The key to creating an elegant soup is to keep it simple. A classic French onion soup or a creamy mushroom soup are always welcome at any dinner party.
If you’re looking to make a more sophisticated soup, you can opt for a lobster bisque or a spicy tomato soup.
Whether you are hosting an elegant dinner party, or just looking to add some elegance to your everyday meals, these soup recipes will make a delicious addition to your menu.
We’ve selected 21 elegant soups for you to consider making to serve at your next dinner party.
See Also: What to Serve with Albondigas Soup? 17 Best Side Dishes
Table of Contents
21 Elegant Soups for A Dinner Party
If you’re hosting a dinner party, you may not be sure what kind of soups you should serve.
There are many options available, so it can be a little hard to choose.
Fortunately, there are some soups that are perfect for dinner parties that are also easy to make.
Here are 21 of our favorites:
1. Creamy Shrimp and Crab Bisque
This is a great soup to start a dinner party. It’s a little bit different and not too filling, but still very tasty.
The soup is a rich golden color, with large chunks of crab and shrimp. You can serve this as an appetizer or as the main course for a light lunch.
See Also: 50 Best Soups with Turnips
2. Gazpacho
Gazpacho is a cold soup made primarily of raw vegetables that originated in the Andalusia region of Spain.
The soup is typically served chilled or at room temperature and is a great dish to serve during the hot summer months.
Gazpacho can be made in a variety of ways, but it always features fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic and peppers.
Because this recipe uses raw vegetables, it’s best to use fresh ingredients for the best flavor.
Instead of buying canned tomato juice, use fresh tomato juice by blending the tomatoes with water and then straining them through a sieve to remove the solids.
Other recipes add canned tomato sauce or canned tomatoes to the mix, but I think that’s overkill and will make your soup too acidic.
For this recipe I like to add plain tomato sauce as a garnish and let people adjust their own soup as needed.
3. French Onion Soup Gratinee
Every good French onion soup recipe starts by caramelizing the onions.
See Also: 17 Best Sandwiches for French Onion Soup
If you have time, plan on leaving them over a low flame for an hour or more, stirring occasionally.
They should reduce down to a fraction of their original volume and turn a dark brown color.
Add sherry, cognac or brandy, then beef broth. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and cook for another half hour or so.
Top with Gruyere cheese (or Swiss if you prefer) and broil until the cheese is melted and slightly browned on top.
4. French Beef Stew
French food doesn’t have to be complicated.
Case in point — this simple, hearty French beef stew recipe.
See Also: What to Serve with Beef Stew? 25 Best Side Dishes
It’s made with a generous amount of vegetables and herbs, red wine, and broth.
This dish comes together in one pot, making it easy to prepare and clean up.
5. Cioppino
When youre in the mood for a light, yet elegant meal, soups can be the perfect choice.
For example, Cioppino is a classic Italian-American fish soup thats sure to delight guests.
I like to serve it with crusty bread for dipping and a simple salad with balsamic vinaigrette as a side.
6. Cream of Brie Soup
This elegant, creamy soup features Brie cheese, a French favorite.
The flavor is complex and rich with notes of mushrooms and shallots.
This soup pairs well with dry white wines, such as chardonnay or pinot gris, or with a sparkling co*cktail.
7. Beef and Wine Soup with Dumplings
When it’s cold outside, nothing is quite as comforting as a bowl of soup.
I love making it in the slow cooker and letting it simmer all day long.
It’s perfect as an appetizer or light meal, but since it’s so elegant, soup also makes a fantastic first course for a dinner party.
8. Sweet Corn Soup with Fried Leeks
For a delicious soup that is as easy to make as it is elegant, try this sweet corn soup with fried leeks.
The fried leeks add a nice texture on top of the creamy soup and really make this a meal in itself.
9. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
One of the most elegant soups for a dinner party is roasted butternut squash soup.
The vibrant color and buttery texture makes it perfect for entertaining.
For this recipe, you can add any garnish you like to make it your own..
10. Elegant Chilled Spring Pea Soup
I love the idea of chilled soups for a spring dinner party, and this one is beautiful.
Green peas, mint (optional), and yogurt make it taste fresh, while smoked haddock adds an elegant touch.
11. Pumpkin Soup
In the fall, there is nothing better than a pumpkin soup recipe that will warm up the guests and make them feel at home.
The best part about this soup is that you can add any other ingredient that you like to give it a unique flavor.
For example, you can add some roasted chestnuts and chopped apples to make it even more delicious.
12. Broccoli Cheese Soup
One of my favorite soups for a dinner party is the Broccoli Cheese Soup.
It’s creamy, it’s cheesy, it’s warm and cozy.
It hits all the marks for a soup that is easy to make and very satisfying to eat.
13. Kale Soup
When you’re planning a dinner party, you’ll want to leave your guests with a good impression.
One way to do that is by having an elegant soup for your meal.
