12 Soup Recipes That Are Better With Bourbon

As the weather cools down, we’re looking for ways to warm up. What has the power to warm your innards like a big bowl of hearty, delicious soup? There is one thing, actually: throwing some bourbon into that soup! Cooking with bourbon has become a staple here at VinePair, especially during these cold winter months, because bourbon adds a textured, layered sweetness to whatever dish you’re preparing. Pro tip: Spend a few extra bucks on a decent bottle. That way, you can sip on something sweet while you slave away in the kitchen.

Here are 12 recipes that are so much better for the bourbon:

Bourbon Sweet Potato Bisque with Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Croutons

12 Soups That Use Bourbon
Photo via How Sweet Eats

Is sweet potatoes with marshmallows your favorite Thanksgiving Day side dish? Ours, too. The sweetness of the bourbon addition to this soup is extremely reminiscent of the marshmallowy goodness we gorge ourselves on during Turkey Day dinner. And we’re totally sold on the brown butter-cinnamon-sugar croutons, too.

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Bourbon Beef Noodle Soup

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Jacquelyn Clark

Think of this one as take-out with a boozy twist — in soup form. Hello, new favorite weeknight dinner!

French Onion and Mushroom Soup With Bourbon and Swiss Cheese

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via James Beard

Onions, mushrooms, and bourbon, oh my! These three go together so well, we almost don’t need the melty Swiss cheese on top, though why would we NOT add some gooey goodness?

Bourbon Pumpkin Soup

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Georgia Pellegrini

Because anything with pumpkin is, like, literally so good that you can’t even, right? Adding bourbon to this recipe makes this soup just a little less basic.

Butternut Squash Soup with Maker’s Mark Creme Fraiche

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Maker’s Mark

Like sweet potatoes, butternut squash is a savory sweet staple during all of our fall and winter months. The vanilla spice notes in bourbon bring out all of our favorite flavors in squash.

Blue Crab Bisque

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Maker’s Mark

This is a soup so good we’d even consider eating it on a hot summer day, regardless of whether it’s “soup weather” or not. Bookmark this one for your next lunch day at the beach.

Bourbon Tomato Soup Shooters with Grilled Cheese Rims

12 Soups That Use Bourbon
Photo via Climbing Grier Mountain

Tomato soup, grilled cheese, and bourbon. Have you ever met a better trio? Choosing a high rye bourbon for this recipe will really bring out the robust, savory flavors of the tomato soup. Yum.

Bourbon Apple Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Kale

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Food Republic

Similar to the Butternut Squash Bisque above, though with a couple pops of green in between. The apple addition will really bump up the sweetness in this recipe, while also giving it a thicker yet less creamy texture. It almost makes eating kale bearable.

Maple and Bourbon Ham and Baked Bean Soup

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Closet Cooking

Doesn’t get more savory sweet than this! The sugary maple syrup is heavenly with the flavors of bourbon, while the baked beans add a chunky, delicious texture to this soup recipe.

Collard Bourbon Soup

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Deep South Mag

This bourbon soup recipe is the epitome of Southern comfort in a bowl; sweet bourbon, savory collard greens, and tender black eyed peas? We. Want. All of it.

Corn Chowder with Bourbon Flambe

12 Soups That Use Bourb
Photo via Joy of Kosher

All bourbons are required to have a minimum of 50 percent corn in their mash bill, so it’s obvious that this whiskey and soup go hand in hand. What grows together goes together, right?

Chocolate Bourbon Soup

12 Soups That Use Bourbon
Photo via Sassy Southern Yankee

O.K. So it’s a little more like fondue, but chocolate and bourbon? How could we say no?