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An irritated tickling sensation in the throat that has you debating whether you need to cough or not is no fun. And it’s on days like these that we sought comfort in warm things, like milk, tea, hot chocolate, and my personal favorite – soups.
There’s something about the warm, slightly spicy, and creamy liquid gently sliding down your throat, giving your sore throat a quick gentle rub before plummeting into your stomach. You may even have a favorite soup, whether it’s chicken noodle soup or a creamy vegetable soup; sometimes, you need something other than medicine to help with the pain.
Table of Contents
- Why Soup?
- Is Chicken Noodle Soup Good For Sore Throat?
- What Other Soups Are Good For Sore Throat?
- The Best Soup?
- FAQs
Why Soup?
When you’re sick, you’re naturally feeling frustrated, what with a blocked nose, coupled with a sensation that is identical to knives being poked around in the deepest parts of your throat. Sometimes it’s like an itch you can’t scratch, and if you’re impatient like me, you’d spend most of the day grumbling in frustration.
Soothing soups or warm drinks provide temporary relief, like medicine that you have to take more than once to get better; you’ll need to continue to have something warm traveling down your throat throughout the day or week if you ever have hopes of getting your throat back. You don’t have to stick to one particular soup forever; luckily for you, there’s a whole world of delicious soups out there that’ll do the job just fine!

Is Chicken Noodle Soup Good For Sore Throat?
Small chunks of chicken resting in a pleasantly warm broth beside little hoops of pasta provides soothing relief when you have a sore throat. More importantly, it also helps boost white blood cells called neutrophils, which help the immune system fight infection; how about that? The hot fluid helps keep you hydrated and encourages drainage of nasal mucus, speeding up your recovery time.
Chicken noodle soup also contains bits of carrots, celery, and onions, which contain Vitamin B, that’ll boost your immunity and help with digestion. So when you’re all clogged up and frustrated, just remember a bowl of chicken noodle soup is calling your name!
Making this soup is fairly easy and quite rewarding. I always like to curl up on the couch, wrapped in my blanket, with some room for my hands to wriggle out and clasp my warm bowl of chicken noodle soup and a deep spoon that’ll scoop up the delightful liquid and immediately massage my throat. Here’s what you’ll need to make this incredible soup:
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3/4 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Method:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook stirring occasionally, until tender for about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and grated ginger, lemongrass, thyme, and rosemary for about 1 to 2 minutes until it releases a pleasant aroma.
- Whisk in the chicken stock, bay leaves, and 1 cup of water, then bring this to a boil. Add the chicken, reduce the heat and let it simmer. Cover the pot with a lid until the chicken is cooked through this should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and shred the chicken using two forks, then set it aside.
- Stir in the ditalini pasta and cook until it’s tender for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the shredded chicken and lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately, and garnish with chives if you want.
What Other Soups Are Good For Sore Throat?
Aside from the beloved chicken noodle soup, I’m sure you’re curious to know what other magical soups are available for the taking; if only you could pluck a steaming hot bowl of scrumptious soup from a soup tree, then the world would be perfect. Fortunately, there are a few varieties of soups that are especially good for a sore throat. You may remember your mom fussing over you when you were sick and then bringing you a big bowl of soup moments after. Now I can’t recreate the soups your mom made for you, but I can give some suggestions of incredible recipes that’ll do the job:
- Garlic Spinach Soup
- Special Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup
- Coconut Chicken Soup
- Vegan Lentil Soup
- Ukrainian Mushroom Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Cabbage Soup
- Lemon and Chicken Soup
Garlic Spinach Soup
If you love the flavors of ginger and garlic in any dish, then you’re gonna like this chicken soup. The soft textures of the chicken, combined with the vegetables, will make gently hug the soreness out of your throat and encase it with warmth and comfort. Check the recipe below:
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- 3 tbsp ginger root, freshly grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup of chopped courgette
- 4 cups of fresh spinach
- 2 cups of cooked chicken – cubed
- 1 pack of cellophane noodles
Method:
- Pour the chicken broth into a large saucepan. Add ginger and garlic, then bring the broth to a boil, and continue to cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir in your chopped courgette, and cook until it’s tender.
