20 Delicious Frugal Soup Recipes
It's easier than you think to find delicious budget-friendly soup recipes.
Soups are so delicious and versatile, and we're especially excited to share these frugal soup recipes with you!
Not only can you load tons of flavor and nutrition into a soup, but you can easily craft a recipe that is budget-friendly as well. Low-cost ingredients like beans, ground meat, and root vegetables make amazing soup ingredients. The long cook time for many soups allows these ingredients to become rich, texturally beautiful, and flavorful.
Soups are also great because they can be healthy food or comfort food, and they're often both at the same time!
It's easy to pack tons of veggies -- fresh or frozen -- into a soup recipe. Carrots become sweet and delicious when stewed with chicken and noodles. Kale becomes soft and vibrant when simmered with white beans and Parmesan rind. There are endless ways to whip up a healthy frugal soup recipe that's totally comforting and tastes amazing.
And, of course, we're also sharing some not-so-healthy recipes that are still delicious and low cost. We're talking creamy potato soup and broccoli cheese soup. They might not be dishes you should eat every day, but they make amazing weekend or special occasion comfort food.
Without further ado, scroll down to find some of our favorite cheap soup recipes.
Hungry Man's Frugal Hamburger Soup
Test Kitchen Recipe! This delicious hamburger soup will warm you up when the weather gets chilly, and it's also really affordable to make. It's packed with hearty ingredients that the whole family will love!
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Old-Fashioned Potato Leek Soup
Test Kitchen Recipe! Who doesn't love potato soup? It's comforting, absolutely scrumptious, and the ingredients are so cheap! We love this version, which uses leeks to provide plenty of rich, earthy flavor. Bread bowl is optional!
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Meatball Sub Soup
Test Kitchen Recipe! This delicious soup recipe is made using homemade meatballs, so you know it's going to taste amazing. Luckily, our recipe is also super simple to make. You don't have to worry about spending hours in the kitchen for this recipe. Just a few simple (and low-cost) ingredients are all you need to make a cozy dish that the whole family will love.
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Stuffed Pepper Soup
Test Kitchen Recipe! If you're a fan of stuffed peppers, then you've got to give this frugal soup recipe a try. It's brimming with summer veggie flavors, and yet it's delicious enough to serve all year round.
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Cabbage Roll Soup
This fantastic recipe is inspired by cabbage rolls, which are a classic comfort food. Cabbage rolls are also a classic budget-friendly meal, because the main ingredient can often be found for just pennies per pound. So, this recipe takes all the best part of this five-star classic dinner and transforms it into a soup that is easy to make and absolutely scrumptious.
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Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
Of course, we had to include a recipe for bean soup on this list! Beans are such a great budget-friendly ingredient, and they make an amazing base for soup. Their silky, starchy texture blends perfectly with savory soup flavors. This slow cooker recipe is bound to be a new favorite at your house.
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Kale Bean Soup
Kale is another budget-friendy ingredient that's delicious in soup. This hearty green stands up well to wilting in a big pot of soup, and it adds tons of flavor and nutrition to the dish. We love all of the flavors in this recipe, including the secret ingredient that transforms this dinner from ordinary to extraordinary.
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The Best One Pot Easy Lentil Soup
Lentils are another great affordable food item that we're excited to highlight in this list. If you're a fan of split pea soup, then you've got to try this fantastic lentil soup with bacon, carrots, and more. It's so good!
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Better Than Panera Autumn Squash Soup
This is one of our favorite cheap soup recipes, partly because it looks as good as it tastes! The sunny color of this soup recipe of course comes from butternut squash and pumpkin, which are both very budget-friendly ingredients.
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Farm Fresh Broccoli Cheese Soup
Broccoli cheese soup is a classic for a reason, and we're excited to share the delicious farm fresh version! This soup is packed full of nutritious and affordable veggies, and yet the generous amount of Cheddar cheese ensures that this dish is absolutely indulgent and delicious. We like to serve soups like this with a side of crusty bread so that you can easily scoop up every last bite.
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Chicken Noodle Soup
Here's another classic soup recipe that's also actually easy on your wallet! This soup is made from store-bought rotisserie chicken, which you can find at Costco or your favorite grocery store. We love this time-saving shortcut, especially because the finished soup is so terrific. It's brimming with homestyle flavor.
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Easy White Bean Chicken Chili
When the weather turns colder, we always get a craving for chili. And this white bean chili is an absolute must-make! It's loaded with beans and veggies, with just enough rich ingredients like rotisserie chicken and cheese to make it totally satisfying. You can also make this budget-friendly soup in about an hour, which is a real win.
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Slow Cooker Chili With Salsa
This traditional chili recipe has a genius twist! It uses a special secret ingredient to pack in tons of flavor while minimizing prep time and cost. Check out the recipe to see it for yourself.
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Copycat Applebee's Chicken Tortilla Soup
Eating at home instead of going out can be a great way to save money. So, when you've got a craving for a restaurant soup recipe, try making your own version at home! You can get started with this delicious copycat chicken tortilla soup recipe. It's got tons of fresh flavor, and it's actually very easy to make.
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Hamburger Stew
We love old fashioned recipes, and this classic hamburger stew is absolutely one we want to try. Ground beef simmers with other low-cost ingredients like carrots and potatoes for a hearty meal that the whole family will love.
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Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup
This healthy frugal soup recipe is a great way to kick off more than one new habit at a time. Whether you're trying to eat a little better or save a little money, this soup fits in well with your plan. Did we mention that it also tastes delicious?
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Vegetable Wild Rice Soup
Eating more veggies is a great way to eat healthier. You can often also save money by eating less meat, so recipes like this one are an all-around win! This delicious recipe is loaded with fresh veggies like carrot, kale, and mushrooms. But the recipe is flexible so you are free to choose whatever sounds best to you (or whatever veggies are on sale that week!).
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Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
This delicious tomato soup is brimming with fresh veggies, making it absolutely delicious as well as affordable to make. If you've never thought about making your own tomato soup before, this is a great recipe to start with!
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Zuppa Toscana Soup
This hearty soup recipe is loaded with fresh flavors. It's one of those soups that you'll want to make again and again! It's crafted from simple ingredients like chicken sausage and fresh veggies, making it easy to cook and easy on your wallet.
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Chicken Zoodle Soup
If you've never tried zoodles before, you're in for a real treat! Replacing the noodles in chicken soup with zoodles (a.k.a. zucchini noodles) is a great way to make a healthy soup recipe. This soup is also filled with fresh flavors that the whole family will love.
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