Soups from around the world are loved for their ingredients, not just a warming bowl to make at home, so let’s take this soup excursion together.
Around The World With 12 Soups To Make At Home
Soups from around the world aren’t just warm bowls of comfort, they’re a celebration of flavors, cultures and ingredients you can enjoy with at home.
From the seafood-rich coastlines of Brazil to the hearty kitchens of Greece and the rustic villages of Italy, this is your passport to global soup recipes you’ll want to make all year long.
Why We Love Soups From Around The World
Comforting soups are often the highlight of Fall and Winter, but internationally inspired recipes bring flavor and excitement to the table no matter the season.
In this global soup roundup, I’m sharing the chowders, broths, and hearty stews I’ve made for friends, family, and even television segments, each one packed with flavors that tell a story.
Whether you’re craving a rich and creamy chowder from the East Coast, a spicy bean soup from Latin America, or a restorative wellness broth from the Mediterranean, these recipes are proof that soup is more than a meal, it’s an experience.
A Spoonful Of Comfort To Make At Home
In our world of travel and love for ethnic cuisines, soup is definitely a comforting bowl everyone loves, whether you live in a hot or cold climate when making it.
Get out your pots and ladles, favorite cups or bowls, turn on music from the various regions my recipes come from, and let’s indulge in any one of these 12 soup recipes from around the world.
Best International Soups In This Collection
- Brazilian Seafood Chowder
- Mediterranean Oxtail Soup
- American Leftover Thanksgiving Soup
- Latin Black or White Bean Soup
- Greek Turkey Soup
- Italian Chicken Soup
- East Coast Oyster Chowder
- Immune Boost Onion Soup
- Worldly Wellness Chicken Soup – while chicken soup has come to be known as Jewish Penicillin, it’s actually rooted in ancient China and Greece, so allow me share my rendition of a worldly wellness chicken soup recipe you are sure to love.
- Japanese Buckwheat Noodle Soup
- American Butternut Soup
- New Year’s Day Carrot Lentil Soup
The Basics Of A Great Homemade Soup Starts With The Broth
Let’s be honest about soup, the broth sets the stage! No matter how good your vegetables, meat, seafood or noodles are, if the broth is bland, the soup falls flat.
A well-made broth layers flavors, savory, aromatic, sometimes subtly sweet or earthy, so every bite carries depth.
In our kitchen we like to keep a collection of broths tucked in the freezer when possible; bone broth, seafood stock, and a vegetable base made from a mirepoix.
With just a little forethought, leftovers can easily contribute to the making of broth you will want for soups and stews.
Bone Broth For A Great Soup
Whether it’s leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, a few oxtails, or simply some chicken bones, Bone Broth provides the most amount of collagen you can extract from any other food source.
A good way to create your own bone broth with flavors you prefer, is to simply get that pot boiling on top the stove and start tossing bones, herbs and spices into the pot.
Once strained, divide the cooled broth into jars to tuck away into the freezer for a busy work week, or a stay-at-home snowy day.
Seafood Stock For Our Favorite Chowders
The best Seafood Stock for soups and chowder, is made out of trash; fishbones, shrimp, crab, oyster and clam shells!
Toss in there some veggies, herbs and spices to deepen the flavors, and bring a creamy texture to the stock with coconut milk or a spoonful of mashed potatoes!
Why buy a flavorless carton of stock or broth from the grocery store, or a sodium overload bouillon, when you can cook like a professional chef and be frugal at the same time.
The World In A Bowl Of Soup
Soup is one of the most universal comfort foods in the world. Whether it’s a steaming bowl on a snowy day or a creamy coconut based broth enjoyed in tropical climates, soup nourishes more than just the body, it warms the heart.
We love soups because:
- They bring comfort – From childhood chicken soup to a hearty winter chowder, soups carry memories of home, care, and tradition.
- They tell cultural stories – Every country has its own signature soups, each shaped by local ingredients and history.