- Add cooked chicken and cellophane noodles to the broth, and cook for about 3 minutes until the noodles are transparent and soft and the chicken is hot.
- Stir in the spinach and let the soup simmer for 2 minutes, allowing the spinach to wilt.
- Serve hot and enjoy.
You’ll notice bits of spinach swimming around your soup; trust me, it tastes divine. Clumps of white meat chicken parts combined with hot steamy broth are enough to soothe any pain you have because of the warmth and comfort it effectively provides. This is why it’s so perfect for making on days when your throat is sore.
Special Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup
For lovers of seafood, this soothing soup will impress you with an explosion of flavors. Hot and sour shrimp soup is both light and filling, which is a favorite for most people who are looking for the perfect thing to sedate their hunger and soothe their throat at the same time. The scrumptious shrimp stock combined with spices works wonders on a sore throat. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of shrimp stock
- 1 tbsp grated lime zest
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
- 1 can of whole straw mushrooms – drained
- 3 tbsp Asian fish sauce
- 1 lb frozen salad shrimp, thawed and fully cooked
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 red chili pepper, seeded and chopped
- Salt
- Black pepper
Method:
- Add shrimp stock, lime zest, and lemon zest to a large pot and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Adjust the heat to a lower setting and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in shrimp and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes until the shrimp are evenly heated.
- Add fish sauce, green onion, lime juice, chili pepper, and cilantro to the soup.
- Add salt and pepper to adjust the taste.
- Hot and sour soup is all ready to serve.
The soft but slight crunch of the shrimp, combined with the hot, hearty soup, is a brilliant combination of textures that are enough to soothe the tightness in your throat.
Coconut Chicken Soup
This aromatic and rich soup is very simple to make and can be easily prepared, especially if you live alone and are sick then this soothing, comforting soup can envelop you in its embrace, warming your belly, and ridding you of the tickle in your throat almost instantly. Packed with rich ingredients, here’s what you need to make this satisfying soup:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. chicken breast – sliced
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 small thinly sliced onion
- 1-inch ginger piece minced
- 1 medium courgette, diced into quarters
- 1 cup of cubed pumpkin – small pieces
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 jalapeno or chili pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 can of coconut milk – lite
- Juice of 1 lime
- A handful of chopped cilantro leaves
Method:
- Generously season the chicken breast with salt and pepper.
- Place the pot over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and chicken breast slices. Stir fry for 4 to 5 minutes until the chicken changes color.
- Next, add the pumpkin and courgette, and stir.
- Add peppers, chicken broth, coconut milk, and lime juice to the pot. Give everything a stir to mix well.
- Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes and allow the ingredients to cook completely.
- Remove the soup from the heat and season it with more salt and pepper according to your taste.
- Serve with chopped cilantro on top for the best flavors.
Vegan Lentil Soup
Lentil soup is usually enjoyed on top of white rice, especially when the rice is buried beneath the lentils, the sauce coating the fluffy rice with delightful textures and flavors that blend together like a couple of soulmates. This vegan-friendly lentil soup contains an interesting mix of ingredients that makes it rich in zinc. Which naturally makes it an incredible soup to alleviate the common colds. Soothe the harsh tickle in your throat whilst enjoying the delicious aromatic flavors of this lightly spiced lentil soup. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need for this recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 medium carrots, grated
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup dried red lentils, uncooked
- 1/4 cup milk, dairy-free
- 5 1/2 cups of vegetable broth/stock
- A handful of chopped parsley
- Mixed seeds to serve
Method:
- Add oil to a large pot and heat it over medium flame, then stir in the onions and cook for 3 minutes until translucent.
- Add stock, lentils, carrots, milk, and cumin to the mix. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 15 minutes and allow the lentils to cook completely.