Of course, not just any soup will do – one of the most elegant soups out there is kale soup.
This delicious and nutritious recipe is sure to wow your guests and make them want to come back for more!
14. Asian Zoodle Soup
If you’re looking for an elegant soup to serve for a dinner party, look no further than Asian Zoodle Soup.
This soup is light but filling and can be made quickly.
Soup is a great appetizer at parties because it’s easy to make in large batches, low-maintenance and keeps guests warm during the winter months.
The soup will keep well for up to three days in the refrigerator or can be frozen for up to six months.
15. Carrot Ginger Soup
Carrot ginger soup is a delicious, elegant soup that is perfect for a dinner party.
It’s easy to prepare and requires few ingredients.
You can make it ahead, so it won’t take up valuable kitchen space or time when you are entertaining.
Let others think you spent all day preparing this dish when in reality it took only a few minutes.
16. Chilled Cucumber-Dill Soup
For a lighter, healthier meal at your dinner party, try this chilled soup recipe.
I like to use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients in the pot, but you can also use a regular blender if you prefer.
17. Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
Roasting tomatoes brings out the sweetness in this delicious soup.
It’s so good that I usually double or triple the recipe so we have leftovers for lunch the next day.
18. Roasted Red Pepper Soup
This soup looks like you spent hours cooking but can actually be made in less than an hour.
The key here is to roast your own red peppers — they taste so much better than the canned stuff — which takes only about 15 minutes under the broiler.
19. Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Bacon
Bacon makes everything better, doesn’t it?
When I served this cauliflower soup to my guests, they were already pleased with the appetizers (cheese and crackers), then I added the creamy soup to their plates.
And when they saw the bacon on the table, they would pick up a little more for garnish.
My guests loved the creaminess of the cauliflower and the taste of bacon in every bite.
20. Pea Fennel Soup
This soup is a celebration of fresh spring vegetables.
It’s light and bright, yet rich and hearty enough to satisfy a crowd.
The fennel gives it an unexpected flavor punch — one that guests will be talking about for weeks afterward.
21. Moroccan Carrot Soup
This healthy soup is full of Moroccan flavor, thanks to a spice blend that includes ginger, turmeric, cumin and coriander.
And its bright color comes from the carrots — sweet potatoes would have a similar effect if you like the idea of a sweeter soup.
Top the soup off with yogurt and chopped fresh mint before serving for a fresh finish.
8 Tips for Serving Elegant Soups for A Dinner Party
It isn’t just what’s in the soup, it’s how you serve it.
There are many ways to serve soup that make it elegant and special. Here are three easy tips for serving elegant soups for a dinner party.
1. Use Decorative Bowls
You can find some beautiful soup bowls at secondhand shops, or even your local dollar store can have some great finds.
You’ll be amazed at the variety of shapes and sizes of bowls there are out there!
Choose a bowl to match the theme of your table or meal, or pick a neutral colour like white.
2. Don’t Serve It Too Hot
This is a common problem when serving soup: someone burns themselves on the first few bites because you didn’t let it cool down enough.
The best way to avoid this is to serve soups at room temperature or chilled.
This is fine for most soups (except for cream-based ones which shouldn’t be stored chilled), but if you really want to serve them hot then make sure you let them cool down.
3. Place Soup Bowls on a Charger Plate
A charger plate is an extra large plate that is placed under individual dinner plates at a restaurant or special occasion.
It’s typically made of glass, ceramic or plastic and has a decorative rim around the edge.
The rim is meant to conceal any scratches or wear marks that may develop over time.
Charger plates are also used to enhance the look of the table setting.
They come in many different styles and colors so you can choose one that coordinates with your dinnerware.
At home, place the charger plates on the table prior to serving your guests so they have something to put their soup bowls on once the soup is finished.
The charger plate will keep your tablecloth clean and help maintain the proper temperature for your soup longer than if you left it sitting on bare tablecloth fabric or wood without a heat-absorbing material below it.
4. Consider the season
When choosing soups for your menu, start by considering the season.
Although some seasonal ingredients are available year-round, you will often find better results when you stick with seasonal ingredients.
For example:
Fall: Apples and pears go well with roasted root vegetables. The crisp cold weather pairs well with creamy soups or broths laden with hearty ingredients like beans, lentils and winter squash.
Winter: Root vegetables like rutabaga and parsnip are at their best in the winter months, as are hearty greens like kale and collards. Try adding those ingredients to a traditional chicken noodle soup (See Also: Best Veggies For Chicken Noodle Soup) for a new twist on an old favorite.
Spring: Asparagus is the first vegetable to spring up in most parts of the country, so it makes sense that it should be the star of the show.
5. Choose the right ingredients
You can use any kind of meat, seafood and vegetables for your soups.
However, instead of using ingredients that have a bland taste, try to choose those that have bold flavors such as cremini mushrooms, leeks and parsnips.
They will make your soup more flavorful and elegant.
