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Did you know that records of the first types of soups dated back to 6,000 BC? And that the main ingredient was the hippopotamus? Yeah.. it’s unimaginable but it’s true. Every culture in the world have their own types of soup. Some are thick, some are thin, some are spicy, some are taken with a side dish like bread. Below are soups drank by the world over.
- Ajiaco
- Albondigas
- Avgolemono
- Borscht
- Bouillabaisse
- Broccoli Cheese
- Caldo verde
- Callaloo
- Chicken Soup
- Chlodnik
- Clam Chowder
- Cock-a-leekie
- Cullen Skink
- Egg Drop
- Erwtensoep
- Faki soupa
- Fanesca
- Fasolada
- French Onion Soup
- Fufu and Egusi
- Gazpacho
- Ginataan
- Ginseng
- Goulash
- Gumbo
- Harira
- Hot and Sour Soup
- Kimchi jigae
- Lablabi
- Lobster Bisque
- Menudo
- Minestrone
- Miso soup
- Mulligatawny Soup
- Iskembe Corbasi
- Pasulj
- Pho
- Pozole
- Rassolnik
- Sambar
- Scotch Broth
- Shark Fin
- Shchav
- Solyanka
- Sopa Negra
- Sour Soup
- Tarator
- Tomato Soup
- Tom Kha Gai
- Tom Yam
- Torpedo
- Trahana
- Vichyssoise
- Waterzooi
- Zurek
From Colombia, you have the Ajiaco, which ingredients typically include chicken, corn, at least two kinds of potatoes, sour cream, capers, avocado, and guasca.
A traditional Mexican meatball soup made with sauteed onions, garlic, broth, and tomatoes.
Avgolemono in Greece means egg-lemon. This soup contains chicken, lemon and egg as it’s main ingredient.
The strong red coloured vegetable soup from Eastern Europe that includes beet roots as it’s main.
Bouillabaisse, originating all the way from the city of Marseille of France, is usually a fish stock containing different kinds of cooked fish and shellfish which usually are complemented with garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron.
The perfect broccoli cheese soup is thick, creamy, and cheesy.
From the province of Minho, Northern Portugal comes this soup made of mashed potatoes, minced collard greens, savoy cabbage, kale, onions and slices of chorizo.
The thick, creamy soup made with okra and crab meat from Trinidad and Tobago.
The world’s most famous soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients.
A cold variety of borsch — beetroot soup traditional to some Northern European and Slavic countries made with sour cream, soured milk, kefir or yoghurt, radishes or cucumbers, garnished with dill or parsley.
A New England soup that contains clams with potatoes, onions and bacon. When done right, clam chowder should be rich and filling, but not sludgy or stew-like. Its texture should be creamy without feeling leaden, like you’re sipping on gravy. Tender chunks of potato should barely hold their shape, dissolving on your tongue, their soft texture contrasting with tender bites of salty pork and briny clam.
From Scotland, the soup dish of leeks, potatoes, chicken stock and sometimes with a hint of prunes.
From the town of Cullen in Moray, on the north-east coast of Scotland comes the soup that is often served as a starter at formal Scottish dinners. Always thick with smoked Finnan haddock, potatoes and onions as its ingredients.
A Chinese soup of beaten eggs, chicken broth, and boiled water. Condiments such as table salt, black pepper, and green onion are also commonly added.
A thick pea soup, eaten in the Netherlands as a winter dish, traditionally served with sliced sausage.
Lentils as it’s main, this Greek soup is both healthy and filling. It has since been made popular in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Others include onions, carrots, olive oil, parsley and possibly tomato sauce or vinegar.
Traditional to Ecuador, Fanesca is usually served the week before easter and typically includes figleaf gourd, pumpkin, and twelve different kinds of grains (representing the disciples of Jesus), and salt cod (due to the belief that you must not eat red meat during these days).
Sometimes referred to as the ‘national food of the Greeks’. Fasolada is a soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables.
An onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings.
From Nigeria, Fufu and Egusi soup is made with vegetables, meat, fish, and balls of wheat gluten.
Hailing from Spain, this vegetable soup is popular in warmer areas and during the summer, particularly in Spain’s Andalusia and Portugal’s Alentejo and Algarve regions. Gazpacho is a concoction of bread, tomato, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, salt and vinegar.
A dessert soup from the Philippines whose name is derived from the Filipino word for coconut milk, ‘gata’, the main ingredient in the soup.
Photo by riacale
A very popular type of health soup found in Chinese & Korean communities made out of Ginseng roots. Chicken and other herbs and spices are often added to it.
The Hungarian spicy dish, made of beef, onions, red peppers, and paprika powder. Goulash draws its name from the Hungarian word for a cattle stockman / herdsman.
Originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions.
Harira is a famous Moroccan soup that uses lamb, fresh tomatoes, chickpeas, and lentils, flavoured with harissa hot sauce.
Hot and sour soup is a Chinese soup claimed variously by the regional cuisines of Beijing and Sichuan as a regional dish. Hot and sour soup is a lot like chili; every family has their own recipe, and each family thinks that theirs is the best.
A variety of jjigae or stew-like Korean dish made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, diced tofu, pork, and seafood, although pork and seafood are generally not used in the same recipe.
A straightforward Tunisian garlic and cumin flavoured chickpea soup served over small pieces of stale crusty bread.
Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth of lobsters.
A traditional Mexican soup largely made out of tripe and hominy. It is considered by some as a cure for hangovers.
From Italy comes this vegetarian soup, made thick with the addition of pasta or rice. Beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes are commonly added to it.
Japan’s most famous soup made from fish broth, fermented soy and ‘dashi’.
An Anglo-Indian curried soup which means ‘pepper water’ in Tamil.
A type of tripe soup often seasoned with vinegar or lemon juice, prepared in Greece, Turkey and the Balkans.
A type of bean dish also popular throughout the Balkan nations. It is normally prepared with meat, particularly smoked meat such as smoked bacon, smoked sausage, and smoked joints, and is a typical winter dish.
The Vietnamese beef/chicken soup cooked with scallion, welsh onion, cherred ginger, wild coriander, basil, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black cardamom.
A pre-Columbian soup made from hominy, with pork, chile, and other seasonings and garnish, such as cabbage, lettuce, oregano, cilantro, avocado, radish, lime juice.
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Rassolnik, made with kidneys or giblets and pickles, is known for hangover relief because rassol, the brining liquid from pickles, contains vitamins which help the body to hold water and counteract dehydration produced by drinking too much, which causes hangovers.
A South Indian stew made from pigeon peas, vegetables, tamarind and spices, Sambar is an everyday dish in Southern India. One of the myth is that it originated in the kitchen of Thanjavur Marathas ruler, Shahuji, during the 19th century from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shahji was trying to make a dish called amti, experimented with pigeon peas instead of mung bean, and tamarind pulp instead kokum, and the court named it sambhar after the guest of the day, Sambhaji, the second emperor of the Maratha Empire.
A filling soup from Scotland which principal ingredients are usually barley, a cut of beef or lamb, carrots, turnips or swedes, cabbage and leeks.
A Chinese delicacy commonly served as part of a Chinese feast, usually at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth and prestige. However, due to an awareness campaign of the cruelty to sharks, worldwide sales shark’s fin soup has plunged. In 2012, the world’s biggest consumer of shark’s fin, China, passed a ban on imports and stopped the dish from being served in official banquets.
A sorrel soup in Polish, Russian and Yiddish cuisines made from water, sorrel leaves, salt and egg yolks which is often served cold with sour cream.
Cabbage soup from Russia made of mainly three different kinds of main ingredient being either meat, fish or mushrooms. All of them contain pickled cucumbers with brine, and often cabbage, salty mushrooms, cream and dill.
