3 Warm & Cozy Soups for Winter You Can Make on a Budget

1. Cheese tortellini soup

The first soup that I'm going to be making is cheese tortellini soup, these are the ingredients you’ll need.

I have a two-pack of tortellini. There are two nine-ounce packages here. I'm only going to be using one of those. I have two cans of petite diced tomatoes. The cans of tomatoes are basil, garlic, and olive oil flavored. I will use one container of chicken stock, onion, and some parmesan cheese. 

The first thing I will do is get oil heating on the stove. I have a big soup pot. I'm going to add in the onion that I have diced and let that start cooking first. I'm going to stir that and let it cook down a little. Once my onions have started to become translucent, I will add a big teaspoon of minced garlic and stir it.

Now I'm going to start adding in some liquid.  

I'm going to add a whole four cups of chicken stock. Then I'm going to be adding in just a dash of sugar, just to cut some of the acidity of the tomatoes, and I'm going to stir that. Next, I will add some pepper and just a little pinch of salt. 

I'm going to bring this up to a boil, and once I've done that, I'm going to put in one of the nine-ounce packages of the cheese tortellini. 

I'm going to let that start cooking. It needs to cook for about five minutes before I start putting in the other ingredients. Next, I will add the petite diced tomatoes, stir this, and let it return to a low simmer.

I will then add this entire bag of baby spinach to my soup. It will look like a lot at first, but just keep giving that a stir and letting that spinach wilt down into the soup. 

For this time of year, I will add about a cup of half-and-half. 

You could add milk, evaporated milk, heavy whipping cream, or leave it out, but I wanted to make this a little more creamy.

This is what the soup looks like when it's finished and in my bowl; I topped it with some parmesan cheese. 

2. Lasagna soup

The ingredients you’ll need are lasagna noodles, a jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce, some frozen chopped onions, beef stock, and a little over a pound of ground beef.

I will start by browning my ground beef and adding the onions. I will be seasoning the meat as it's cooking, so I will be adding salt and pepper. Once my meat has browned a little bit, I will add the rest of the bag of chopped onions. Once the meat and onions are finished, I will drain off the fat.

Now I'm going to put the meat mixture in the Crockpot. 

I'm going to add this jar of my favorite pasta sauce. 

I'm going to stir this, and then I will add a can of petite diced tomatoes. Then I'm going to add one 32-ounce container of beef stock. We will be ready to get this into the Crockpot and get it simmering throughout the day. 

I'm going to put a lid on this, and I'm going to cook this on high for 4 hours, or you could do low for six to 8 hours. 

After my meat sauce has been cooking all day in the Crockpot, about 30 minutes before I'm ready to serve, I'm going to take about five or six of these lasagna noodles, and I'm going to break them up into smaller pieces.

I'm then going to add the noodles to the soup, stir, and let that go for another 30 minutes. 

I'm going to add about half of this bag of parmesan cheese, stir, and let that all come together. Then, I will add another cup of the half-and-half I use in the other soup. This is just going to help give it that creamy texture. So I'm going to give that a stir. This soup was our favorite this week.  

I'm going to top it with some mozzarella cheese before serving.

3. Mexican corn chowder

The last soup that I'm sharing with you today is a Mexican take on corn chowder and you’ll need everything pictured.

The first thing I'm going to do is to dice up about half of an onion. I am going to be cooking this in the Crockpot. 

I added a can of black beans and whole-kernel corn that I rinsed and drained. I'm going to add one of these cans of green chilies. 

I'm going to add in two cans of cream-style corn, and then I'm going to stir this, then I'm going to add one can of chicken broth. I'm going to give that a stir. 

I'm going to add some salt and some pepper, and I'm going to add some garlic powder. 

We will stir this and be ready to put the lid on and let this cook. I'm going to cook this for 4 hours on high. 

After cooking for 4 hours, I will add a cup of half-and-half again and stir. 

I'm going to be serving this with cheddar cheese on top. 

This would be good with tortilla chips, or you could make cornbread. It was very filling and very comforting on this cold, rainy day. 

Warm & cozy soups for winter

Those are the warm, cozy soups for winter. They were so delicious. I had never tried tomato and spinach tortellini before. It was really good—a different take on a soup.

The lasagna soup is hands down a winner every time, and that Mexican corn chowder was excellent. What is your favorite winter soup? Let us know in the comments below.