There's something super comforting about a warm bowl of soup. Under normal circumstances, it can ease your sniffles, warm your belly and bring your family together over humble pantry ingredients—which is why I've been making a ton of soup over the past few weeks. In these uncertain times, I find myself turning to soup at the end of a long day of both working and parenting, not only because it's easy to make (and isn't that what we all need right now?), but also because it's super forgiving. With soup, I don’t have to stress if I only have kale in the fridge instead of collard greens—the end result will be just as delicious.

For soup-spiration, I've been re-watching this Soups & Stews course with the Beekman Boys on the Food Network Kitchen app. For starters, there's something soothing about the everyday banter between Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge while they cook together. But their delicious recipes also serve as a canvas for any hearty and comforting soup.

In their minestrone class, Josh and Brent talk about how you can use canned diced tomatoes in place of fresh, pinto beans instead of cannellini and any potato you have on hand versus the russets that their recipe calls for. "There's no exact way to make this recipe," says Josh, and my exhausted self wants to lean into my phone and kiss him.

In their bread soup class, they combine—you guessed it—hunks of leftover, stale bread (a great way to use up all that sourdough you've been baking!) with water and eggs for a super simple and hearty meal. In their chickpea soup class, they turn two humble cans of beans from the pantry into an effortless and delicious dinner. Once you have their basic recipes down, you can improvise and use whatever you have on hand to create an infinite amount of soups.

Best of all, soup makes for great leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Your future self will thank you.

Related Links:

The Vegetarian Pantry Meal I Can't Stop Cooking

Warming Soups and Stews

50 Soups