Soup meals that are crowd pleasers

[gratefulmother]

We always have a New Year's Day party where we have lunch for a large group of adults and children. This year we are doing 3-4 different types of soups. Does anyone have any suggestions of kinds of soup that they have served that lots of people like. My husband and I are pretty adventurous eaters, so sometimes what we like is not necessarily something a lot of people are crazy about. Don't worry abt taking the time to include recipes, unless you think it is a recipe I can't find anywhere. I just need some ideas of crowd pleasers. I guess I will serve it from the stove with the heat on low to keep it warm? Not exactly sure the best way to do it. Thanks for the advice!

[Snickerdoodle]

You know, I think all kinds of soup are nice when there is shredded cheese or creme fraiche to put on top. Have you thought about that as a way to jazz up a "boring" soup. That said, what about a white chicken chili soup? I bet if you google around you'll find tons of recipes for it.

 

(I use quotes because I could never think soup was boring. I lurve soup.)

[kewb]

Around here crowd pleaser soups for our less adventurous friends are:

New England Clam Chowder

Roasted Tomato

Corn Chowder

Ministrone

Vegetable

Pea Soup

[klmama]

Cheesy broccoli soup is always a hit! Also, chili. Beef stew. Taco soup (ground beef, corn, tomatoes, cheesy broth, and salsa/jalapenos). The old standby homemade chicken soup - not many make it from scratch anymore, and it is SOOOOO good!

[OnTheBrink]

I've made this for church a lot and it's always a crowd pleaser:

 

Title: Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli

Yield: 8 Servings

 

Ingredients

 

1 Pound ground beef

1 Small onion; diced (1 cup)

1 Large carrot; julienned (1

-cup)

3 Stalks celery; chopped (1

-cup)

2 Cloves garlic; minced

2 14.5-Oz Cans diced tomatoes

1 15-Oz Can red kidney beans;

-(with liquid)

1 15-Oz Can great northern

-beans; (with liquid)

1 15-Oz Can tomato sauce

1 12-Oz Can V-8 juice

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

1 1/2 Teaspoons salt

1 Teaspoon oregano

1 Teaspoon basil

1/2 Teaspoon pepper

1/2 Teaspoon thyme

1/2 Pound (1/2 pkg.) ditali

-pasta

 

Instructions

 

It's amazing how many lousy clones for this delicious chili-like soup from

Olive Garden are floating around on the Web. Some are shared on message

boards, others are displayed on sites in a collection of "actual restaurant

recipes" (yeah, right!). But they all leave out obvious ingredients you can

see, like the carrots, ground beef, or two kinds of beans. Others don't get

the pasta right -- it's obviously ditali pasta (short little tubes). Then

there's the recipe that really squeezed the seeds from my gourd -- one

that's floating around in MasterCook format that lists "Top Secret Recipes"

as the source. But, wait a minute! I've never before created a clone for

this dish -- not here on the site, and not in any book. So, after logging

some time over a chopping block, an open flame, and a couple tasty glasses

of Merlot, out popped this puppy. And this is the one, kitchen cloners! If

you want the taste of Pasta e Fagioli at home, this is the only recipe that

will fool in a side-by-side taste test. Accept no other imitation

imitation!

 

1. Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain

off most of the fat.

 

2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute‚ for 10 minutes.

 

3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.

 

4. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts

of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is

al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.

 

5. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and

serve.

 

ETA: This does very well in a crock pot. Simmer everything as the directions say, but then just combine it in the crock pot on High until bubbly, then turn the pot down. I do it this way all the time.

[Julie in CA]

One of the first to go is always Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice.

It is good :drool5:, very hearty, and liked by almost everyone including the not-so-adventurous.

[Brigitte]

Amy in Va.'s Crockpot Taco Soup

 

It is easy and yummy (esp. with sour cream and shredded cheddar).

[riada]

Taco soup is always a big crowd pleaser around here. We make multiple batches and freeze some for later.

