17 Soup Recipes for Two

Serves 2. About 20 minutes, with noodles cooked in the soup.

You need: ½ pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock, ¾ cup fine egg noodles, 1 small carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 teaspoon oil, black pepper.

Dice the carrot and celery small enough to soften quickly. Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the vegetables for 3 minutes.

Add the stock and chicken, then simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Lift out the chicken, shred it, and return it with the noodles. Simmer until the noodles are tender, about 5 minutes.

No celery? Use a second carrot.

This is dinner for the night you get home hungry and don’t want to negotiate with a cutting board. Fine noodles keep the wait short.

If tomorrow’s lunch is the plan, cook them separately and add them to each bowl. They otherwise soak up the broth while the soup sits, as The Cookful notes.

Serves 2. About 45 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 1 pound gold potatoes, 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 cup whole milk, ¼ cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons sour cream, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, 2 tablespoons grated cheddar, 1 strip cooked bacon, black pepper.

Dice the potatoes into small, even pieces. Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the onion for 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and broth, then simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes give way under a fork.

Mash some potatoes against the side of the pan, then stir in the milk and cream. Warm for 5 minutes without boiling. Divide between two bowls and finish with sour cream, cheddar, crumbled bacon, and pepper.

Short on cream? Add another ¼ cup milk and mash a few extra potato pieces for body.

Set the toppings on the counter before you start mashing. One person wants the bacon; the other reaches straight for the sour cream. Keeping them out of the pan means both bowls come out right without making two separate dinners.

Leave a few potato chunks intact if you like something to catch on the spoon. Or mash more until the broth looks thick and pale. A Flavor Journal’s version makes about a quart, or two large bowls. That’s a far more useful promise than a vague serving count.

Serves 2 with sandwiches. About 30 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: one 14-ounce can tomatoes, ¾ cup broth or water, 3 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, 1 small garlic clove, a pinch of salt.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes and broth, then simmer for 15 minutes. Blend until smooth, stir in the cream, and warm for 2 minutes.

No cream? Stir in 3 tablespoons milk instead. The soup will be lighter but still worth making.

Put the sandwiches on before you call anyone to dinner. This tomato-to-broth ratio makes a modest amount: Baking Mischief’s recipe yields a little over 1½ cups total. Split it between two mugs for dipping, rather than expecting two deep bowls.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: ½ pound ground beef, ½ cup canned beans, ½ cup canned diced tomatoes, ½ cup frozen corn, 1½ cups broth, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon oil.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion for 3 minutes. Add the beef, break it into small pieces, and cook until browned. Stir in the chili powder and cumin, then add the beans, tomatoes, corn, and broth. Simmer for 15 minutes and divide between two bowls.

No corn? Use another ½ cup beans.

Keep the toppings out of the pot. A spoonful of yogurt, crushed chips, or chopped herbs belongs on your own bowl, where you decide how much you want. One Dish Kitchen’s taco soup starts as a single serving and suggests doubling for two. Tonight’s saucepan is all you need.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, 2 cups stock, ½ cup chopped leek, 1 tablespoon butter, ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, ¼ cup milk, black pepper.

Rinse the chopped leek well. Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the leek for 5 minutes. Add diced potatoes, stock, and thyme, then simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Mash the potatoes in the pan, stir in the milk, and warm for 2 minutes. Finish with pepper.

No fresh thyme? Use ¼ teaspoon dried thyme.

A blender would make this smooth, but the fork gives you small potato pieces in a creamy broth. RV Goddess’s potato-leek soup for two uses hand-mashing for that rustic finish.

Wash the leek before it goes into the butter; grit has a way of announcing itself at the worst moment.

Serves 2 generously. About 40 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 1 cup green or brown lentils, 4 cups vegetable broth, 1 small carrot, 1 celery stalk, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Rinse the lentils and pick through them. Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion, carrot, and celery for 5 minutes. Add the lentils, broth, and thyme, then simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Stir in the lemon juice and ladle the soup into two bowls.

No celery? Chop another small carrot and carry on.

The lemon goes in at the end. Taste a spoonful before you add it, then another after. That bright edge gives the lentils a lift without asking you to open another jar.

Delish Knowledge’s small-batch lentil soup uses 1 cup lentils and 4 cups broth. It’s sized for two to three servings. If your bowls are smaller, set aside the extra before you sit down.

