Easy House Made Blender Soups to Add to your Menu this Winter

This time of year, when the weather in most of the country is frigid, people will be looking for cozy soups and entrees that will warm them up. Adding these delicious, easy, seasonal soups to your menu is a great way to increase check size while keeping food costs low.

Soup is one of the most comforting and versatile dishes, perfect for prepping in bulk and serving for several days when following standard food service protocols.

One of the most convenient tools essential for serving soup? Your trusty blender. In this post, we’ll provide several blender-friendly soup recipes that are both simple to prepare and scalable for a crowd.

Why Use a Blender for Soup?

Blenders make soup preparation a breeze, saving you time and effort. They allow you to:

• Achieve a smooth, velvety texture: Perfect for creamy soups like tomato bisque or butternut squash.
• Blend large quantities in batches: Ideal for serving many people.
• Preserve nutrients: By blending and heating soups, you retain the vitamins and minerals often lost in prolonged cooking.
• Cut down on prep time: With a blender, you can skip lengthy chopping since it can pulverize even large chunks of vegetables.

Essential Tips for Making Soup in a Blender

1. Choose the Right Blender: A high-powered, heavy duty immersion blender like the Waring WSB60 Bix Stix is designed to support 100 quarts (or 25 gallons) of liquid. Since the shaft is sealed, it removes easily for cleaning in a dishwasher.
2. Blend in Batches: If your blender isn’t large enough, blend in smaller portions to avoid spills. If you’re looking for a blender that would support both batch soup making and other tasks like cocktails and purees, the Waring CB15BU is a great option, or the Winco XLB-1000 provides high performance at a economical price point.
3. Be Mindful of Heat: Allow hot ingredients to cool slightly before blending, and always remove the center cap of the lid to release steam.
4. Adjust Consistency: Start with less liquid, and add more to achieve your desired thickness.
5. Season at the End: Blending can intensify flavors, so wait until the end to adjust salt, pepper, and spices.

Three of the Best Blender Soup Recipes for a Crowd

Classic Tomato Soup

This timeless favorite is easy to scale, uses canned tomatoes and requires minimal ingredients. Even better, there’s no cream, so it’s a great dairy-free option. It can easily be made into tomato basil soup, if you want to make a split batch and have a “taste test” for your staff or guests. This recipe is from Cookie and Kate and is written to for 4 bowls but can easily scale up to serve your guests. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 TBL extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste 
• 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, with their liquid 
• 2 cups vegetable broth 
• ½ cup cooked Great Northern beans or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into a few pieces 
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar, to taste 
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• For the tomato-basil variation (optional): 10 to 15 fresh basil leaves, to taste

Instructions:

1. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and turning translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the tomatoes and vegetable broth and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, and stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender, being sure not to fill past the maximum fill line (blend in batches if necessary). Add the beans, butter, sugar, and several twists of black pepper. Securely fasten the lid and blend the soup until smooth, being careful to avoid hot steam escaping from the lid.
4. Since canned tomatoes vary in flavor, I always end up tinkering with this soup a bit at the end. Taste and, if necessary, add a little more sugar (to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes), pepper, and salt (I usually add another ¼ to ½ teaspoon).
5. If you’re adding basil, add it now. Briefly blend again, and serve hot. This soup keeps well for up to four days or so. You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.

Butternut Squash Soup

This creamy, slightly sweet soup is perfect to serve during autumn and winter and pairs nicely with other menu options like roasted chicken or pork. This recipe is from Alexandra Cooks and makes ~6 cups of soup but can be easily scaled by using multiple squashes and heads of garlic.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole butternut squash, 2.25 to 2.75 lbs
• 1 whole head/bulb of garlic, see notes above
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 quart of stock of choice, such as vegetable or chicken
• kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
• 3 tablespoons of crème fraîche or heavy cream, optional

Instructions:

1. Half the squash, scoop out seeds and cut the head off the garlic, then roast both with a small amount of olive oil (squash cut side down) at 350°F for 60 minutes, checking on the garlic at 40-50 minutes to make sure it doesn’t brown too much.
2. Cool for ~20 minutes and scoop the squash into a pot and add the roasted garlic and the stock and bring to a simmer.
3. Use an immersion blender to puree and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the cream or crème fraiche and whisk to incorporate. Add more stock if needed during this step while continuing to simmer.
4. Heat through and serve with toasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish.

Cozy Black Bean Soup

This soup is a great addition to your menu, especially since it’s vegan while being full of flavor and protein. This soup is a great pair for specialty bread sides and is based on the Quick Black Bean Soup by Ali at Gimme some Oven.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon each: chili powder, chipotle powder
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 60 ounces of canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 lime

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper and sauté for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder and chipotle powder and sauté, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
2. Add the vegetable broth and black beans and stir to combine.
3. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes plus 1 heaping cup of the black bean soup to a blender and purée until smooth. You don’t want to blend all the soup, just one portion.
4. Add the mixture to the soup, along with about 1 tablespoon of the fresh lime juice, and stir to combine.
5. Taste and season with more lime juice, salt and pepper if needed.

Scaling Soups for Your Restaurant

When making soup for a crowd, keep these tips in mind:

• Double or Triple Recipes: Most blender soups can be easily scaled without altering the flavor balance.
• Serve from a soup-specific chafing dish at buffets and events. Or use an electric soup warmer to ensure soup is kept at a safe and delicious serving temperature.
• Offer Toppings: Provide a variety of toppings like croutons, shredded cheese, fresh herbs, or sour cream to customize bowls.
• Serve with Sides: Pair soups with bread, rolls, or simple salads to round out the meal. These can be priced as an add-on to increase check values.

Final Thoughts

Making blended soups is an easy way to serve a warming, seasonal option that will help increase ticket sizes. With a little planning and some basic ingredients, you can create an array of soups that cater to diverse tastes and dietary preferences. These blender soups are sure to impress your guests and have them sharing on social media.