Chicken
$1.26per plate
Soup recipes, priced per bowl
Soup Recipes
Every soup on Budget Plates shows its estimated grocery cost and cost per serving up front. This is the whole collection - chicken, beef, bean, creamy, vegetable, and chili soups - gathered in one place so you can choose by protein, by cooking style, or by what a bowl actually costs. Prices are estimates based on our usual cost methodology.
Browse soup recipes20soup recipes, costed per bowl
$0.67lowest cost per serving
7soups under $1 a serving
$1.29average cost per serving
The short answer
The cheapest soups to make
Dried lentils, beans, potatoes, and a bag of frozen vegetables make the cheapest pots of soup, because they are filling and keep for months. On Budget Plates the lowest are Hearty Lentil Soup at $0.67 a serving, Crockpot Vegetable Soup at $0.71 a serving, Creamy Potato Soup at $0.75 a serving, Curried Butternut Squash Soup at $0.81 a serving, Cabbage Soup at $0.85 a serving, Minestrone Soup at $0.88 a serving, and Ham and Bean Soup at $0.89 a serving - 7 of our 20 soups land under a dollar a serving. Add a little chicken, beef, or turkey and a bowl still comes in under two dollars.
Browse
Chicken Soups
Comforting, brothy chicken soups - noodle, gnocchi, and dumplings - each one written to serve six.
Browse
Beef & Ground-Meat Soups
Hearty soups built on an affordable pound of ground beef or turkey, stretched across the whole table.
Ground Beef
$1.80per plate
Ground Beef
$1.74per plate
Ground Beef
$1.58per plate
Ground Beef
$1.84per plate
Ground Meats
$1.25per plate
Ground Beef
$2.12per plate
Browse
Bean & Vegetable Soups
The cheapest bowls we make - lean on lentils, beans, and vegetables, most of them well under a dollar a serving.
Browse
Creamy Soups
Silky, cheesy, blended soups that taste rich without much cream, from a classic potato soup to a copycat broccoli cheddar.
Good to know
Soup recipes FAQ
What are the cheapest soups to make?
Beans, lentils, potatoes, and vegetables make the cheapest soups. On Budget Plates the lowest are Hearty Lentil Soup at $0.67 a serving, Crockpot Vegetable Soup at $0.71 a serving, Creamy Potato Soup at $0.75 a serving, Curried Butternut Squash Soup at $0.81 a serving, Cabbage Soup at $0.85 a serving, Minestrone Soup at $0.88 a serving, and Ham and Bean Soup at $0.89 a serving - 7 of our 20 soups come in under a dollar a serving, and every one on this page is under two dollars.
What kinds of soup are in this collection?
Chicken soups, beef and ground-meat soups, bean and vegetable soups, creamy soups, and chili. You can browse by protein or cooking style using the groups on this page, or sort by the cost per serving shown on every card.
How does Budget Plates calculate the cost per serving?
We cost each ingredient by the amount a recipe actually uses, based on typical U.S. grocery prices, then divide the recipe's estimated total by the servings it makes. Every figure is an estimate for comparing dishes; your store, brand, and season will move the real number.
How do soups stretch a grocery budget?
A soup turns a small amount of meat, or none at all, into a full pot by leaning on broth, beans, rice, pasta, and vegetables. Big-batch pots also cook once and feed the table twice, which is why most of these serve six or more.