Serves 2. About 25 minutes, one wide pan.

You need: one 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, ½ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, black pepper.

Warm the oil in a 10-inch skillet and cook the onion for 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and broth, then simmer for 12 minutes. Blend carefully until smooth, or leave the tomatoes slightly chunky. Stir in the cream and warm for 2 minutes. Scatter in the basil just before serving and add pepper.

No fresh basil? Use ½ teaspoon dried basil during the simmer instead.

This one belongs in the wide pan when your saucepan is busy or buried in a cupboard.

Keep the heat modest once the cream goes in, and watch the liquid as you stir. Just Two Plates designs its version for exactly two servings and adds basil near the end.

Serves 2 large bowls. About 50 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 2 cups vegetable broth, 7 ounces canned tomatoes, ½ cup drained canned mixed beans, ½ cup peas, 1 small zucchini, 1 cup chopped spinach, ¾ cup cooked small pasta, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 small carrot, 1 tablespoon olive oil, black pepper.

Dice the zucchini and carrot into spoon-sized pieces. Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, and broth, then simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in the beans and peas and cook for 5 minutes. Fold in the spinach and cooked pasta, warm through, and finish with pepper.

No peas? Add another ½ cup beans.

There’s a decision to make before the pasta goes in: are you eating both bowls now? If so, stir it into the soup and bring the pan to the table.

If one bowl is for later, divide the cooked pasta between the bowls as you serve. The second portion won’t sit in broth while you finish dinner.

Cut the vegetables small enough to share a spoon, but not so small that every bite feels alike. Chef Colleen’s minestrone for two is built around two large, meal-sized portions. You won’t need to invent a second course.

Serves 2. About 25 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: ½ pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock, ½ cup frozen peas, 1 small carrot, ¼ cup chopped onion, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon oil, black pepper.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion and carrot for 4 minutes. Pour in the stock and add the chicken and thyme.

Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes. Lift out the chicken, shred it, and return it with the peas. Warm for 2 minutes, then divide between two bowls and add pepper.

No peas? Add a handful of chopped spinach during the last minute.

This is Carol Whitaker’s noodle-free weeknight variation. It leaves the last few minutes free for bread, a sandwich, or nothing at all. If the chicken is still in the freezer, make the tomato soup at #15 instead; that pot begins with a can.

For a speed check, The Cookful’s chicken noodle takes about 17 minutes, while Baking Mischief’s tomato soup takes about 27. The fastest dinner is the one whose ingredients are already within reach.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 12 ounces raw chicken breast, 3 cups chicken stock, ½ cup water, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, ¼ cup chopped onion, ½ cup fine egg noodles, 1 teaspoon olive oil, black pepper.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion, carrot, and celery for 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and water, add the chicken breast, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Lift out the chicken, shred it, and return it to the pan. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes, until tender. Ladle into two deep bowls and add pepper.

No noodles? Add ½ cup cooked rice to the hot soup just before serving.

This is the plainer bowl when you want chicken, vegetables, and broth without making the vegetables the whole event. Shred the breast into pieces that fit your spoon. A few larger pieces make it feel like supper rather than a cup of broth before supper.

If your usual bowls hold less, leave room at the rim instead of trying to force in the last ladleful. One Dish Kitchen puts a chicken noodle serving at about 1½ to 2 cups and describes a 4-cup batch as two hearty servings.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 2½ cups vegetable broth, ½ cup canned diced tomatoes, 1 small zucchini, 1 carrot, ½ cup frozen green beans, ½ cup drained canned white beans, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon dried oregano.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Add the diced zucchini, tomatoes, broth, and oregano, then simmer for 12 minutes. Stir in the green beans and white beans and simmer for 6 minutes. Taste, then ladle into two bowls.

No zucchini? Use an extra carrot, cut thin.

This is Carol Whitaker’s small pantry-and-freezer pot, not a recipe adapted from the linked collections. The half-used bag of green beans has found its job. Keep the pieces small enough to fit on a spoon, but large enough to recognize.

Before you start, set the empty bowls nearby. They’re a reminder of what you’re making: dinner for two, with no reason to empty the entire bag of beans or open a second can.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, ½ cup drained canned white beans, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 cup chopped kale, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion, carrot, and celery for 5 minutes. Add the broth and thyme, then simmer for 12 minutes. Stir in the beans and kale and cook for 6 minutes. Add the lemon juice, taste the broth, and divide the soup between two bowls.