6. Make it creamy
Dress up your soups with cream, but don’t make it overly thick.
Just add enough to give it a smooth texture.
You can also add cream cheese instead of regular cream to make it richer and more indulgent.
If you want to add some crunch, top it with homemade croutons or crackers.
7. Add the toppings at the last minute
When you’re serving hearty soup, you may need to add toppings like cheese and bacon for maximum flavor.
But if you put them in ahead of time, they will lose their crunchiness and become soggy.
To keep them crispy or chewy, place them in bowls or plates so your guests can sprinkle them on top of their soup themselves.
8. Serve the soup in small portions
Serving large bowls of soup can make it more difficult for your guests to manage utensils and enjoy the rest of their meal comfortably.
It also tends to get lukewarm more quickly.
Consider offering individual servings in smaller bowls or cups instead of large tureens or bowls in the center of the table.
Why Consider Serving Elegant Soups for A Dinner Party?
If you are planning a dinner party, you might worry that you won’t be able to afford to provide your guests with an elegant meal, however, there are some simple ways that you can make this happen.
Here are 4 reasons why you should consider serving elegant soups for the next dinner party that you host:
1. Soup is Versatile
Soup can be served as the main course at your dinner party – something that people don’t always think about.
A hearty soup can replace an entire meal if prepared properly.
You don’t have to limit yourself to only serving it in bowls as a starter course either; you can serve soups in hollowed-out pumpkins or artisan bread bowls instead which makes them even more visually appealing and appetizing!
2. You Can Make Soup Ahead of Time
One of the biggest benefits to serving soup at a dinner party is that it can be made ahead of time and then reheated when you’re ready to eat.
This allows you to spend more time with your guests than being stuck in the kitchen preparing everything right before they arrive.
You can even prepare it days in advance if you want.
3. It’s Easy To Make
One of the biggest reasons why you should serve elegant soups at your next dinner party is because they are easy to make.
These soups come in many different flavors and can be made by simply pouring water over them or by adding milk or cream to them.
You don’t have to worry about cooking anything, making it the perfect choice for those who don’t have time or the ability to cook!
4. They’re Great For Every Season
Although most people associate soup with the winter months when it’s cold outside, soup is great for every season.
Cold soups are popular in the summer because they help cool people down during hot weather.
And thick soups like tomato bisque or chicken noodle are hearty enough for chilly weather without being too heavy.
Related:
What Spices to Put in Tomato Soup: 11 Best Spices
What Salad Goes with Tomato Soup? 10 Best Salads
What to Serve with Soup Besides Bread – 35 Easy Sides
What to Serve with Soup Besides Salad (21 Sides)
What to Serve with Lentil Soup (28 Best Side Dishes)
What to Serve with Ham and Bean Soup – 25 Easy Sides
What to Serve with Potato Soup? 30 Best Side Dishes
What to Serve with Tomato Soup Besides Grilled Cheese
What Dessert Goes With Soup? 10 Easy Desserts
What to Serve with Potato Leek Soup – 16 Easy Sides
What to Serve with Butternut Squash Soup (52 Best Sides)
What to Serve with Asparagus Soup – 10 Side Dishes
16 Best Soups to Serve with Pizza (With Recipes)
What Kind of Bread to Serve with Soup (39 Breads)
21 Elegant Soups for A Dinner Party
Soups can be a great way to feed a large group of people without having to worry about portion sizes.
The most important thing is to make sure that you have a soup that’s not too heavy or rich.
Soups can often be very filling, so you may want to serve a salad as a side dish to help balance out the meal.
The best soups to serve are ones that are light and fresh.
They should have a delicate flavor that pairs perfectly with the flavors of the main course.
The most elegant soup to serve is a chilled soup like a cucumber soup.
This type of soup is very refreshing and pairs well with a light meal. You can also try a tomato soup, which is usually served hot.
These soups are typically more robust than other types of soups.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people
Calories 370 kcal
Ingredients
- Creamy Shrimp and Crab Bisque
- Gazpacho
- French Onion Soup Gratinee
- French Beef Stew
- Cioppino
- Cream of Brie Soup
- Beef and Wine Soup with Dumplings
- Sweet Corn Soup with Fried Leeks
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Elegant Chilled Spring Pea Soup
- Pumpkin Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Kale Soup
- Asian Zoodle Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Chilled Cucumber-Dill Soup
- Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
- Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Bacon
- Pea Fennel Soup
- Moroccan Carrot Soup
Instructions
Pick any of these easy and elegant soups to serve at your dinner party.
Prepare the ingredients according to the recipe.
Enjoy your dinner in no time!
Keyword Elegant Soups for A Dinner Party
Benjamin
CEO at Happy Muncher | benjamin@happymuncher.com | Website | + posts
Hi, I'm Benjamin. I love cooking, long walks, and my girlfriend! Here you’ll find simple and delicious recipes that you can make in 30 minutes or less.
