5 delicious family friendly fall soups

Fall is officially here! We’ve decorated, changed out some photos (more info coming soon on that!), and are excited for sweatshirt weather and fall meals. Not to mention Halloween & some very special birthdays coming up for our family.

Family friendly fall soups are a favorite weeknight meal over here. One pot comfort food full of veggies & spices? Yes, please.

I’m not a big fan of soup when it’s hot outside, but as soon as it cools down, I am 100% in. Our kids are tough soup critics, but these recipes for family friendly fall soups are kid tested & (mostly) approved. Plus I’ve included what we do as our Picky Kid workaround when they don’t. Meals with kids are no joke, y’all.

Read on for 5 of our favorite family friendly fall soups. And some Halloween photos from last year because we’ll truly never be able to top this.

Family Friendly Fall Soups:

Creamy Gnocchi Chicken Soup – maybe our most favorite soup currently. My friend Chelsea made this for us in Stockholm, so we also call it Stockholm soup around here. Or “Lucy’s favorite soup.” My favorite part is that it’s a one pot meal and it is absolutely delicious.

Picky Kid tip – save out some chicken & some gnocchi to serve “dry” vs in the soup. We’ll often serve small bowls of soup to the kids plus a plate with chicken, gnocchi and raw carrots as a sort of deconstructed option. Obviously with a side of crusty bread, which is everyone’s favorite part.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup – I love chicken pot pie, but my husband doesn’t. He does, however, love soup. My kids don’t love either, but they love biscuits. Enter chicken pot pie soup served with biscuits. Everyone is happy. And eating veggies.

Picky Kid tip – this one is harder to deconstruct, but not impossible to get some of the liquid out if kids prefer to eat the parts of the soup vs all together with a spoon. Again the side of biscuits (and usually some apple slices) are the star here.

Smoked Sausage, Apple & Potato – another crowd favorite, especially after a trip to the apple orchard. There are always a million things I want to do with our freshly picked apples. Apple crisp & an apple dipper snack tray are top of the list. But for a more savory option, this soup is always a winner.

Picky Kid tip – This family friendly fall soup is SUPER easy to deconstruct and still feel like you’re serving a well rounded meal. Apple slices, sausage & a couple of pieces of cooked potatoes + some raw carrots, celery or other veggie make a beautiful kid plate.

Italian Chicken Soup – alright, hear me out on this one. First, this uses a rotisserie chicken, and there is truly nothing easier than that. Second, we buy diced tomatoes. I’m not sure why Ree (who I love) suggests buying whole tomatoes and then cutting them up, but some of us don’t have time for that. Also the juice gets everywhere – trust me on that. Third, and most importantly, we added cooked ground sausage to this. I promise you won’t regret it if you try that, too.

Picky Kid tip – Our kids love “pickin’ chicken” as they pull the rotisserie chicken off the bone for me. Weird? Maybe. Good source of protein & one less job for me? Sure is! As with the soups above, we save some chicken and some of the veggies on the side for the picky one(s). This soup has a bonus of cooked pasta, which is always a kid favorite with some butter and parm. Everyone wins!

Sausage Tortellini Soup – our newest find because tortellini is an actual crowd pleaser and now this includes spinach. It’s a delight. And so easy! As far as family friendly fall soups go, this is a winner for us.

Picky Kid tip – You know the drill. With this one I mainly save some tortellini and add some parmesan on top if they’d like it. We serve with some fruit & veggie favorites and call it a day.

Your bonus for making it this far is a secret family AWARD WINNING chicken chili recipe that we make every year to eat before trick-or-treating.

Yes, it includes Velveeta*. Yes, I know that’s not cheese. No, there’s no great subsitute for it. We’ve tried. (The family recipe owner has even tried in Denmark because shockingly they don’t sell Velveeta in Denmark.)

Everyone who asks for this recipe says they don’t care what is included in it, they just need to be able to make it again.

Chelsea’s (mom’s) Award Winning Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded

1 stick butter

1 large onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

4-6 stalks celery, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 packet white chicken chili mix

2 chicken boullion cubes

14oz chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cans white beans, drained & rinsed

2 cans corn, drained

1 can green chilis

2 cans rotel

8oz sour cream

tabasco

1 lb velveeta cheese

Directions:

Cook veggies until tender.

Add seasoning mix.

Dissolve chicen boullion in hot water (1/3 cup).

Pour into veggies.

Add other ingredients and shredded chicken.

Simmer.

ENJOY!

*No judgement if you enjoy Velveeta on the regular.

Happy (hopefully) family friendly fall soups season!

Pssst…if fall also means family photo season, check out this post to help with the dreaded outfit selection process!