Black bean soup Costa Rican style made of black beans, chicken broth, eggs, fresh cilantro, onions, garlic and sweet pepper.
A Vietnamese dish made with rice, fish, various vegetables, and in some cases pineapple.
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A cold soup popular in the summertime in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia made from yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, nuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water.
Tomato soup, a very popular comfort food in Poland and United States, is made in a variety of ways.
Made with coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass and chicken. The fried chillies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup.
One of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine known for its distinct hot and sour flavours made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chillis.
Found commonly in parts of Malaysia especially Penang, Sup Torpedo is a type of exotic soup that includes the penis of a bull as the main ingredient. It is reputed to be an aphrodisiac.
Dried foods based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk, usually consumed as soup found in Turkey, Greece, Egypt and Iraq. The Turkish tarhana consists of cracked wheat, yoghurt, and vegetables fermented then dried. The Greek trahana contains only cracked wheat and yoghurt.
A French style soup made of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock traditionally served cold.
Means “watery mess’ in Dutch. Made of fish or chicken, carrots, leeks and potatoes, herbs, eggs, cream and butter.
A soup made from soured rye flour and meat, which is specific to Poland and other northern Slavonic nations such as Slovakia.
PS : Tell me, did I miss anyone’s favourite?
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What about Gumbo?
They said Gumbo, it’s number 25
Yes lol. You missed Sancocho. Its a popular soup in Dominican Republic.
You did forget one: Malaysian Curry Laksa. Actually, you could probably find one or two more for your list in Malaysia/Singapore cuisine.
how about classic french onion?
I agree.. I feel that french onion is at LEAST a bit better than miso soup!
You didn’t miss them – Tom yum is definitely my favorite. However with that many really delicious looking exotic soups, I wish there were some links to the recipes for each of them. 🙂
What about some delicious Louisiana Gumbo?
What about American chicken noodle? You know the type your mom makes when you are sick with chicken stock and homemade noodles?
How exactly is it that a pre-Columbian recipe contains pork?
It was made before Colombus era, yes pork existed back then too.
Hahaha, good point! There are no pigs indemic to the Americas…
Everything looks delicious!
How about Tom Kha Gai from Thailand?
It’s a hot sweet soup made with coconut milk, lemon grass, and chicken (and sometimes with fried chillies).
What about this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chłodnik
You forgot Hashira, the soup eaten to break the fast during Ramadan.
Szechuan hot and sour soup! Mmm, yummy.
What about hot cum soup?
sopa negra!
costa rican black bean soup with cilantro and sort of a poached egg in it. it looks terrible but tastes amazing. and it’s also a great hangover cure.
Would have been nice to have seen Camembert Soup up there too! That is soooo delicious and unfortunately fattening
Oh and don’t forget Fruit Soup for desert!
Gumbo!! Yes, you definitely forgot gumbo.
Maybe the most exotic and strange soup of human culture has been omitted. Bird’s Nest soup.
lentil soup… Turkish style if possible… hmmm squeeze lemon and dont forget to add red peppers once its served.
Fantastic ! I have never seen such an exotic collection !
On UK TV recently they had a new invention of soup in a bun. Apparently not so new – photo 37 of your list is of soup in a bun.
The bloke on tv used a twice baked bun to retain it’s structure for longer, and used a butternut squash soup. It looks fantastic fun to eat!
Hi there,
I just stumbled accross your blog by using stumbleupon and love the design of the whole thing! I normally skip straight past food blogs as I have over 20 in my RSS and dont even have enough time to read the ones that I have! I am started out as a blogger myself and always tried to keep the design simple like yours as I think it is crucial, especially if you can back it up with some nice food pics like yours! Keep up the good work and if you feel like sharing some of the photos with other foodies pop over to http://www.ifoods.tv which is my new site for foodies! Cheers!
No Chicken or Chicken noodle? or Tomato?
