When fall hits and the nights start to draw in, going out doesn’t sound as appealing as it did all summer. Layers, Ubers, noisy restaurants, and bars aren’t on the fall and winter Pinterest board! And yet, you still want to see friends. This is where dinner parties come in. And this year, it’s all about a deceptively simple dinner party idea that couldn’t be more appropriate for cold nights, falling leaves, and comfy socks. That’s right, autumn-heads, it’s time to start planning soup parties.
This unconventional dinner party idea can be as complex or as simple as you like. You can still set your dinner party table like a pro if it’s all about soup, or you can skip all that and just sip on mugs of homemade broccoli cheddar with friends in front of Netflix or a Halloween movie. People can be a little flaky in the fall (see, not wanting to leave the house), and that’s fine when the dinner party is built around soup, as the usual rules for how much food to serve for a group dinner simply don’t apply. And your guests can leave with leftover soup if there’s too much; no food waste, just easy fall and winter-appropriate dinners in the freezer for you and your friends! Start planning your first fall soup party today and become a trend setter (you can thank us for the idea later).
Read more: We Tasted And Ranked 11 Store-Bought Cocktail Sauces
Choosing the right soups for your fall dinner party
Five autumnal soups in shades of red, yellow, and oranges shot from above on a white table littered with fresh vegetables – Mizina/Getty Images
The obvious choices for a cold-weather soup party are hearty, winter soup recipes. Roasted squash soups, sweet rooty borscht, and baked potato soups all make total sense as the weather is cooling down, but they’re not the be-all and end-all of potential menu items for this kind of dinner party. Weather, preferences, and your comfort cooking should all play into your choice of soup(s). Spicy Mexican chicken soup with ancho chiles will work if it’s not all that cold out yet, while there are few things simpler to put together than a blended, creamy carrot soup.
Part of the genius of this kind of party is that soups are a really broad category of food. A thick beef stew also fits. You could even make a Chinese hotpot, which is a meal designed to be communal, with everyone dunking their chosen ingredients in a broth that might be spicy or might be mild. There are pretty much endless variations, as it’s beloved across China and beyond.
If you’re sticking to soup, with bread, salad, a couple of easy starters, or dessert, then it’s probably a good idea to make more than one option. This guards against guests just not being into a specific soup and going hungry, and it also keeps things interesting. You can match soups with similar flavors, or pick three that are totally different. It’s your party after all.
Setting the vibe, and the table, for your soup party
A hand ladling soup into a bowl at a table with pots of soup – Webphotographeer/Getty Images
While a soup party can be an easy hack for keeping things simple, you can go all out if you want to. A sit-down dinner with fall-themed decorations and the soup served in cute vintage soup tureens can be really fun, but so can a soup buffet complete with homemade punch and standing room only in your living room. You want a cozy vibe when you’re putting a soup party together. So, don’t ask people to dress up, and keep the lighting warm and festive. Early starts are a good idea in fall and winter, so try to kick things off as soon as possible, particularly if it’s a sit-down affair. If not, giving a decent window for the party is a great idea, as it’s less pressure when your guests are contending with chillier weather and deciding which fun sweater to wear.
One of the perks of a soup party is the cooking part. There’s not a lot of juggling serving times, guests arriving, and cleanup. If you have a small kitchen, remember that many soups are easy to prepare ahead of time (and might even taste better the next day once flavors have softened and soaked into all the ingredients), so you don’t have to do everything at once. You can also employ your slow cooker if you have one, or make it a BYOS (bring your own soup) potluck.
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