The 12 Best Cookbooks In 2023 For Anyone Who Loves Soup

Every year, we see a plethora of cookbooks hit bookshelves, each catering to a diverse range of culinary interests and passions. From specialized baking books to guides on maximizing the potential of your Instant Pot, there's something for everyone. However, some of the most endearing cookbooks offer a glimpse into the author's heart and home, allowing us to share in the warmth of their dining table.

As we approach the midway point of the year, the selection of mouthwatering cookbooks continues to grow, with many delicious options for soup lovers. Although none of these books exclusively cover soup recipes, they feature an array of tasty soup creations that will surely become cherished additions to your regular menu. These cookbooks draw on inspiration from diverse culinary traditions and the authors' personal experiences. 

From comforting classics to adventurous, modern twists, the soup recipes within these pages will satisfy the curious palate and the nostalgic heart. So, whether you're a seasoned home chef looking for inspiration or a novice eager to delve into the soothing world of soups, these cookbooks offer a treasure trove of delectable recipes to warm your soul and delight your taste buds. 

Life is for celebrating, and that's just what Jocelyn Delk Adams aims to do with her newest cookbook, "Everyday Grand: Soulful Recipes for Celebrating Life's Big and Small Moments." In this beautifully photographed cookbook full of recipes from deep down in your soul, you'll find plenty of options for celebrating the big moments and small ones in your life. And when it comes to making great soup, you may just find your new favorite within these pages.

The Cajun seafood chowder with crispy clams recipe is perfectly warming with just the perfect amount of spice between all of those Creole flavors, andouille sausage, potato, bacon, veggies, and, of course, clams. This recipe is definitely one you won't get sick of. Then, for something so comforting it could only be described as a hug in a bowl: Check out the Need a Hug made with sweet potato and seared scallops. This soup is super smooth and rich in ingredients. The base will get a nice puree, and then to finish out all off, you'll add some seared scallops right on top. We think it would work well as a side dish for your turkey during Thanksgiving.

In her second kosher cookbook, Chanie Apfelbaum offers "Totally Kosher: Tradition with a Twist! 150+ Recipes for the Holidays and Every Day: A Cookbook," which is jam-packed with delicious recipes for kosher kitchens and people who are curious about kosher. Working on the book throughout the pandemic, Apfelbaum faced struggles that can come with working on a project during a global crisis; she even lost her taste and smell for a time due to Covid-19. 

At long last, however, this kosher cookbook has been published and is ready for you to dig into. Like so many of us, Apfelbaum recognizes soup as the ultimate comfort food. The book offers both classic options as well as ones that are a little more adventurous. Right on the cover, you see the glorious corned beef and cabbage ramen full of those classic corned beef and cabbage flavors, made new. This delicious recipe is such a star of the show, it is the cover photos representing the book. 

We spoke with Apfelbaum, who also includes a chestnut latte soup that was inspired by her visit to Paris. She tells us that on a trip with her mom a few years back, they regularly visited a Patisserie to get lattes and pastries. There, she noticed that many of these pastries were filled with chestnut cream. So, she took that information and created a chestnut cream soup with some special ingredients: espresso powder, Frangelico, unsweetened cream, and grated nutmeg.

Craving a culinary adventure that takes your taste buds on a heartwarming journey? Look no further than Kent and Sharon Rollins Lewis' cookbook, "Comfort Food The Cowboy Way: Backyard Favorites, Country Classics, and Stories from a Ranch Cook." This collection of mouthwatering recipes is steeped in rustic charm, offering a delicious array of comforting dishes. From belly-filling delights that evoke fond memories of home to soul-stirring soups and stews that'll leave you longing for more, this cookbook is your one-way ticket to a meal that is sure to satisfy and leave you feeling cozy, which we feel is the definition of comfort food.

Take your chicken soup recipe up a notch by making your own egg noodles from home. The Rollins' recipe for egg noodles is simple and unintimidating, so you'll be able to taste that freshness right in the bowl. Plus, the recipe includes instructions for making a great broth, so you can leave the box to stuff on the grocery shelf. When you're looking for the perfect meal on a cold winter night, the pork posole will surely fit the bill. Between the pork shoulder, tomatillos, and chilies, this one is sure to become a hit in your home. 