[Happy]

I love this recipe. It is a crowd pleaser!

 

Happy's Tortilla Soup

 

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz. can of chopped green chilies

1 can beef broth

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 ½ cups water

1 tsp steak sauce, (Heintz 57, A-1, etc.)

2 tsp worchestershire sauce

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

¼ tsp pepper

1 can stewed diced tomatoes

 

Corn tortillas, grated cheese, avocado, sour cream

 

Saute onion and garlic in veg oil in a large pan. Add all other ingredients through tomatoes and simmer. Just before serving, slice corn tortillas into 1/3 inch strips and fry in hot oil. Drain and salt slightly. Cut up avocado.

 

To serve: put a few strips of tortilla in bottom of bowl. Ladle soup into bowl. Top with avocado, grated cheese and sour cream.

 

The soup doubles and triples well. It is even better the second day. Freezes well.

 

I simmer in a crock pot most of the time.

 

 

I also posted a cheesy recipe on my blog a few days ago. It is a great soup for a crowd, too. Link in my sig. Scroll back three or four days.

[KJB]

seafood stew is our tradition for Christmas Eve after mass.

[Ottakee]

We did a soup bar for a wedding shower that was a hit.

 

You make a basic vegetarian broth (I have a recipe if you need one) and then put out bowls with:

ham

chopped cooked chicken

bacon

cheese

various veggies

rice

noodles

sour cream

basically whatever would go well in a soup

[*********]

We did a soup bar for a wedding shower that was a hit.

 

You make a basic vegetarian broth (I have a recipe if you need one) and then put out bowls with:

ham

chopped cooked chicken

bacon

cheese

various veggies

rice

noodles

sour cream

basically whatever would go well in a soup

 

Hey, what a neat idea, I've never even heard of this before! I will be using this soon when we host our home fellowship. Thanks for the great idea!

[Ottakee]

Here is the recipe

 

4 cups chicken or veggie broth

2 cans (14.5oz. each) stewed tomoatoes (I would use diced instead or cut the tomatoes up some)

1 t chili powder

1 t garlic powder

 

We then set out:

shredded cheese

sour cream

chopped cooked broccoli

chopped cooked carrots

cooked peas

cooked corn

bacon

diced chicken

ham

fresh mushrooms

cooked small pasta

cooked rice

 

We had various ladies bring 1 or 2 things for the soup so it was not a burden on any one person. We just made the broth in crock pots.

[gratefulmother]

Thanks so much ladies! Great ideas! We are going to have fun trying out recipes!

[JenniferB]

One year I made Tomato Bisque for a Mother's Day luncheon. It was very popular. I don't have the recipe, but I'm sure you can find one on Allrecipes.com. If you make it the night before, make sure you re-heat it by bringing the temperature up slowly.

[mom2abcd]

One of the first to go is always Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice.

It is good :drool5:, very hearty, and liked by almost everyone including the not-so-adventurous.

 

Sounds great! Would you post the recipe please?

[jojomojo]

The day after Thanksgiving we were planning to have my husbands parents and 2 of his siblings over, so we grabbed an easy peasy bag of Three Bean from the freezer to thaw. An hour later, that turned into having 13 people over lol So we grabbed two more bags of Three Bean to thaw. We made sandwhiches too to stretch it a bit further. It was a big hit! I just finished typing it up to email to those who asked for it...

 

Three Bean Soup

 

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, diced

3 C. water

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp pepper

1 can (15 oz) kidney beans

1 can (15 oz) black eyed peas

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1 can (15 oz) corn

1 C. chopped carrots

1 C. chopped zucchini or celery (or both)

1 med. onion, chopped

 

As far as veggies go, use fresh or canned and omit or add to suit your taste.

 

Combine first 12 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes more.

 

We usually make this in huge batches and freeze in gallon ziplocs (or quart size for easy lunches).