- They are nourishing and versatile – Packed with vegetables, proteins, herbs, and spices, soups can be light and restorative or rich and indulgent.
- They adapt to every season – Think chilled Cucumber Soup in summer, creamy butternut squash soup in winter, or spicy bean soups year-round.
- They’re an easy way to explore new flavors – Making a soup from another culture is like traveling without leaving your kitchen.
When a pot of soup simmers, it fills the air with aromas that promise warmth, flavor, and connection, something our busy world can always use more of. So let’s get started!
Brazilian Seafood Chowder
What’s not to love about a Brazilian Seafood Chowder, a coconut milk–based chowder brimming with fresh seafood, peppers, tomatoes, and a hint of lime. This recipe is the authentic moqueca of Brazil, I know because I lived there!
For me, no other seafood stew, chowder or soup ever compared to the seafood of Maryland, from the brackish waters of my hometown.
Then I went to live in Brazil for three years and indulged in the abundant sweet, fat shrimp of the coastal areas around Bahia and João Pessoa.
Moqueca was the first Brazilian seafood stew recipe I encountered, known as ‘moqueca de camaroes’ – stew of shrimp.
Once I tasted it, I had to know how to utilize the ingredients of North America and make them taste as though from the Brazilian markets I frequented and adored.
Mediterranean Oxtail Soup
This slow-simmered Mediterranean Oxtail Soup with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs for a rich broth straight from a Mediterranean countryside kitchen, cooks itself while you are busy about, and ready for you when mealtime gathers around the table.
Oxtail is exactly that; beef tails from the tail of the cow (once called ox), and wow does it make for a fabulous beef stock!
Although making bone broth, from any cut of meat, doesn’t have the high count of protein in it, it does have the flavor that gets released from the bone, cartilage, fat and marrow.
Adding a little beer to this broth offers the grain and hop salty-ish flavor that beer brings to a meat broth.
American Leftover Thanksgiving Soup
You know we Americans always have leftovers from this celebratory meal and so I am sure you are going to want this Leftover Thanksgiving Soup recipe, with all the flavors of Thanksgiving in one bite.
Why don’t we eat turkey and turkey soup all year?
It seems that the most popular day to make a turkey soup, is the day after Thanksgiving, and I’m right there with everyone else!
Undoubtedly, that big ole roasted turkey has the perfect jus, bones and tender meat, from hours of roasting in a hot oven.
And BTW, this recipe got thousands of hits the day after Thanksgiving on my YouTube Channel Whisk and Dine!
Latin Black or White Bean Soups
These two Black or White Bean Soups with their earthy flavors are protein-packed, and deeply seasoned with cumin, garlic, and fresh cilantro, and finished with a squeeze of lime.
Soups served during ‘game-day’ season require something for everyone, so I decided Yin and Yang was going to be my approach to some hearty good eats.
Spicy hot Black Bean Soup – Yang, and a delicate flavored White Bean and chicken soup – Yin. You are sure to love either of these if you enjoy a hearty bean soup!
Greek Avgolemono Turkey Soup
The tangy yet creamy flavor of Avgolemono Turkey Soup comes from the traditional Greek technique of making a creamy sauce with lemons and tempered eggs from a hot and rich soup broth made from either turkey or chicken.
While soup is a hearty go-to in the winter here in America, let’s borrow the flavors of traditional Greek cooking.
Avgolemono is a sauce, unlike any other, that imparts a creamy texture and appearance to sauces and broth, yet without dairy.
Italian Chicken Pasta Soup
Yes Italians eat more than just meatballs and so you will want this luscious Italian Chicken Soup recipe in your repertoire of chicken soups, as it is rustic and hearty with fresh vegetables, herbs, and pasta. Truly Italian nonna comfort in a bowl.
What a perfect hearty soup, simply because it is loaded with flavor and won’t leave you hungry! Nearly every Italian chicken soup recipe I’ve ever seen has some sort of pasta in it.
You can choose the pasta cut you prefer, have on hand, or perhaps make your own egg pasta or Garganelli pasta; made fast with a pasta roller.