Gumbo, Matzo Ball, Congee (or is that more of a rice porridge?), Bird’s Nest and American Chowders!
Brunswick stew
you forgot Dal, Indian soup (NOT Anglo-Indian)
The gazpacho looks absolutely delicious.
Italian Wedding, hot & sour, Wor Wonton, Pasta e Fagioli
Yum. Soup. Some of those look very exotic.
My favorite is French Onion Soup with Cheese on top… lots and lots of cheese…
The cheese in french onion is important!
Ginseng soup is nowhere near as popular as kimchee jjigae in korea. fantastically flavorful, spicy soup. also commonly made with various seafood. nomnomnom
It’s now 43 thanks to you guys!
Falto el sancocho y el cuchuco. Son platos tipicos colombianos deliciOOSOS
Distinct cultural variations before your eyes people.
Proof we are all different, but one race!
how to prepare
which are you interested in?
Lablabi – Tunisian chickpea soup
Thanks Thomas! I’ve added lablabi to the list.
Thanks for such a nice collection. However, I feel that there are few more soups form the world definitely worth mentioning.
1. Moroccan Harrira – wonderful soup/stew made of slowly cooked lamb, tomatoes, lentils, saffron and other. Very-very traditional for the Middle East.
2. All american clam chowder – in my opinion, this is the best what the american cuisine has offered to the world.
3. She crab soup – follows the clam chowder.
4. Czech drstkova polivka (tripe soup) – this is the greatest for the winter time
5. Mexican spicy crab soup. It might have its own name but, unfortunately I don’t know it. It is based on slightly roasted garlic and tomatoes, mashed with chilli peppers in the blender, and cooked with the seafood (crab legs is the must), olive oil, and garnished with greens and avocados.
6. Russian okroshka. Cold soup based on the local bread beverage “kwas”. Excellent for summer.
7. Russian ukha (oukha) – simple, yet very tasty fish soup.
8. Russian gorokhovy (bean soup) – slowly cooked with beans and smoked pork and beef.
9. Russian gribnoy (mushroom soup) – based on porchini mushrooms, potatoes, noodles, carrots and so on (recipes vary from family to family). Strongly recommend.
10. Chinese hot and sour soup. It is quite different from the thai tom-yum.
11. Chinese seafood soup. Very tasty!
By the way, I wouldn’t call goulash a soup – it is a stew, similar to chilli.
Hope this helps and thank you once again.
Actually, you are incorrect. Gulyas (or goulash) is, in fact, a soup. Many make the mistake of thinking it’s a stew!
Hey Vladimir.
I’ve added your suggestions to the list.
Thanks a lot! =)
The Institute of hotel and restaurant management Dona Paula will be featuring NATIONAL SOUPS in its TRAINEE RESORT AND RESTAURANTS in the month of January 2013.
Special emphasis will be given to National Soups…from this website..(very well done with recipes)
Bon Appetite.
Regnauld Mortimer
DIRECTOR………iHRM GOA.
Im surprised lobster bisque didnt make it on this great list of soups.
Heinz 57 cream of tomato. Delicious.
Zurek is the best soup ever, please mind that polish cuisine is one of the biggest in soups area, Borscht is also perfect taste to try
These all look absolutely delicious! I’d be nervous about the Chlodnik because I’m not a huge fan of beats….but it such a neat color!
*beets….not beats sorry haha
LOVED this! I’m a food writer for the SAN DIEGO UNION/TRIBUNE, and hope to find recipes for some of these fascinating soups for an upcoming article I’ve been assigned. I’d like to interview you (with credit to your blog, of course) by email, about these and any other diverse fall/winter soups of the world that you may know of. If interested, please contact me at [email protected]. Thanks so much! Terry Tucker Hinkley, Food Writer.
how to download this page ?
Just press “ctrl + s” on your keyboard.
Critical omission – Ramen – large and varied category but hugely popular.
Also – Sambar which is quite popular in S. India.
