The extended stretch of warm weather has its benefits, including more patio time and a grace period for finishing those outdoor chores we’ve been putting off. There are downsides, too, and chief among them, at least in the kitchen, is a delay in soup season. It just didn’t seem right to simmer and slurp when it’s sunny and 80 degrees.
But with forecast highs starting to dip, and our Dutch ovens and slow cookers continuing to beckon, we’re finally declaring it soup season. And thanks to new cookbooks, we have fresh recipes to mark our foray into fall.
Bestselling author Julia Turshen’s “What Goes With What” encourages cooks to be creative, providing tips and building blocks to guide them. Her Minestrone-ish recipe is a safe place to start, and the book is a hit for both beginners who are just starting to explore, and those who want to level up their culinary skills.
Those familiar with the website RecipeTinEats know its founder, Nagi Maehashi. Her commitment to easy meals extends to her latest venture, “Delicious Tonight: Foolproof Recipes for 150+ Easy Dinners.” But don’t mistake easy for not impressive. The Creamy Mushroom Wild Rice Soup is top on my list, and while Maehashi uses button mushrooms in this luxurious recipe, it could easily be a forager’s delight.
We can’t resist a good copycat recipe, and have been cooking our way through “Most Requested Copycat Dishes: 100+ Homemade Versions of Your Favorite Restaurant Recipes.” The book offers a spin on Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, but is made for the slow cooker. Start the easy (and customizable) recipe in the morning and have dinner waiting in the evening. Obviously, serve it with unlimited salad and breadsticks.
Finally, TikTok darling Heather Bell chronicles her life with eight kids as @justthebells10, so it’s no surprise her cookbook focuses on big-batch cooking. Green Chile Taco Soup from “Mama Bell’s Big Family Cooking” serves 14, making it ideal for meal planning or gameday parties. You can easily downsize the recipes, but why bother? Take a page from Bell, who also chronicles her family’s story of adoption and foster care in the book, and share your big-batch dishes with friends or neighbors. The more the merrier.

Minestrone-ish
Serves about 6 to 8.
From “What Goes with What,” the new book from bestselling author Julia Turshen, who writes: “This falls somewhere on the soup spectrum between minestrone and pasta fagioli; it’s full of vegetables, with deep tomato flavor from lots of tomato paste, and hearty from a mix of beans and pasta. Topped with grated cheese and a dollop of pesto, it’s a satisfying vegetarian soup. But if you want to make it extra special, try Haley’s Savory Sprinkles (recipe below), which are the most delicious lemony breadcrumbs. (Flatiron Books, 2024).