- Once done, puree the mixture in a food processor or using a handheld blender, then add water to adjust the consistency if needed.
- Heat thoroughly and ladle the soup into a serving bowl; top with mixed seeds and fresh parsley for added deliciousness.
You can have this soup with some bread, just dunk a thick slice of crunchy baguette, swirl it around the soup so that the soft bread can absorb all the wonderful flavors, and take a huge bite.
Ukrainian Mushroom Soup
Ease your sore throat with a bowl loaded with rich flavors of mushrooms. This velvety textured soup is guaranteed to provide you with the comfort you so desperately desire. With a much-needed escape from the harsh stinging sensation in your throat, this soup will have you feeling warm and buttery inside. Exactly what you need on a day that you feel like your energy has slowly been sucked out of you by a demon. Fear not; you’re about to be rescued. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 medium potatoes, diced
- 1 small carrot, chopped
- 1 large onion, minced
- 8 oz. Portobello, Shiitake, or Cremini mushrooms, sliced.
- 1 tsp thyme
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Method:
- Place a large pan over medium heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil.
- Stir in carrots and onions, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the onions are translucent.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan and set them aside. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown and the liquid evaporates.
- In a separate pot, add vegetable stock and bring it to a boil. Add potatoes to the broth and cook for 10 minutes over low or medium heat.
- Remove the mushrooms from the pan and transfer them to the pot along with sautéed carrots, onions, thyme, salt, and pepper. Keep some mushrooms to dash over the top of the soup as a finishing touch. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Stir in half and half and bring the soup to a second boil. Add some minced garlic to the pot and turn off the heat.
- Puree the soup using a stand or immersion blender.
- Serve this creamy soup in a bowl, topped with some silky mushrooms.
Enjoy this soup on any day of the year, you don’t have to be sick to treat yourself to a nice creamy mushroom soup. The silky flavors are so addicting you’ll be wanting to make this over and over again!
Chicken and Rice Soup
The best combination anyone can ever have is chicken and rice soup. Like chicken noodle soup, though we’ve replaced the pasta with little fluffy grains of pillowy rice that sink into the delicious broth, curling around bits of chicken, the creamy flavors soothing your sore throat and warming your belly pleasantly. Not only will your tongue tingle from the delightful combination of textures and flavors, but you’ll be feeling better in no time. There’s something about the art of marrying both chicken and rice in a nice hot broth that just makes my tummy sing. If it were up to me, I’d do this every single day! Check out the recipe below:
Ingredients:
- 10 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cup of celery, sliced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 cup of carrots, sliced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup snipped parsley
- 1/2 tsp thyme leaves, dried
- 2 cups of cooked rice
- 3/4 lb chicken, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp lime juice
Method:
- Add chicken broth, celery, onions, carrots, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf in a Dutch oven. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes until the celery and onions start to soften.
- Add chicken to the simmering broth and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, and allow the chicken to cook.
- Remove and discard bay leaf.
- Add in rice and lime. Cook while stirring until thoroughly hot.
- Garnish with lime slices on the top, and serve hot.
If you want the maximum enjoyment of this soup, then you must have it while it’s piping hot, letting it cool down on the spoon for a couple of seconds before taking a light sip. The rice and chicken gently slide around your mouth, coating your tongue in an explosion of flavors, gliding down your throat, and squeezing the pain out, bit by bit.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
If you want to keep your soup light and eliminate the fatty ingredients, this soup is perfect for you. Not only will it gently caress your sore throat, but it just happens to be one of the best squash soups you can try. Try this recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash, seeded and halved lengthwise
- 1 sweet potato, diced into large pieces
- 1 large carrot, diced into large pieces
- 1 garlic head
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
Method:
- Start with roasting the vegetables, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and prepare a baking dish with parchment paper.
- Arrange butternut squash halves, sweet potatoes, carrots, and garlic head on the baking sheet. Drizzle one and a half tablespoons of olive oil over the vegetables and season with salt, rosemary, and black pepper. Set to bake for 20 minutes.
