The Unexpected Soup Upgrade For An Instantly Better Meal

Soup is more than just food; it's also comfort and warmth all gathered in a steaming hot bowl of broth and veggies. As the temperature drops, it becomes even more of a mealtime essential. With homeliness woven into its very essence, this beloved dish is open to all kinds of personal touches. Almost anything you have sitting in the fridge can be thrown into the pot and simmered to perfection. It doesn't need to be complicated; sometimes, the most delightful upgrades can come from unexpected places. Take stuffing, for example — yes, the holiday side dish you only think about once a year. Not only is it good for bulking up your soup, but it's also the secret to flavors spectacular beyond imagination.

Stuffings, whether homemade or store-bought, all offer a world of gorgeous flavors and textures. Loaded with bread, butter, herbs, and bold spices, they carry a savory richness that can make even the blandest soup exciting. The stuffing does more than just float around in your soup; it absorbs the liquidy broth and breaks down a bit during the cooking process. The result is a velvety consistency that's undoubtedly much more satisfying. Whatever's left that doesn't melt away, helps thicken the overall soup and give it a filling quality — a quick and easy shortcut to turning your simple side soup into a hearty main course.

Following a big feast from Thanksgiving or other holiday celebrations, a soup put together from the leftovers is one of the best ways to make the most of the uneaten food. Not just the stuffing, but you've also got the turkey meat and roasted vegetables, and guess what? You can even amp up the richness of your soups with a little leftover gravy.

The soup potential only expands from there, as the stuffing can also be added to almost any soup recipe you have in mind. A hearty minestrone soup loaded not only with vegetables but also a generous serving of stuffing is quite a treat. On its own, a vegetable dumpling soup is already good enough, but toss in some stuffing and you've got the epitome of comfort and convenience. The same goes for wonton soup, noodle soup, and other varieties of the classic carb, meat, vegetables, and soothing broth combo.

Then there's also the creamy soup category. Adding stuffing to an umami-rich cream of mushroom soup or a clam chowder is a surefire way to give these familiar dishes an unexpected element. Those who like a bit of heat in their soup will appreciate a mulligatawny soup and how well the stuffing mingles with the curry base. Taking things just a step further, you can mix the stuffing with a creamy soup base (a creamy chicken spinach soup for example), add a few other essentials, and make a chicken stuffing bake.