20 Nourishing Soup Recipes Made for a Crowd

No matter the time of year, there's nothing like a big batch of soup to serve to your family for lunch or dinner. Whether the temperature is in the single digits and you're craving a hearty bowl of steaming chowder, or you're enjoying a refreshing melon soup in the middle of summer, a bowl of soup is always chock-full of delicious ingredients and flavors.

If you have a hotchpotch of vegetables and grains on hand, create your own customizable vegetable soup. The formula allows you to choose your base (chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water), starchy root vegetables (think potatoes and parsnips), quick-cooking vegetables (bite-sized green beans or peas), and cooked grains (such as rice, pasta, or chickpeas).

In the middle of winter, we're all about hearty, warm, and nutritious soup recipes. Make use of dark green vegetables like Swiss chard and kale, along with grains like farro or barley, in this delicious kale, white bean, and farro Soup.

An added bonus of many of these big-batch soup recipes is that they can be frozen. Pop individual portions in the freezer so that they're ready anytime you need a quick lunch or crowd-friendly bowls. All of these recipes serve at least six and up to 12 people.

These soup recipes also use lots of seasonal ingredients in new, inspiring ways. Like this Thai zucchini-coconut soup, for example; zucchini is delicious spiralized, shaved, or roasted but it takes on a whole new life when blended with coconut milk and chilled.

What are you waiting for? Grab a ladle, a Dutch oven or a soup pot, and plenty of quart containers—it's time to make a big batch of soup!