- Turn everything and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the flesh from the squash and dice the sweet potatoes and carrots into smaller chunks. Squeeze out the garlic from the skin.
- Now that all your vegetables are ready, you can start preparing your soup. Place a large pot over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil, then add celery and onion next.
- Add cayenne pepper and nutmeg and continue to sauté for about 8 minutes until the onions are tender. Then add the apple to the pot and cook whilst stirring for another 2 minutes.
- Pour vegetable broth and apple cider into the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the baked squash, sweet potato, and carrot to the mix. Puree everything using an immersion blender.
- Serve this in your favorite bowl.
Enjoy the silky smooth consistency of the broth, with mildly sweet flavors that’ll have you smacking your lips together in delight.

Cabbage Soup
Cabbage soup has healing properties that can assist with a sore throat. But that does not mean that you’ll be making this soup only for a sore throat. You’ll find yourself chopping up the cabbage and other ingredients for this soup more often than you think. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves of chopped garlic
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 2 quarts of water
- 4 tsp bouillon granules
- 1/2 head of cabbage, cored and chopped
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes diced
Method:
- Place a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil along with onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion is tender.
- Stir in water and bouillon, then season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Next, add your cabbage and continue cooking for another 10 minutes until you find that the cabbage has started to wilt.
- Stir in tomatoes, and then bring it to a boil again. Reduce the heat, and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes more whilst stirring frequently.
- Serve hot for a quick recovery.
Soup, when served hot or very warm, is exceptional at providing healing powers. When you can feel the warmth of the soup sliding down your throat, with gentle fingers curling around your throat, and pluck the thorns that make you cough horribly, that’s when you know you’ve won. Serving your favorite soup with some bread is always the perfect side to have. You can crumble pieces of your favorite bread into the soup and enjoy little floating chunks of bliss.
Lemon and Chicken Soup
Are you after a soup that’ll hit the spot? If you’ve felt your throat tickle you throughout the day or generally feel poorly, then this soup has your name written all over it. With its magical methods of instantly warming your soul, and keeping your tummy happy, let’s dive into the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 8 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of chopped onion
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 6 tbsp chicken soup base
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 16 slices of lemon
- 1 cup of chicken meat, cooked and diced
- 8 egg yolks
Method:
- In a large stockpot, combine chicken broth, soup base, lemon juice, celery, onions, carrots, and white pepper. Place it on high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour and butter, then gradually pour in the soup mixture. Simmer for another 10 minutes stirring frequently.
- Whilst the soup is simmering, beat the egg yolks in a bowl until the color lightens. Add some of the soup mixtures to the eggs and continue to stir.
- Return the beaten egg yolks to the soup pot and stir well.
- Add chicken and rice next and cook for another 2 minutes to heat everything thoroughly.
- Serve the soup in bowls and top with lemon slices.
This creamy, velvety soup will have you feeling better in no time. Being embraced by food is just so satisfying, enough to plaster a permanent grin on one’s face.
The Best Soup?
The answer to this relies heavily on what sorts of textures and flavors you’re comfortable with or simply whatever you’re craving. When you’re sick, you often seek out comfort in warmth and soups that hug you from the inside of your body. There’s nothing like it, and I’m certain you know exactly what I mean. When it comes to the best soup that’ll relieve a sore throat, it’ll be the soup that soothes the soreness of your throat the best.
FAQs
Which Soup Is Best For A Sore Throat?
Chicken noodle soup tastes great and contains vitamin-rich vegetables that help boost your immune system and noodles to keep you full and satisfied.
Which Vegetable Soup is Good For Throat Pain?
Tomato, celery, and mushroom soup are all vegetable based and nourish your body with vitamins.
Is Tomato Soup Good For Sore Throat?
Any warm soup is great for instant relief from a sore throat, but the best options are vegetable-based soups that will help you get the nutrients needed for recovery.