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 \u2014 gulp \u2014 year ahead.<\/p>\n
As much as I\u2019ve loved catching up with family and friends over the holidays \u2014 and perfecting my mom\u2019s cherished mac-and-cheese recipe \u2014 it\u2019s also been nice to take a break from consuming heavy meals and preparing food for large groups.<\/p>\n
As the new year gets its motor going, I\u2019m 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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Here are five comforting soup recipes to nourish you into the new year. <\/p>\n
Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes<\/a> to get our restaurant experts\u2019 insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they\u2019re dining right now.<\/p>\n Bison and Sweet Corn Soup<\/p>\n This soup from Pyet DeSpain\u2019s \u201cRooted in Fire\u201d 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\u2019s grandmother used beef in her recipe instead of bison \u2014 feel free to use whichever meat is more accessible for your household. Recipe developer and food writer Carolynn Carre\u00f1o 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. Carre\u00f1o adds chicken wings and feet to make a collagen-rich broth and enhance the soup\u2019s benefits even more. (Rebecca Peloquin \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n Mustard Greens and Beans Soup with Herby Pork Meatballs<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 make a side of golden cornbread<\/a> to complete the trifecta. While Dorsey doesn\u2019t specify the type of beans, black-eyed peas are thought to represent coins and attract money in the new year. (Silvia Razgova \/ For The Times\/Silvia Razgova \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n Broiled and Burnt Roasted Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese Crostini<\/p>\n Is there anything more comforting that tomato soup and grilled cheese when you\u2019re cold or sick? \u201cThe Bear\u201d star Matty Matheson adapts the recipe in his \u201cSoups, Salad, Sandwiches\u201d cookbook, with roasted, almost-charred veggies and crostini that\u2019s rubbed with garlic cloves and covered in melted mozzarella and sharp cheddar. (Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Broccoli-Fennel Soup With Garlic Croutons<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. Swap in asparagus or zucchini when you make it in the spring. It\u2019s finished with a healthy drizzle of olive oil and crunchy garlic croutons that you\u2019ll want to start adding to every salad and soup recipe. (Anne Cusack \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You are reading our Cooking newsletter Sign up to get a taste of Los Angeles \u2014 and the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":492270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,44954,44962,44957,44960,44956,3043,44953,6276,2961,224,2444,5337,11148,44961,44959,44955,44958,6620],"class_list":{"0":"post-492269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-caribbean-recipe","11":"tag-curry","12":"tag-dish","13":"tag-good-caribbean-restaurant","14":"tag-hot-sauce","15":"tag-hour","16":"tag-jerked-catfish","17":"tag-l-a","18":"tag-la","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-los-angeles-times","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-minute","23":"tag-restaurant-expert","24":"tag-scotch-bonnet-pepper","25":"tag-spice","26":"tag-spice-courtesy","27":"tag-time"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115838119455890429","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Get the recipe.<\/a>
Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes, plus soaking time. <\/p>\n![\"Bison](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767549318_207_.jpeg\")
Health Is Wealth Lentil Soup<\/p>\n
Get the recipe.<\/a>
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.<\/p>\n![\"Health](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767549318_150_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Get the recipe.<\/a>
Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 4.<\/p>\n![\"Pork](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767549319_314_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Get the recipe. <\/a>
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Serves 6.<\/p>\n![\"Broiled](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767549320_538_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Get the recipe. <\/a>
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Serves 4 to 8.<\/p>\n![\"Broccoli-Fennel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767549321_578_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n