Not much is better than a warm bowl of soup on a cold day. Soup often feels like a comfort food when we snuggled inside, watching the wind blow. It’s great for scratchy throats. And it is usually pretty easy to make.
Even better, there are many soup recipes that don’t wreak havoc on IC bladders. Canned soups can often have additional preservatives that are irritating. So, we’ve pulled together a list of soups, chowders and stews you’re going to want to keep handy this winter. All the recipes include only ingredients from the “Usually Bladder Friendly” category of the ICN Food List unless otherwise noted.
Since many soup recipes include onion, those are all indicated. Onions are in the “Foods Worth Trying” category, so proceed with caution. You can omit them completely if they are bothersome to you. Of note, though, is that cooking onion reduces its acid. So, cooked onion might be OK for your bladder even if raw onion isn’t. No matter what, proceed with caution, starting with smaller amounts first, until you know for sure.
Keep some soup simmering to warm up you and your family from the inside out!
Vegetable Soups and Chowders
Soups can be an easy way to get some veggies into your diet. They are also usually flexible to work with frozen and canned vegetables since fresh can be more difficult to find and/or afford during colder weather.
- Butternut squash and pear soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Creamy slow cooker potato cheese soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Fennel carrot soup (Leave out the lemon juice or replace it with lemon zest instead for a low acid option.)
- Cheesy cream of asparagus soup (Omit the drops of hot sauce.)
- Slow cooker potato soup (Skip the black pepper to keep this recipe totally IC friendly. It works well to add pepper after it’s cooked for those who want it.)
- Egg drop soup (This recipe includes green onions, which are in the “Foods Worth Trying” category. Omit them if they are bothersome.)
- Quick cream of mushroom soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Grandma’s corn chowder (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Quick mushroom barley soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
Chicken Soups
Chicken is a great soup protein option that has way more uses than in just traditional chicken noodle soup. If you’re budget is tight, you can use less chicken for servings of soup than serving it as a main dish. Try some of these scrumptious recipes!
- Italian pastina soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Quick and easy chicken noodle soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Chicken tortellini soup (This soup includes a small amount of red pepper flakes, which could be irritating to some bladders. You can simply omit them. The recipe also include onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Chicken gnocchi soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Creamy chicken rice soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Chicken and corn chowder (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Instant Pot chicken and dumplings (To keep this completely bladder friendly, omit the black pepper and turmeric. This recipe also includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Chicken pot pie soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
Beef and Pork Soups
Enjoy additional protein with a hearty beef soup. Not only will these soups warm you right up, they’ll also leave your belly feeling quite full!
- Slow cooked beef soup
- Ham and bean soup (You can omit the tomato paste in this recipe if it bothers your bladder. This recipe also includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Ham and potato soup (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Cheesy ham chowder (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
Seafood Soups and Chowders
The weather may be cold, but you can still enjoy the taste of the sea with this delectable seafood soup and chowder recipes.
- Crab chowder (This recipe includes optional white wine.)
- Chef John’s scallop chowder (Omit the peppers to make this completely bladder friendly. This recipe also includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Carolina shrimp soup
- Split pea soup with bacon and crab (Omit the pepper to make this complete bladder friendly. This recipe also includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Potato clam chowder (This recipe includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)
- Slow cooker fish chowder (Omit the pepper to make this complete bladder friendly. This recipe also includes onion. See the third paragraph for notes on onion.)