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When the cold winds start to blow and the days grow short, there’s something deeply comforting about a bowl of homemade soup. And while most of us are familiar with cookie swaps around the holidays, what if we took that idea and turned it into something nourishing for both body and soul?
Enter the Soup Swap—a simple, joy-filled way to gather with friends and share the cozy warmth of a homemade meal.
What Is a Soup Swap?
A soup swap is exactly what it sounds like: a gathering where friends exchange homemade soups. Everyone goes home with an assortment of different soups to tuck into the freezer or reheat on busy nights. It’s a practical way to stock up on meals, but more than that, it’s a beautiful excuse to connect with others during the winter season.
I’ve done this with a few friends who are particularly good cooks, and it turned out to be a favorite gathering—simple, filling, and full of laughter.
Choosing the Format
There’s no one right way to host a soup swap, so choose what feels doable:
A Small, Cozy Gathering
Invite 4–5 friends and ask each person to bring 4 quarts of the same soup, packaged in separate containers. At the end of the evening, everyone leaves with 4 different soups—one from each of the other swappers.
This keeps things intimate and manageable. After all, making 4 quarts is much more inviting than tackling a pot large enough for 12.
A Larger Swap Party
If you’re feeling ambitious, open it up to a bigger group. Have everyone bring 5 quarts and allow guests to choose which soups they’d like to take home. This format is great for people with varied tastes, but be prepared for a bit more coordination.
Set Gentle Guidelines
To keep things smooth and friendly, share a few basic expectations when inviting folks:
Communicate dietary needs: If someone is vegetarian, gluten-free, or allergic to an ingredient (like peanuts), ask everyone to clearly label their soups and avoid problematic items when possible.
Label containers: Include the soup’s name, ingredients, and heating instructions if needed.
Optional recipes: Encourage guests to bring printed or handwritten copies of their soup recipe to share—it’s a lovely personal touch, but not required.
Make It an Event
Don’t overcomplicate it! Keep the atmosphere light and welcoming. Set out simple snacks (crackers and cheese, maybe a few cookies), offer drinks (mulled cider or tea are perfect), and let the conversation flow.
A small table or counter works perfectly for setting out the soups, and having a few extra bags or boxes on hand helps guests carry their goodies home.
Let it feel easy. The goal is community, not perfection.
Why It Matters
In a season when we can feel isolated or overbooked, a soup swap offers something grounding: a moment to pause, share, and nourish ourselves and each other.
You don’t need a big reason to invite folks over. Sometimes, a few steaming bowls of soup are reason enough.
So this winter, consider hosting a soup swap. You’ll warm more than just bellies—you’ll strengthen the bonds that carry us through the darker months.
OhEmGeeee. I love this, Kathie. What a fun and resourceful way to share some real foodie love. I never thought of a soup swap, but I now want to host one soon. Thank you for sharing this great idea!!! :)
I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you. They are so much fun and I’m looking forward to hosting another one next month.
That sounds like a lot of fun, and such a good idea! I like the idea of swapping healthy food rather than cookies, especially as I think I am “cookied out” for a while after the holidays. :)
This sounds like an interesting idea. Fun to get together with friends in a practical way in winter, too.
It doesn’t sound like your soup is pressure canned. And not everyone has a pressure canner. How do you keep the soup stable at room temperature while you are partying? And do you put it in the fridge when you get home? Freeze it? REpackaged it and pressure can it?
I wonder because recently I was gifted with a jar of borscht. It was canned and at room temperature. But I’m pretty certain it wasn’t pressure canned. Sort of like boiling water bath greenbeans — lots of folks do that here still, but I am squeamish about the olden days canning methods. Borcht has a lot of cream in it. What do you think?
I didn’t ask folks to pressure can – that isn’t the skill set of everyone. The best thing to do is just take everything home and refrigerate or freeze. Because we do small swaps and have just 4 quarts of soup, we just put it in the fridge at my house and ate them up over a few days for lunch.
As for temperature stable during the event, I don’t stress about that kind of thing for a couple of hours, but certainly things could be stashed in a cooler during the event if it’s going to be a particularly long time.
I always ask when someone gives me a jar of something if it’s been canned or if I need to refrigerate right away. It’s the only way to know for sure. If something has cream in it and was canned – I wouldn’t eat it personally, it’s just not safe. I also don’t eat something that was canned unless I know the person who canned it and that they truly know what they’re doing…
I just love this idea!
This is fantastic!!!!
I love this idea. Can you pressure can any soup-even if it is chunky. I adore pressure canning.
You can pressure can soups – I actually wrote a post about how to can those homemade soups here: https://homespunseasonalliving.com/home-canning-soup/
Thanks. I have canned chili but was afraid to can a soup that I made since it was so thick. I wish they made a pressure canner that you can set the pressure and time and let it go. Canning beans in quarts takes forever.
This January, I’ll be hosting my 5th Soup Swap! I took last year off and apparently everyone really missed it, since this year, I think everyone I invited is planning to come – eek! Alas, it’s such a joy! Here’s how I pull off my swap:
1. I invite folks about a month in advance. It’s always the last Sunday of January from 3pm-5pm. This gives people time to think about their soup choice as well as a few weekends to actually make the soup (or the weekend of if time is tight). I ask folks to bring 6 quarts of soup in 6 separate containers, labeled with recipe card (for allergies and to learn how to make an amazing soup).
2. In the invite, I share that folks who love to make appetizers or small desserts are welcome to bring something for fun, but it’s not necessary. I provide basic drinks and apps. Several friends do, others don’t, it’s a win-win.
3. About a half hour in, everyone gathers in the living room and we all go around to introduce ourselves and then everyone shares the name of their soup and why they chose to prepare it. Every story is always fun to hear, seriously. And over the years, some attendees have grown skilled at “pitching” their soup.
4. Then I throw numbers into a hat for the number of soups folks brought. So, if there are 10 people present who made soups, there are 10 numbers in the hat. And everyone draws a number. The person who draws 1 gets to pick the first soup. The first soup chosen wins a prize! Usually, it’s a loaf of fresh bread or a ladle or similar. After everyone has picked one soup, we re-draw numbers. Once everyone gets the hang of it, it runs pretty smoothly and everyone is chatting and having fun. When it’s over, everyone leaves with 6 different soups. Some are frozen already others aren’t. No one has ever actually canned a soup to my knowledge. I literally eat my soups within the week – seriously. It’s amazing to have homecooking every day for the week, and all kinds of flavors.
Good luck to everyone trying it out! I guess my final piece of advice would be that you as the host should make your soup well before the swap so that you’re not cooking and doing apps/drinks and cleaning and hosting…learned that lesson quick.
Thank you so much for sharing this great information and amazing tips. I love your ideas and look forward to trying the number in the hat for my next swap.
This is the same way I’ve hosted a soup exchange – drawing numbers. It worked really well. We asked everyone to bring 6 individual quarts plus extra for tasting. We spent the first hour tasting everyone’s soups (some in small saucepans on my stovetop, others in crockpots). I provided bread, crackers, & drinks. Friends who didn’t want to exchange soup but still wanted to come brought an appetizer or dessert. To speed things up a bit, we had people choose two different soups each round, so we only did three rounds. It was a lot of fun and my soup didn’t last more than a week either!
Thank you so much for sharing your tips – and I love the idea of inviting friends to just visit if they don’t want to participate!
Is the recipe of this soup Tunisian Chickpea and lentil on your website?
It’s not though it’s loosely based off the recipe in Mollie Katzen’s cookbook, Vegetable Heaven