9 Creamy, Cozy Soups That Warm You Up Fast on Cold Nights

Thick, rich, and spoon-licking good—these nine creamy soups are everything you want on a chilly day.

By
Leah Colins
A studio portrait of editor Leah Colins.
Leah Colins
Senior Culinary Editor

Leah is the Senior Culinary Editor at Serious Eats, and was previously a recipe developer and editor with America's Test Kitchen for almost 9 years. She has developed recipes for and edited over 20 cookbooks ranging in topic from bread baking to plant-based eating to outdoor grilling and so much more. While there, she also developed recipes and articles for Cooks Illustrated Magazine, Cooks Country Magazine, and ATK's digital platform.Before her life as a recipe developer, she cooked in 5-star and Michelin-starred fine dining establishments from coast to coast such as The Herbfarm and Aubergine Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel; she also treasures her time flipping burgers on flattops in her teenage years, and baking and boxing cookies and pies at a wonderful family-owned German bakery in her early professional life.

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Published December 08, 2025
Overhead view of Baked Potato Soup

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

The minute the air turns even vaguely crisp, my brain flips a switch: Everything must be creamy now. I want big bowls of soup that feel like putting on a soft sweater—thick, cozy, and warming all the way down. This is the season when tomatoes turn velvety, mushrooms get luxuriously silky, and potatoes pull double duty as both comfort and structure. 

Whether I want the clean sweetness of butternut squash, the deep savoriness of a classic corn or clam chowder, or the unapologetic indulgence of broccoli and cheese, creamy soups are my cold-weather love language. Here are nine of our best recipes for when you want something spoon-able, soothing, and sure to get anyone through winter.

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  • Thick and Creamy Tomato Soup

    Overhead view of two bowls of tomato soup with shredded greens on top

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze. Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer

    This tomato soup gets its velvety body not from loads of cream, but from a clever carrot purée that adds sweetness, balance, and a naturally silky texture. The carrots mellow the acidity of canned tomatoes and bring a fresh, bright backbone to every spoonful. A small splash of cream ties it all together, making this a thick, hearty, deeply warming bowl that still tastes vibrant.

  • Quick and Easy Creamy Mushroom Soup

    An orange-brown ceramic bowl holding creamy mushroom soup topped with chopped herbs and drizzled olive oil.

    Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

    This recipe proves that less-than-perfect mushrooms can still make an absolutely stellar soup. Once they’re cooked down and blended, any soft spots or discoloration disappear into a smooth, earthy, ultra-creamy bowl. It’s a no-waste recipe that turns “uh-oh” mushrooms into something downright luxurious.

  • Loaded Baked Potato Soup

    Overhead view of Baked Potato Soup

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This soup captures everything you love about a fully loaded baked potato—silky texture, smoky bacon, and all the classic toppings. It starts with crisping bacon and using the rendered fat to build deep flavor in the aromatics, then simmers potatoes in milk until they’re ready to blend into a velvety base. A few smart techniques ensure an extra-smooth consistency, while crispy potato skins and your favorite fixings bring the full baked-potato experience to each bowl.

  • The Best Potato-Leek Soup

    Potato leek soup

    Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg

    This version of potato-leek soup keeps the ingredient list simple but refuses to compromise on flavor or texture. Gentle sweating coaxes out the leeks’ sweetness, while the potatoes break down into an exceptionally smooth, comforting base. The result is a classic, no-shortcuts soup that tastes richer and more nuanced than you’d ever expect from such humble ingredients.

    Continue to 5 of 9 below

  • Classic Butternut Squash Soup

    A bowl of butternut squash soup on a dish towel. There is a metal spoon in the bowl.

    Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

    Roasting the butternut squash deepens its sweetness and adds rich, caramelized flavor that makes this soup a cold-weather staple. It’s the classic version we all want once the air turns crisp—silky, balanced, and comforting without tipping into dessert territory. After we experimented with bolder spins in the past, this recipe celebrates the pure essence of butternut squash in its most iconic form.

  • New England Clam Chowder

    20130109-clam-chowder-36.jpg
    J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    This is the real-deal New England clam chowder—creamy and rich, but never heavy or gravy-thick. Tender potatoes, salty pork, and sweet, briny clams create the perfect balance of textures, each spoonful dissolving into the next.

  • Chicken Chowder with Potato, Bacon, and Corn

    20121221-234763-Chicken-Chowder-edit.jpg
    Yvonne Ruperti

    This hearty chowder builds incredible depth from a rich homemade chicken stock, plenty of smoky bacon, and a mixture of tender potatoes and corn. Shredded chicken makes it especially satisfying, while just a splash of cream adds smoothness without muting the broth’s flavor. It’s a full-bodied, chunky, cozy bowl that proves chowder doesn’t have to rely too heavily on dairy to be deeply comforting.

  • The Greenest Broccoli Soup

    Green Broccoli, leek and snap pea soup from above on a small woven hot pad, with lemons and a second bowl to the side

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

    This vibrant dairy-free soup gets its shockingly bright color and silky texture by blanching the broccoli in water spiked with baking soda, which boosts the pH and tenderizes the florets before puréeing. A base of leeks, garlic, fish sauce, and bouillon adds surprising depth and savoriness, making the soup taste far richer than it is.

    Continue to 9 of 9 below

  • Broccoli Cheese Soup

    20161008-broccoli-cheddar-soup-25.jpg
    J. Kenji López-Alt

    This ultra-creamy, comforting soup is packed with layered broccoli flavor thanks to charred florets and slowly simmered stems. A potato cooked right in the pot acts as a natural thickener, helping the cheese emulsify smoothly while giving the soup its velvety body.

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