East Coast Oyster Chowder
A tradition along the east coast of America is this Oyster Chowder, briny, creamy, and filled with fresh oysters, potatoes, and just the right seasoning.
Maryland Oyster Liquor Oyster Chowder is the most refined recipe for an Oyster chowder using the liquor from peak season Oysters.
Having grown up in Maryland alongside the Chesapeake Bay, I can tell you that the best Oyster chowder recipe you will ever make, is this one right here!
Immune Boost Vegetable Onion Soup
This Immune Boost Vegetable Onion Soup with caramelized onions in a nourishing broth, is packed with antioxidants and probiotics for cold-season wellness.
A wellness soup that is slow simmered in natural medicinal properties from onion, turmeric, ginger, fresh herbs and mushrooms.
Who knew those tear jerking onions could be a dominant source in health benefits, regulating blood sugar levels, loaded with antioxidants and oddly enough prebiotics providing fuel for beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Worldly Wellness Chicken Soup
While chicken soup has come to be known as Jewish Penicillin, it’s actually rooted in ancient China and Greece, so let me share my rendition of a worldly Wellness Chicken Soup recipe you are sure to love.
An immune wellness soup, extracting its antioxidants from garlic, mushrooms, onions, chilies and kale along with chicken meat, for the perfect wellness soup.
There we are, rolling along enjoying the crisp air of Autumn, while heading into the holiday season, and without warning, sore throat hits, announcing other ailments that are soon to follow.
What do we do the moment that happens? Think halloween, with a large cauldron of secret ingredients boiling on top the stove, and you are definitely already on the road to recovery!
Japanese Buckwheat Noodle Soup
This Japanese-inspired soba noodle dish, is my favorite Buckwheat Noodle Soup, a healthy vegan dish that gets its zing from ginger, garlic, lemon and sesame oil for a rich umami flavor, while filling the tummy with nutrient rich carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.
Most noodles take about 12-minutes to cook, in a second pot. But a healthier, gluten-free noodle cooks in half the time and can be added directly to the soup.
These sweet potato buckwheat noodles are not just flour and water, like most noodles, but have a slightly sweet flavor and protein rich buckwheat.
While we might think of buckwheat as a grain, it is in fact a seed harvested from a flowering plant related to rhubarb.
American Butternut Soup
Don’t let this velvety smooth coconut milk Butternut Squash Soup fool you, it’s flavor rich with garam masala, chili’s, turmeric, ginger and tahini, a seasonal celebration of autumn’s harvest.
Squash soups can often times be very bland, simply because most types of squash – pumpkin, butternut, acorn, – are very mild in flavor.
They depend on the added ingredients to bring alive the palate when made into a soup.
Richness in a soup usually depends on the fat that was used; olive oil, butter or animal fat.
This soup, however derives is fatty richness from coconut milk and the natural oil in sesame seeds, found in the tahini.
New Year’s Day Carrot Lentil Soup
No better way to start off the New Year than with this Carrot Ginger Red Lentil Bisque Soup, a bright, nutrient-rich soup that symbolizes prosperity and health for the year ahead.
Sometimes, we just want to eat clean, light and healthy. This is often true after we have over indulged in great food, drink and celebration after the long holiday season.
Not to forget the importance of strengthening our immune system as we enter the cold winter season.
A hot bowl of this ginger carrot red lentil soup is the perfect solution for times such as this.
Tips For Making International Soups At Home
- Use authentic spices – sourcing the right seasonings makes all the difference.
- Choose seasonal produce for the freshest, most flavorful results.
- Play with toppings – fresh herbs, citrus zest, or a drizzle of infused oil can transform a simple bowl.
Final Ladle Of Inspiration
Soup is one of the easiest ways to bring the flavors of the world into your kitchen. Whether you’re cooking for comfort, wellness, or culinary adventure, these 12 soup recipes will warm more than just your hands, they’ll warm your heart.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.