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The time between Christmas and the first full week of January feels like being in limbo. In L.A., the streets are less trafficked and you can finally score a reservation at your favorite in-demand restaurant. But with days of on-and-off rain, you might be relishing time indoors and organizing the details of your life for the — gulp — year ahead.
As much as I’ve loved catching up with family and friends over the holidays — and perfecting my mom’s cherished mac-and-cheese recipe — it’s also been nice to take a break from consuming heavy meals and preparing food for large groups.
As the new year gets its motor going, I’m leaning on a handful of simple soup recipes to sustain and steel me for whatever 2026 may bring. And while rainy weather can make a bowl of soup feel all the more appropriate and comforting, I find myself returning to these recipes even in mild temperatures.
And if you want to foster good luck, a couple of the recipes are packed with ingredients believed to be prosperous and traditionally eaten at the start of the year, such as lentils, mustard greens and pork.
Here are five comforting soup recipes to nourish you into the new year.
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Bison and Sweet Corn Soup
This soup from Pyet DeSpain’s “Rooted in Fire” cookbook has just three ingredients and can be simplified further by swapping dried sweet corn for fresh corn (if you go this route, Pyet recommends adding the cobs to the pot while cooking for extra flavor). DeSpain’s grandmother used beef in her recipe instead of bison — feel free to use whichever meat is more accessible for your household.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes, plus soaking time.
Health Is Wealth Lentil Soup
Recipe developer and food writer Carolynn Carreño calls this Health is Wealth Lentil Soup, in reference to lentils, which in Italian culture symbolize coins and are traditionally eaten for good luck at the beginning of the year. Carreño adds chicken wings and feet to make a collagen-rich broth and enhance the soup’s benefits even more.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
(Rebecca Peloquin / For The Times)
Mustard Greens and Beans Soup with Herby Pork Meatballs
This recipe from Jenny Dorsey is a soupy take on the Southern tradition of eating greens and black-eyed peas to invite good fortune and wealth in the new year — make a side of golden cornbread to complete the trifecta. While Dorsey doesn’t specify the type of beans, black-eyed peas are thought to represent coins and attract money in the new year.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 4.
(Silvia Razgova / For The Times/Silvia Razgova / For The Times)
Broiled and Burnt Roasted Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese Crostini
Is there anything more comforting that tomato soup and grilled cheese when you’re cold or sick? “The Bear” star Matty Matheson adapts the recipe in his “Soups, Salad, Sandwiches” cookbook, with roasted, almost-charred veggies and crostini that’s rubbed with garlic cloves and covered in melted mozzarella and sharp cheddar.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Serves 6.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Broccoli-Fennel Soup With Garlic Croutons
Packed with cruciferous winter veggies, this bright broccoli-fennel soup is inspired by the one that Gino Angelini makes and serves year-round at Angelini Osteria. Swap in asparagus or zucchini when you make it in the spring. It’s finished with a healthy drizzle of olive oil and crunchy garlic croutons that you’ll want to start adding to every salad and soup recipe.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Serves 4 to 8.
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)