Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten's 8 Best Soup and Stew Recipes (2024)

Barefoot Contessa’s Ina Garten has the perfect soup recipes to warm your body when the temperature begins to drop. From a delicious wild mushroom and farro to roasted potato leek, you really cannot go wrong choosing from Garten’s stunning array of winter soups. Here are the Food Network star’s eight best soup and stew recipes.

8. Parkers Beef Stew

This hearty dish is sure to brighten even the dullest winter day, at least when lunch or dinner rolls around. For this recipe, you will need a good quality chuck beef, one bottle of red wine, garlic cloves, bay leaves, yellow onions, carrots, white mushrooms, small potatoes, chicken stock, fresh rosemary, frozen peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and some Worcestershire sauce.

The cooking time is a little under three hours, but a batch isenough to serve around six people, giving you plenty of leftovers for the nextday.

7. Onion and Fennel Soup Gratin

Ina Garten takes this classic dish and adds a bit of her owntwist to it. As the Barefoot Contessa star might say, this is anordinary dish “with the volume turned up!”

What’s separates Garten’s version of this classic is the additionof a bubbly Gruyère and somesourdough, toasted (of course). If you think this soup is amazing right out ofthe pot, it is just as good, if not better, the next day.

6. Roasted Potato Leek Soup

Roasted potato leek soup is another classic dish to serve up on achilly winter day. The potatoes and leek combination really brings out thenatural sugars in these vegetables, and this soup definitely packs a ton of flavor.

And in under three hours of prep and cook time, you can makeenough to serve anywhere between six to eight guests.

5. Tomato and Eggplant Soup

There are plenty of ingenious recipes in this list, but Ina Garten’s tomato and eggplant soup is one of her more clever ideas. The Food Network star cooks a huge portion of this soup the first day and then uses any leftovers to make another batch the following day.

If that isn’t ingenious then we do not know what is. For Garten,it is the ultimate two-fer.

“I love a nice two-fer. I make a big batch of something anduse the leftovers to make a second, completely different recipe the next day.This Tomato & Eggplant Soup is a hearty winter lunch, and I use theleftover soup as a sauce for delicious Baked Pasta with Tomatoes and Eggplant.No one will even know they’re eating leftovers!!! The recipes are available onbarefootcontessa.com!#CookLikeaPro” she wrote on Instagram.

4. Chicken Soup

A wintry soup list would not be complete without a classic bowlof chicken soup. But just like other recipes on this list, Ina Garten takesthis traditional dish and adds a new level of comfort.

According to FoodNetwork, what makes Garten’s chicken soup different is the additionof several unique ingredients, like dill, thyme, parsnips, and matzo balls.This recipe will take you a few hours to complete, but it makes enough to feed10 people and it totally worth the effort.

3. Mexican Chicken Soup

Speaking of different types of chicken soup, Garten’s Mexicanchicken soup should be something you keep on hand throughout the year. Thisdelicious dish has just the right amount of spice to warm your heart in anyseason.

With toppings like shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, andtortilla strips, it will definitely become a fan favorite in your home. Evenbetter, it is super easy to make and does not require a lot of cooking time.

2. Coq au Vin

If there is any recipe you try on this list Ina Garten’s Coq au Vin should be the one. Thisis a traditional French soup that, once again, gets updated by Garten in arather unique way.

The prep time for this tasty soup is only 20 minutes, and aftercooking for an hour-and-a-half, you will have a delicious dish that servesthree. This dish is a little tricky to get right the first time, but practicealways makes perfect.

1. Wild Mushroom and Farro Soup

This is one of Garten’s favorite soups in her repertoire and for good reason. The Barefoot Contessa star often serves this dish as the first course for an evening, and she adds in plenty of veggies, pancetta, and Marsala wine.

This warm treat is best with a side of crusty bread, prepared toyour liking. You can also switch things up a little by varying the ingredientsto help find the perfect blend for your taste buds.

Cook along with Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten on the new FoodNetwork app.

Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten's 8 Best Soup and Stew Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to make homemade soup more flavorful? ›

7 Easy Ways to Make Any Soup Better
  1. Brown or Sear the Meat.
  2. Roast the the Veggies.
  3. Mix up the Texture.
  4. Use Homemade Stock Whenever Possible.
  5. Put Your Cheese Rinds to Work.
  6. Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples.
  7. Add Fresh Herbs or Dairy When Serving.
  8. Recipes Pictured.

What makes stew thicker than soup? ›

A stew is a combination of larger-cut ingredients like vegetables, meat, or fish that are just barely covered with cooking liquid, and simmered over low heat for a lengthier period of time. While a stew cooks, the liquid reduces significantly, making it much thicker than your average soup.

What's the difference between stew and vegetable soup? ›

Another way to look at it: Soup is any combination of ingredients cooked in liquid. Stew is any dish that's prepared by stewing—that is, submerging the ingredients with just enough liquid to cook them through at a simmer in a covered pot for a long time.

What is the secret ingredient in soup? ›

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.

How to deepen the flavor of soup? ›

"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.

What is the best thickener for vegetable soup? ›

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

What gives vegetable soup that depth of flavor? ›

Dried herbs and seasonings: homemade seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and dried bay leaves lend flavor to the soup.

How do you make vegetable soup taste better? ›

Depending on your taste pallet, you can boost your soup in a variety of directions. Onion powder, garlic powder, garlic salt, Italian seasonings, Mexican seasonings (or any other cultures). Don't overcook your vegetables, either. They lose their flavor and turn to mush if cooked too long.

Is it better to roast or boil vegetables for soup? ›

By roasting the vegetables you gain flavour that boiling just can't offer. The vegetables caramelize and turn slightly sweet when roasted.

What is a thick soup called? ›

A potage is a category of thick soups, stews, or porridges, in some of which meat and vegetables are boiled together with water until they form a thick mush.

What is the most common thickener for soups, stews, and sauces? ›

Roux (pronounced roo) is a mixture of equal weights (parts) of flour and fat (usually clarified butter; chicken fat, bacon fat, and margarine are also used) cooked over medium heat and stirred constantly. Roux is the most common thickener for sauces and soups.

What should be added to enrich the flavor of the soup? ›

Here are 10 ideas:
  1. Add Fresh Herbs. Take a page from My New Roots author Sarah Britton and turn to herbs whenever you need a simple way to perk up a pot of soup. ...
  2. Add Greens. ...
  3. Add Toasted Nuts. ...
  4. Add Croutons. ...
  5. Add Poached Eggs. ...
  6. Or Something Fishy. ...
  7. Drizzle With Flavored Oil. ...
  8. Or Flavored Cream.
Nov 9, 2016

What ingredients add flavor to soup? ›

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.

What makes homemade soup taste good? ›

Making a delicious soup depends on building flavors as you go along. Aromatics, which include garlic, onion, leeks, carrots and celery, are the basic flavor-building blocks of most soup recipes. Sauteing these vegetables in oil or butter is the first step to boosting your soup's flavor.

What can I add to my vegetable soup to give it more flavor? ›

How to Make the Best Vegetable Soup
  1. 1) Start with the veggies. ...
  2. 2) Add fresh minced garlic, curry powder, and dried thyme. ...
  3. 3) Add canned diced tomatoes with their juices. ...
  4. 4) Almost done—add some vegetable broth, water, and more flavorings. ...
  5. 5) Add chopped fresh greens and finally, some fresh lemon juice.

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