Pailin Chongchitnant's second cookbook, "SABAI: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week," is named after a word that means being at ease and calm. While the first cookbook Chongchitnant released offered a lot of information about cooking Thai food at home, this new cookbook helps you make Thai cooking a part of your life.

One of the dishes the cookbook features will help you get a warming meal on the table right in the middle of your crazy week. The chicken wing tom yum soup uses chicken drumlets, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, oyster mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, dried chilies, fish sauce, and some other items to bring it to life. Though jasmine rice is recommended for serving, you can also feature the soup all on its own. This dish is a delicious Thai chicken soup with a bunch of extra flavors to make it unique and memorable. 

The cooking process is quite simple, but the flavors are outstanding. In addition to ultra-brothy soups, the book also offers some curry options, like the quick yellow curry with beef. This recipe simplifies the traditional curry-making process, reducing the time investment from several hours to a more manageable duration suitable for your weeknight meals. By streamlining the steps and offering efficient techniques, this curry recipe ensures even the busiest home chefs can enjoy a flavorful, aromatic dish without compromising on taste or quality.

Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle or plant-based diet can initially seem daunting for many individuals. The prospect of eliminating animal products and finding suitable plant-based alternatives can be overwhelming, particularly when it comes to meal planning and preparation. However, by having an exceptional vegan cookbook as your culinary companion, you can transform those anxiety-inducing meal-planning sessions into enjoyable, delicious, and creative culinary adventures. Michaela Vais' "Simple and Delicious Vegan: 100 Vegan and Gluten-Free Recipes" cookbook has delicious recipes with outstanding photos to help you along every step of the process, including ingredient prep.

One of our favorite things about this cookbook is how many of the recipes for soups focus on highlighting a particular ingredient. For example, there is a lentil stew, potato soup, pinto bean soup, pumpkin soup, and even a mushroom veggie soup. There are also more complex dishes like a creamy pasta soup and Moroccan chickpea stew. We are big fans of the red lentil dahl, which utilizes this Indian staple to make a dish perfect for your weeknight table. It combines lentils, tasty veggies, aromatics, many different seasonings, a little sweetener, veggie frost, and coconut milk to smooth it all out, and you'll serve it with a side of rice. 

If you're on the lookout for a cookbook that combines mouthwatering recipes with health-promoting ingredients, "Foodwise: A Fresh Approach to Nutrition with 100 Delicious Recipes" by Mia Rigden, a board-certified nutritionist and accomplished chef, could quickly become your go-to culinary guide. This exceptional cookbook offers a perfect blend of scrumptious dishes and sound nutritional advice, empowering you to create meals that not only tantalize your taste buds but also contribute to your overall well-being.

Rigden carefully crafts her recipes to infuse your menus with a wealth of nutrition, and we found the soups section of her cookbook to be particularly impressive. Among the many enticing options, three velvety soups stood out, each showcasing a delightful combination of flavors and textures that are as nourishing as they are delicious. One standout is the harissa-spiced acorn squash soup, a vibrant, deep green soup that boasts a rich medley of ingredients, including tender acorn squash, aromatic onions, pungent garlic, savory broth, and a generous dollop of harissa paste for a touch of heat. 

The preparation process is quite straightforward: begin by roasting the squash in the oven to enhance its natural sweetness and soften its texture before adding everything back to the pot to boil. Eventually, everything simmers together gently, allowing everything to meld and harmonize before getting a nice blend to create that smooth, creamy consistency. 

If you own an Instant Pot, you're well aware of the incredible versatility and efficiency this incredible kitchen gadget offers. However, finding unique recipes tailored to the Instant Pot can sometimes prove challenging. If you're seeking a comprehensive resource to help you make the most of your device, look no further than Isaac Murphy's "The Complete Instant Pot Cookbook for Beginners: 1200 Days Simple, Delicious and Comprehensive Recipes to Satisfy All Your Palate Needs." Even seasoned Instant Pot users will discover numerous culinary treasures within its pages. Boasting an impressive collection of 1,200 meticulously crafted recipes, this cookbook ensures that there's something for everyone, regardless of their experience level or culinary preferences.

Within the 61 soup recipes in this cookbook, you will find some classic favorites like Italian vegetable soup or ham-and-potato chowder, but you will also find some nuances. The broccoli and red feta soup is a refreshing and vibrant option perfect for a spring day, and the butternut squash soup may just be the perfect side dish. Even though the recipes are closely packed on each page, the ingredients and step-by-step instructions are spelled out clearly enough that even a beginner Instant Pot user could happily use this cookbook.

