickpea flour, turmeric and ginger from India; coconut milk from Thailand; and noodles from China. This

By Laura RussellApril 25, 2023

Vietnamese Meatball and Watercress Soup (Canh)

“This is my favorite Milk Street soup recipe,” a reader writes of this Vietnamese pork meatball soup: a bright green bowl of juicy, tender pork with a complex background of fish sauce, scallions, garlic, ginger and lime juice.

By Diane UngerAugust 7, 2017

Creamy Fennel and White Bean Soup

A silky puree of creamy white beans soak up the savory, sweet, and slightly licorice-y flavors of fennel, contrasted by salty bits of bacon.

By Sandra Rose GluckFebruary 5, 2018

Korean Hand-Torn Noodle Soup with Chicken (Sujebi)

Rustic hand-torn wheat noodles are the star of sujebi, a hearty, brothy Korean soup. In Seoul, we learned there are countless ways to make the dish, but for our version, we combined our favorite elements of the recipes we learned from home cook Insook

By Courtney HillJanuary 19, 2024

Roman-Style Egg Drop Soup

This comforting Roman egg-drop soup is inspired by Roman stracciatella—meaning “little rags,” the shape of egg bits dropped into chicken broth, mingling with pasta and umami-rich Parm.

By Rose HattabaughNovember 10, 2022

Carrot-Lime Soup with Cilantro

This colorful, creamy, cream-free carrot soup injects autumnal sweetness with a jolt of spice, lime, and heat.

By Courtney HillJune 11, 2021

Georgian Chicken Soup (Chikhirtma)

This pearly Georgian chicken soup (chikhirtma) is incredibly satisfying to make—while relatively hands-off—with all of the components are built from scratch. OR Adapted from Darra Goldstein, this egg-and-flour-thickened Georgian chicken soup (chikhirt

Polenta Soup with Kale and Parmesan

Soft polenta takes on a brothy quality in our take on comforting polentina alla toscana.

Butter-Braised Tomato Soup

In “The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking,” Marcella Hazan shared her now-famous recipe for a sublimely delicious, remarkably simple sauce made with nothing more than tomatoes, onion and butter. This soup turns that sauce into a light meal. If you

Garlic and Cilantro Soup with Chickpeas (Açorda Alentejana)

This brothy bowl of green—our take on Portuguese açorda alentejana—starts with a sort of jalapeño-cilantro pesto, served with a hefty dose of Parm.

Somali Chicken Soup

This electric Somali-style chicken soup is heaped with fresh, crisp ingredients added at the end and spiked with hot sauce. OR. Warming spices, a cut of lime juice, and broth simmered in a pot-full of browned onions is our prescription for all ailment

By Diane UngerJanuary 8, 2018

Chicken and Orzo Soup with Garlic and Paprika

This bright red chicken and orzo soup gets rich, Turkish-inspired flavor from tomato paste, garlic, sweet paprika, and a touch of dried mint.

By Julia RackowApril 13, 2020

Creamy Pinto Bean and Tomato Soup

According to Mexican food authority Diana Kennedy, there are two types of sopa Tarasca, or Tarascan soup, from the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. One is tortilla-based, the other a bean puree. The latter inspired this satisfying pantry-centric

By Rose HattabaughNovember 11, 2022

Greek White Bean Soup (Fasolada)

Greece’s cold weather soups are designed to taste like a summer garden.

By Diane UngerOctober 8, 2018

Romanian Lettuce Soup with Bacon and Dill

A base of sautéed bacon, garlic and herbs gives this classic Romanian dish richness and depth, while lightly cooked greens keeps the flavors and texture fresh and bright. Our recipe is based on one we learned in Bucharest from chef Marius Tudosiei. He

By Courtney HillOctober 6, 2025

Tuscan Chickpea and Pasta Soup (Striscia coi Ceci)

Gabriele Borgianni, chef/owner at Trattoria Bel Mi’ Colle in Colle Val d'Elsa, Italy, showed us how to cook the Tuscan chickpea and pasta soup called striscia coi ceci, which translates as “strips with chickpeas.” He prefers the taste and texture crea

By Hisham Ali HassanFebruary 26, 2025

Chickpea and Harissa Soup (Lablabi)

Our editorial director J.M. Hirsch calls this spiced chickpea soup “the best soup in the world”—a medley of crunchy croutons, a fragrant broth, and an abundance of toppings.

By Diane UngerDecember 4, 2017

Thai Rice Soup (Khao Tom)

One of our readers’ favorite recipes, this pork soup showcases almost magical layers of aroma and flavor.

By Diane UngerApril 2, 2018

Ancho Chili Soup

Ancho Chili Soup

By Courtney HillOctober 8, 2018

Haejang Guk (Hangover Soup)

My umma’s favorite soup is haejang guk (literally, “hangover soup”), which is funny because she never drinks. It still makes me laugh to think back to my petite little mom taking her kids to a hole-­in-­the-­wall haejang guk place for lunch, surrounde

By Irene YooSeptember 25, 2025

Chicken and Noodle Soup with Turmeric and Dill

Turmeric lends golden hue and earthy spice to this herbal riff on classic chicken noodle soup.

By Diane UngerAugust 10, 2022