33 Cheap and Easy Soup Recipes | Orison Orchards (2024)

Are you looking for some cheap and easy soup recipes? Look no further!

You’re going to want to pin these fantastic recipes for later!

Soupis probably my families all-time favorite meal. I love that soup is incredibly easy to make, extremely inexpensive, and that it’s so nourishing and comforting! I also love that I can always make it ahead in my crockpot, for busy days when we’re all running around right up until dinner time. And my family loves all the delicious variety!

There are so many different varieties that we eat soup on a regular basis in our home all through the fall and winter, and we never grow tired of it. I usually serve it with bread or rolls to round out our meal and to really satiate my teenage boys, who seem to be bottomless pits of hunger! Homemade rolls or bread add only a few pennies per serving.

You can save even more time and money by making an extra large pot of soup and sending leftovers in thermos jugs for lunches the next day. Or make a double batch and freeze half of it for a crazy day, so you won’t be tempted to pick up takeout on the way home from work.

Soups are so easy to alter to your taste, budget and make them allergy friendly. I eat gluten-free and sugar-free to keep my autoimmune illness (hashimotos) in check. I don’t have the energy or desire to make separate meals for my family and for myself, but that’s no problem when I’m serving soup. I can always just take out a portion for myself before adding pasta, or I can just substitute a gluten-free thickener. That’s the beauty of homemade soup!

When we were young college students living on less than $10k a year, I made soupseveral times a weekand I made all of that soup meatless because our grocery budget was less than $100 a month for our family of four. Cheap and easy soup recipes really saved our finances during that lean time!

Luckily, our budget is nowhere near that tight now, but I still cook from scratch and we still eat a lot of soup, because I understand the power of budgeting. The less I spend on groceries, the more I can divert to my travel budget!

It really is amazing how much money you can save by eating at home and cooking from scratch. Cheap and easy soup recipes are the very biggest budget and time savers.

Here’s a quick assignment for you. Multiply the number of people in your family times ten, which is about what a cheap restaurant meal costs (if you don’t order a beverage, appetizer or dessert). Mutliply that by 90, which is approximately how many meals you eat each month. That is a low estimate of what it would cost you to to eat all of your meals out for a whole month — it doesn’t include snacks or extras or tips or anything. Crazy, huh?

Now multiply the number of people in your family times 90. That’s how much your grocery budget could be if you stick to meals that are less than $1 per serving. Yes, it’s ten times less than eating out! And that’s a conservative estimate.

Honestly, I regularly feed my family of 10 for less than $500 per month, and you’d be amazed at how well we eat.

Over half of these cheap and easy soup recipes cost less than 50 cents per serving.That should give you an idea of how much (or little) you could be spending on groceries, and a goal to shoot for.

Read: 15 Meals You Can Make for Pennies

To help you reduce your own grocery expenses I’ve assembled this list of 33 cheap and easy soup recipes from other bloggers. They each cost less than $1 per serving. Feed your family one of these nourishing, inexpensive soups once or twice a week, and I promise it will really help reduce your grocery budget.

Minestrone Soup (Orison Orchards) less than 68 cents a serving

Chicken Noodle Soup (Orison Orchards) less than 54 cents a serving

FAQs

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.

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What was Julia Child's favorite soup? ›

Let's test her vichyssoise recipe to find out! Soup was one of Julia Child's favorite things to eat, and reportedly, her absolute favorite was vichyssoise.

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Is it cheaper to make or buy soup? ›

And even though canned soup is relatively inexpensive, you can cut your cost in half by making it yourself. Here is a simple vegetable soup recipe that makes up to 6 servings. It involves very little measuring, the ingredients cost around $5.00, and you can have it on the table in less than 30 minutes.

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What makes a bowl of soup more flavorful? ›

"Ground paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, ground ginger, and other powdered spices add a touch of color and spiciness to broths," she says. As a general rule, use fresh herbs at or near the end of cooking and dried herbs and spices early on. This helps you get the flavors you're looking for in the right balance.

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What does adding vinegar to soup do? ›

As well as adding flavor, vinegar can preserve food, improve the appearance of a dish, and even fill in for missing ingredients. For example, if you've run out of fresh lemon or lime, you can always use ½ teaspoon of vinegar in place of a teaspoon of citrus juice for that flavorsome tang!

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What did Julia Child eat for breakfast? ›

Child -- put me and them at ease with her genuine friendliness and zest for living. She ordered a hearty breakfast -- grapefruit half, plain yogurt, fried egg, 2 strips bacon, toast with butter and preserves, orange juice, and coffee with milk -- and ate most of it despite constant interruptions.

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What did Julia Child have for her last meal? ›

Child's last meal of French onion soup was actually prepared by someone else; though, The Los Angeles Times reported when the news of her death broke. Though Child was in her own home when it happened, her assistant Stephanie Hersh was the one who had cooked the French onion soup.

What not to put in soup? ›

The Worst Things to Put in Your Soup

By Sara Butler. If there's one good thing about fall and winter, it's soup. ...
Heavy Cream. Heavy cream creates an inviting texture for soups but that's where its positive contributions end. ...
Juice. ...
Turkey Bacon. ...
Cheese. ...
Croutons.

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What is the most important ingredient in soup? ›

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.

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How to deepen the flavor of soup? ›

Vinegar – A spoonful of vinegar is a quick fix when you find yourself with a bowl of dull, flat-tasting soup. Just a small amount of acid will brighten up the flavors. 2. Soy Sauce – Soy sauce is another item that's ideal for brightening up and adding depth of flavor to an otherwise dull soup.

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What is the most significant ingredient of a soup? ›

Great broth — Most soups are anchored by a stock or broth, and one with depth of flavor (not just a lot of salt) is key. Buy a quality one, or simmer up a batch of your own. Try an easy chicken or mushroom broth, or our versatile Homemade Vegetable Broth opens in a new tab.

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What to add to soup for more flavor? ›

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

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.

What gives vegetable soup that depth of flavor? ›

Tips for Flavorful Vegetable Soup

Flavor the base: We add Italian seasoning and tomato paste to the aromatics and warm them up to bring the seasonings back to life. You could use fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary, or even add a Parmesan rind for more flavor.

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