Seeing a discrepancy between the western palate and the food she grew up eating, Maya Kaimal aims to educate and influence the tastes of everyday Americans to incorporate more Indian flavors into their daily meals with "Indian Flavor Every Day: Simple Recipes and Smart Techniques to Inspire." Kaimal and her husband even created a unique company to bring great Indian products to grocery stores. You'll find many items with Kaimal's name on the label throughout your local international grocery food aisle. 

With delicious soup options like coconut noodle soup, you'll enjoy the mix of new flavors and more comforting, familiar ones with coconut milk, shallots, jalapeño, and curry. Plus, it gets topped with Tarka to add new depth of flavor to your spices. Golden potato soup with frizzled leeks is a soothing one with creamy potatoes and that delightful addition of leeks to brighten the whole thing up. We're also a big fan of spiced chickpea and vegetable soup, a great mix of bright veggies, and you'll also get protein.

In Brooklyn, you'll find a Taiwanese-American restaurant called Win Son. Josh Ku and Trigg Brown opened this popular spot in 2016. Here, you'll find plenty of flavors that keep people repeatedly coming back. So many so, it inspired a cookbook, titled "Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook," when they partnered with Cathy Erway, an expert in Taiwanese food.

We're loving the niu rou mian recipe with a rich broth and super noodly dish. Though it doesn't take a lot of work to make, it does take a while to prepare. Even still, the dish is worth your time. As a soup lover, you'll especially enjoy the way this introduces Taiwanese flavors to your diet. Plus, the recipes are delicious enough that they may even motivate you to visit the restaurant. If you're interested in getting seasoning sets to ensure you have the exact mix of ingredients, check out the Win Son Taiwanese American Sampler Set from Occo. 

This cookbook explores different ways to love through cooking. Skye McAlpine's "A Table Full of Love: Recipes to Comfort, Seduce, Celebrate & Everything Else In Between" explores food to comfort, seduce, nourish, spoil, and cocoon (a form of self-love). Though most recipes in this cookbook are not soup, there are a few soupy recipes that do stand apart.

Perhaps the biggest one is the recipe for Sue's magical chicken soup. This rather simple but never the less delicious dish is the recipe McAlpine credits for saving her mother's life when, after refusing to eat during cancer treatment, Sue's soup was the first thing that broke her fast and got her eating again. It may have very well saved the life of McAlpine's mom, and it's sure to offer comfort at your table. Though traditional enough, even simple recipes like tomato soup have a little spin to make them new. The deeply comforting tomato soup, for example, includes balsamic vinegar for some tartness and sweetness. 

We know that cooking can connect us to people that join us around the table, but it can also take us on journeys and remind us of our very roots. Maya Feller's "Eating from Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World" offers recipes from around the world with a wide range of flavors.

The sweet potato and leek soup, for example, is inspired by the growing and harvesting of yams in Nigeria. Yams are indeed different from sweet potatoes, but because they can be challenging to find, you'll utilize sweet potatoes for this dish. It also uses rye whiskey, leeks, and delicious seasoning like togarashi, a tasty seasoning often used at the table in Japan. You'll use this unique spicy for some crispy potato skins to top off your blended, smooth soup. For something a little more hearty that also offers a little nip, check out the peanut miso stew for a nice dose of protein. 

In addition to connecting us to different cultures, cooking helps us thoroughly explore and even understand a new culture. "Africana: More than 100 Recipes and Flavors Inspired by a Rich Continent" by Lerato Umah-Shaylor is an exploration of Africa with favorites from the author's childhood as well as newer delicious offerings. Having grown up in Africa, watching her mother make incredible meals for the family and their guests, the author offers this same spirit and hospitality to us as home cooks. 

With a book that explores so many flavors, perhaps it's no surprise that there are two versions of pumpkin pepper soup in this cookbook. You'll find one version with plenty of peppery goodness from Nigerian cuisine and the other brings more of a fragrant soup with saffron from North Africa. Plus, many of the dishes offer ways for you to put delicious meals on the table for a whole lot less. Mafé, for example, is a plant-based recipe with all kinds of heartwarming, comforting, nourishing ingredients.