Tasting Table Asks: What Is Your Go-To Cozy Soup? — Exclusive Survey

When the weather gets cold, it's time to get cooking. On brisk mornings, dark evenings, and just blah-inducing days, there's no better place to be than the kitchen. You can whip up cozy drinks, like creamy hot chocolate. Or, opt for a slow-cooked batch of minestrone that will make your house smell inviting. Cold-weather cooking is practically its own culinary genre, in which the name of the game is hot food, often intended to evoke a warm feeling.

One especially effective cozy dish is soup. According to CNN, every culture has its own soup that offers a dose of comfort. Options range from Ukrainian borscht to United States gumbo to Japanese ramen. Across cultures, soup is often considered a culinary antidote to sniffles and colds.

A recent Tasting Table survey asked 588 people about their go-to cozy soup. Soup options run the gamut, so we narrowed it down to six. Of the options presented, however, one particular variation won out. This soup is an American classic and an all-encompassing meal perfect for every cold-weather occasion.

Chicken noodle fans accounted for over one-third of the vote — 35.71% of surveyed people favored this cozy concoction. Chicken noodle soup is an easy recipe for impending fall and winter weather. Often used as a cold remedy, chicken soup warms up sore throats and can help with congestion.

However, chicken noodle soup is more effective when homemade than canned, and it's best to add vegetables toward the end of the cooking process to maximize their nutritional benefits (via Discover Magazine). According to BBC Good Food, chicken soup provides healthy, easy-to-consume calories, making it the perfect pick-me-up.

Following chicken noodle soup was a creamier cold-day essential. Broccoli cheddar soup received 100 votes, with 17.01% of the total.

Trailing slightly behind, both French onion and tomato soups were equally preferred. French onion edged out tomato soup by one vote, receiving 82 votes compared to tomato soup's 81. As for percentages, French onion received 13.95% of the favor, while tomato soup received 13.78%.

This even playing field isn't surprising. Tomato soup and French onion soup pair well with cheese and bread. Grilled cheese and tomato soup are a dynamic duo, while baguettes wonderfully complement French onion's layer of cheese.

Next up was wonton, which received 58 votes. Similarly, 57 people favored pho. Both of these broth-based soups accounted for 9.86% of the vote and 9.69%, respectively. They make equally delicious dishes, capable of turning the bleakest days into something infinitely cozier.