Homemade Soup Fast on Busy Nights: 6 Pantry Staples

With the arrival of fall, most families can count on two other things: school activities will be in full swing and cooler temperatures beg for a hot bowl of soup for dinner.

Busy families can easily put together a homemade, hearty soup on the fly by keeping just six staple ingredients in the pantry. With these items, it's possible to make a fresh pot of soup in about 30 minutes without ever opening the refrigerator or freezer. If you do have a few extra minutes, it's easy to add diced chicken breast or pork loin to the mix.

Broth and stock

Using broth or stock as the base for soup provides a depth of flavor that just can't be found with water. Chicken, beef and vegetable stock are available in cans and boxes in the soup aisle. Just like ready-to-serve soups, commercial broth and stock can be high in sodium, but reduced-sodium options are available. When you do use broth to make soup, don't add salt until after all the ingredients are in the pot and you've tasted it.

Dried Pasta

Any dried pasta can add bulk to a pot of soup and whole wheat varieties will give you more nutritious bang. Broken spaghetti, elbow macaroni and bowtie pasta all cook quickly. If you have young children, they'd be thrilled to have a pot of homemade alphabet soup!

Canned Beans

Quickly add protein to your homemade soup with a can or two of beans. I prefer to rinse the beans before adding them to my soup, but canned kidney beans, black beans and garbanzo beans all add quick nutrition and don't require hours of cooking.

Evaporated Milk

We're fans of chowder in our kitchen and often make strictly-vegetable varieties. I like to keep cans of evaporated milk in the pantry in case I'm out of heavy cream or regular milk. The canned variety adds a creamy texture to homemade soups and doesn't tend to curdle if added too soon in the cooking process.

Diced tomatoes

Peeled, diced tomatoes are an easy way to give your homemade soup a flavorful twist. Some vegetable stock, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and bowtie pasta make a simple, flavorful soup. Check your grocery shelves for low-sodium varieties of canned tomatoes.

Asian Vegetables

Add fiber to your homemade soup with the addition of canned bean sprouts, water chestnuts or bamboo shoots. Kids and picky grownups like the added crunch in the soup and these stir-fry favorites can be added during the last few minutes of cooking time.

Your imagination is the only limitation in creating a pot of homemade soup. Add other canned or fresh vegetables as time allows. But, feel comfortable knowing you can quickly create a healthy, delicious dinner for your family by simply combining a few pantry items.

More from this Contributor:

Double-Duty Cooking: Lasagna Three Times

Baby Steps to Home-Cooked Meals for Takeout Addicts

Two Easy Hearty Soup Recipes Featuring Hot Italian Sausage