The word Ramen actually refers to the noodle, not the soup.
Thanks to you Shezad, Sambar is now in the list.
Fufu and egusi is not from ghana..it is a Nigeria Soup…Nigeria owns the soup not Ghana..please make that correction..Thank
Got it. Thanks. =)
i like this Recipes….. thanks
You forgot broccoli cheese soup
Thanks. Broccoli cheese is now in the list thanks to you!
How about Kool from Jaffna
I have never heard of Kool.
How about the Serbian soup, Pasulj?
Yeah. Pasulj!
It’s now 53 thanks to you.
You left out the greatest soup ever, the (South) Australian pie floater. It’s a meat pie floating in green pea soup, with tomato sauce (ketchup) on the pie. Awesome, particularly when intoxicated. Sold from mobile pie trucks late at night.
Sounds good. But you can only get it in South Australia right?
You got Zurek and Miso, so you hit the impoortant ones 😉 But I think the various types of ramen are pretty famous too!
Chicken noodle and cream of tomato not being there is unforgivable. Other than that, you got a solid list.
It’s now 55 thanks to ya! 😉
Soto and Rawon! 2 soups from Indonesia.
I love miso soup and a nice bowl of gumbo. I just had a white chicken chili tonight, and it hit the spot.
Philipphine Sinigang…Sour Soup usually from Tamarind but sometimes Guava, Calamansi lime, Green Mango….Don’t think, Just Add it
Yea. Cant believe sinigang didnt make the list.
Some soups from Spain which are worthy of mention Ajo Blanco, Salmorejo, Marmitako and Fabada.
Sopa de Ajo, Spanish Garlic Soup! Chef John from Foodwishes does a pretty mean version of it. The one from myrecipes looks pretty amazing too.
Classic American: Pea, Navy Bean – the favorite in the Congressional restaurant, Lentil, Italian Wedding, Peanut Soup (Virginia), Conch Chowder, Sour Cherry
Loved the article. What about European style Liver Dumpling Soup, Garlic Soup (often served to those with colds instead of chicken soup), Czech String Bean Soup with Bacon and Vinegar (Polievka zo Zelenej Fazule), did I miss the Cioppino? What about Kaernemaelkskoldskal (cold buttermilk soup), Zuppa de lenticchie con finocchio (Sicilian style Lentil Soup with Fennel), Oxtail Soup, or humble vegetable or corn chowder soups? One of my favorite dishes was also turned into a soup — stuffed cabbage soup. I also love Canadian Habitant soup made with Yellow Peas, Ham and Thyme but sometimes containing a pinch of allspice. Other faves include post-Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Soup or retro Pepper Pot soup. Here’s another, Wisconsin Cheddar Soup with Popcorn. Famous Bookbinder’s Soup from the Drake Hotel in Chicago with Snapper and sherry Thanks again to all who contributed!
I am of the opinion that Mulligatawny Soup has originated in Sri Lanka.
It’s Indian, not Sri Lankan. The name originates from the Tamil words millagai / milagu and thanni (மிளகாய்த்தண்ணி / மிளகுத்தண்ணி) and can be translated as “pepper-water”, also known as “Raassam”.
Surprised Filipino sinigang not on the list.
Shchi – Traditional Russian soup, it is very good.
what about Malaysian Kuey Teow?
it’s just type of noodle (or dim sum?), except if you mean like char kuey teow
Pasta e fagioli soup is another well-known Italian soup.
How about soup from Indonesia, like “konro” or “buntut (oxtail)”?
Pumpkin Bisque, with maple syrup and heavy cream added afterward, served hot in the pumpkin itself. Absolutely delicious.
so many of these sound devine… would love to have the receipts for these soups… how do I get them???
By right, you should be given one after paying. 😆
In Honduras there is a delicious soup ususally served on Sundays at midday called Mondongo. It is another tripe based soup, but completely different from the Mexican one.
i am so happy to see this article i am a food lover