Ina Garten's 6 Best Soup Recipes, Ranked

As the winter season sets in, the craving for a warm, comforting bowl of soup becomes undeniable. For many home cooks, the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, is the ultimate source of culinary inspiration. After exploring her comforting pastas, energizing breakfasts, and delectable desserts, the natural next challenge was to dive into her extensive collection of soup recipes.

With dozens of soup recipes to her name, the task was to test and rank six of her most popular creations by deliciousness. Each recipe offers its own unique take on comfort food, from hearty, vegetable-packed stews to lighter, quicker weeknight meals. While every soup tested was a winner, clear favorites emerged based on flavor, texture, and overall appeal.

The ranking begins with two wholesome, traditional soups that provide plenty of heft and flavor. In sixth place is Garten's winter minestrone soup, featured in her 2012 cookbook Foolproof. Described by Garten as an "incredibly hearty winter soup" that "falls somewhere between a soup and a stew," this recipe is packed with a rainbow of vegetables.

The ingredient list is extensive, featuring:

• Baby spinach and butternut squash
• Celery, carrots, garlic, and onion
• Cannellini beans and pancetta
• Pesto, Parmesan, and fresh thyme

While it requires significant chopping and prep, the result is a commendable effort that brings richness from chopped tomatoes and pancetta, with pops of freshness from spinach and thyme. Rounding out the top five is Garten's Italian wedding soup from her 2008 cookbook Back to Basics. This recipe puts a new twist on the classic by using meatballs made from a mixture of ground chicken and chicken sausage instead of traditional beef or pork.

Garten says using homemade chicken stock "makes all the difference in the world" for this recipe.

The stock infuses the dish with depth, creating a broth that is rich yet light, especially with the added burst of fresh dill.

Moving up the list, the fourth spot is claimed by Garten's chicken chili. This recipe, featured in Barefoot Contessa Parties! from 2001, is a lighter update to the traditional chili she made for 20 years at the specialty food store that launched her career. By swapping ground beef for chicken breasts, she created a dish that became even more popular than the original.

The soup combines tender roasted chicken with red and yellow bell peppers, onion, garlic, and fresh basil. Toppings like green onions, sour cream, and grated cheddar cheese add the perfect finishing touch. One taster noted, "This chili is reminiscent of a chicken tortilla soup, but it's so much heartier!"

Claiming the third spot is one of the quickest recipes in the Barefoot Contessa's repertoire: tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons. Also from Foolproof, this dish is elevated with the addition of orzo, saffron threads, and the ingenious use of grilled cheese croutons. With minimal prep, the entire dish is ready in just 50 minutes.

The grilled cheese croutons are an inspired choice, injecting each spoonful of soup with a salty, gooey blast of cheesiness. The homemade chicken stock helps imbue the broth with so much flavor despite its short cooking time, resulting in a light, rich, and silky texture.

The final two recipes represent the pinnacle of Ina Garten's soup-making prowess. In second place is ravioli en brodo, a rustic recipe from her most recent cookbook, Go-To Dinners. This simple-looking soup is exploding with flavor, featuring homemade chicken stock, fresh or frozen cheese ravioli, carrots, celery, fennel, dill, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese.

The homemade chicken stock is the star, creating a broth that truly tastes like liquid gold—light but silky, rich, and savory. The dill and lemon add a burst of brightness, while the ravioli provides comforting cheesiness. This recipe was so impactful it inspired the tester to start making a huge pot of homemade chicken stock every winter.

Taking the number one spot is Garten's chicken pot pie soup from her 2020 cookbook Modern Comfort Food. Inspired by a dish spotted on an airport menu, Garten worked to perfect a recipe that captured the spirit of pot pie in soup form.

"It was actually harder to make than it sounded — my first few attempts just tasted like chicken pot pie filling, not soup,"

she wrote. The final version hits all the right comforting notes with good chicken stock, roasted chicken, and puff pastry croutons. The soup is filled with carrots, leeks, fennel, garlic, pearl onions, peas, fresh tarragon, and parsley, all brought together with a splash of cream sherry. The puff pastry croutons are an easy, quick addition that soaks up the delicious broth perfectly, making this a go-to dish for comfort and care.

This journey through six of Ina Garten's soup recipes highlights her talent for elevating classic comfort food with thoughtful twists and high-quality ingredients. The ranking demonstrates a range of options for any home cook, from the quick and family-friendly tomato soup to the more involved but deeply rewarding winter minestrone.

A recurring theme across these recipes is the transformative power of homemade chicken stock. Garten consistently emphasizes its importance, and the results speak for themselves, adding unparalleled depth and richness to the broths. Whether seeking a light weeknight meal or a soul-warming dish for a loved one, Ina Garten's soup repertoire offers a proven path to delicious, comforting results.