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Mercimek çorbası is a beloved Turkish soup made with red lentils, chicken stock, onions, and carrots. It is often seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, or paprika. Easy to prepare, filling, and warming, the soup is consumed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner in rural parts of Turkey, especially in local eateries known as lokantas.
MOST ICONIC Mercimek çorbası
View moreTarascan puréed bean soup hails from the Mexican state of Michoacán, home of the Tarascan or Purépecha people — one of the major pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. Their culture flourished from 1100s to the early 1500s, but by the 1530, Purépecha people had succumbed to the Spanish conquistadors who eventually named them Tarascos, hence the name sopa Tarasca.
Apart from the beans — which are usually cooked together with tomatoes in a simple chicken broth — this dish is a great source of both fresh and dried chili peppers, most of which are native to the New World like the smoked pasilla de Oaxaca, which imparts not only a delicate heat but also adds a nice smoky flavor to this hearty soup.
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In Czech folklore, the best cure for a cold or a hangover is a bowl of česnečka, a traditional garlic soup. Although garlic is the key ingredient, the soup also incorporates potatoes, meat broth, onions, and traditional spices such as caraway and marjoram.
This healthy dish is usually topped with grated cheese and crunchy croutons, and it is commonly served and enjoyed as an appetizer.
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This classic Ecuadorian soup is made with a combination of onions, garlic, potatoes, annatto, cumin, milk, and queso fresco. The soup is simmered until the ingredients become fully cooked, and the cheese is then mixed in until it melts. Locro de papa is served hot, topped with chopped cilantro, diced avocado, and ají hot sauce, which is the reason why this hearty soup is especially popular on colder days.
If desired, choclo corn can also be added to the soup for extra flavor. The word locro is derived from the Quechua word ruqru, which means stew, while papa means potato.
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Sopa de aguacate is a traditional soup originating from Central Mexico, but it's popular throughout Latin America. Although there are numerous variations, this pale gren soup is usually made with a combination of avocados, chicken stock or caldo de pollo soup, chipotle chili peppers, and fried pieces of tortilla.
The avocados are blended with the stock into a smooth purée, then heated gently so that the mixture doesn't boil. The soup is served immediately, while still warm, and it's topped with the tortilla pieces and chipotle chili peppers torn into pieces.
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The iconic borsch is probably the most famous Ukrainian dish, also considered the country's national dish. It is a comforting soup made with beetroot, meat or bone stock, and sautéed vegetables. There are many variations - the broth can be made with beef, pork, chicken, or as a vegetarian version.
The soup often includes fermented beetroot juice (kvas), and it is common to add meat, while typical vegetables include root vegetables and cabbage. The essential ingredient in every borsch is beetroot. It gives the dish its distinctive red color and a characteristic earthy flavor.
VARIATIONS OF Borsch
MOST ICONIC Borsch
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Domates çorbası is a typical Turkish tomato soup featuring simple and fresh flavors. It consists of cooked or roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, flour, and water. The soup is often seasoned with salt and ground pepper, and it is traditionally garnished with a few fresh basil leaves.
This light meal is typically prepared during hot summer days, acting as a refreshment. It can be served either hot or cold.
MOST ICONIC Domates çorbası
Fanesca is a unique Ecuadorian soup characterized by its thick consistency, consisting of fresh Andean grains, beans, peas, and lentils, combined with salt cod cooked in milk. There should be 12 different grains and beans in the soup, symbolizing the 12 disciples, as the soup is prepared only during the Easter festivities.
Fanesca is traditionally served in round bowls, garnished with fried plantains, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs.
MOST ICONIC Fanesca
This popular sauerkraut soup is one of the traditional Polish dishes originating from the country's mountainous region, and it is often associated with the town Żywiec. Since it is prepared with fermented sauerkraut juice and smoked meat, it has a rich, smoky flavor, and is usually quite sour.
Unlike kapuśniak, a similar sauerkraut soup, kwaśnica does not include any root vegetables. The soup is traditionally served as a nutritious main course, and it is recommended to pair it with bread or potatoes on the side.
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Kürbis suppe or pumpkin soup is a simple dish typical of the traditional Burgenland cuisine. The soup is usually made with diced or grated pumpkin flesh that is lightly sautéed with vegetables before it is simmered in water, chicken stock, or beef broth until all the ingredients are tender.
Typical vegetables used in the soup include onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, leeks, and celery, while the selection of spices and seasonings usually includes salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, cumin, dill, and vinegar. The soup is commonly thickened with flour or cornstarch, and once cooked, it is usually combined with cream and puréed until it gets a smooth or porridge-like consistency.
MOST ICONIC Kürbis Suppe
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 100 Vegetable Soups in the World” list until March 15, 2025, 12,236 ratings were recorded, of which 6,717 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.