No kale? Use chopped spinach and add it during the last 2 minutes.

Carol Whitaker’s brothy variation is for the night you want vegetables and beans without cream or a thick purée. Don’t look for an invented calorie count here. Tear the kale into pieces that will stay on the spoon, and let the lemon sharpen the last mouthful.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: one 15-ounce can white beans, 2 cups vegetable broth, ½ cup canned diced tomatoes, 1 small carrot, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, black pepper.

Drain and rinse the beans. Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, and oregano, then simmer for 15 minutes. Mash a few beans against the side of the pan, stir in the lemon juice, and finish with pepper.

No canned tomatoes? Add another ½ cup broth and a second teaspoon of lemon juice.

This is Carol Whitaker’s bean-first pantry recipe. Mash only enough beans to thicken the broth; leave the rest whole. It’s the one to choose when a can opener sounds easier than chopping a pile of vegetables.

Serves 2. About 25 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: 2½ cups vegetable broth, ½ cup drained canned white beans, ½ cup canned diced tomatoes, 1 small carrot, 1 cup chopped spinach, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon dried oregano.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Pour in the broth and tomatoes, add the oregano, and simmer for 12 minutes. Stir in the beans and spinach and cook for 3 minutes. Ladle into two bowls, dividing the vegetables between them.

No spinach? Use ½ cup frozen green beans and add them with the broth.

This is Carol Whitaker’s spinach-heavy variation. It also gives you a way to judge any “serves two” claim: fill your empty soup bowl with water from a measuring cup and note where 1½ cups reaches. Check again at 2 cups. Empty it before dinner.

One Dish Kitchen gives that range for a chicken noodle serving. The marks in your own dishes settle the question faster than another recipe review.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: ½ pound ground beef, ½ cup canned beans, ½ cup canned diced tomatoes, ½ cup frozen corn, 1½ cups broth, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon oil.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion for 3 minutes. Add the beef, break it up, and cook until browned. Stir in the chili powder, beans, tomatoes, corn, and broth. Simmer for 15 minutes, then serve in two bowls.

No beef? Use another ½ cup beans and simmer everything together for 15 minutes.

If lunch tomorrow is the point, don’t put both portions on the table. Spoon one into a bowl and set the other aside to cool, then refrigerate it in an airtight container.

One Dish Kitchen says leftover taco soup keeps refrigerated for up to 4 days. Reheat it over low heat with a splash of broth if it has thickened.

Serves 2 with sandwiches. About 30 minutes, one saucepan.

You need: one 14-ounce can tomatoes, ¾ cup vegetable broth, 3 tablespoons heavy cream, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 small garlic clove, black pepper.

Warm the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion for 4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes and broth, then simmer for 15 minutes. Blend until smooth, stir in the cream, and warm for 2 minutes. Divide between two mugs and add pepper.

No vegetable broth? Use ¾ cup water.

This is a small dipping portion for two, not two towering soup bowls. If you’re cooking for one tonight, cool the extra portion before freezing it. Baking Mischief gives tomato soup up to 2 months in the freezer; thaw it and reheat it over low heat.

Don’t give noodle soup the same treatment with noodles already in it. The Cookful warns that frozen noodles turn mushy, so keep them separate if you’re putting that kind of soup away.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, in a 2-quart saucepan.

You need: 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 carrots, ½ cup frozen peas, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ¼ cup milk, black pepper.

Warm the oil in the saucepan and cook the chopped onion and sliced carrots for 5 minutes. Pour in the broth, add the thyme, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the carrots are soft.

Blend half the soup, then stir it back into the pan with the peas. Warm for 3 minutes, stir in the milk, and finish with pepper.

No milk? Leave it out and blend a little more of the carrot for body.

This is Carol Whitaker’s carrot-and-pea recipe. The pot choice has a separate job: a little soup spread across a stockpot’s wide base is awkward to stir and judge. Here you see the liquid rise around the carrots. You know when they’re covered and when the soup needs a stir.

One Dish Kitchen’s small-batch guidance uses a 2-quart saucepan for a small soup. When doubling, it moves up to a 3½- to 4-quart pot. If another pair of dinner guests appears, change the pan along with the amounts. Tonight, leave the stockpot where it is.