You can make a satisfying soup from little more than water, bouillon cubes, flour, salt, pepper, sugar, and a couple of basic spices. The trick is to treat the bouillon cube as a base, not the whole dish. Simmer it with onion powder and paprika, then thicken it with a simple flour slurry and add just enough sugar to take the edge off the salt. The result is a broth that feels like a meal, not a mug of seasoned water.
This is also a true pantry soup recipe with no vegetables required. It is a cheap soup with bouillon cubes that still has enough body to be dinner.
The formula
This recipe makes about 4 cups, or two modest bowls. Use a 2- to 3-quart saucepan so the soup has room to simmer without boiling over.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 2 bouillon cubes (chicken, vegetable, or beef)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika (regular or smoked)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cold water
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- About 1/4 teaspoon sugar, optional but recommended
Method:
- Bring the 4 cups of water to a simmer in the saucepan.
- Add the bouillon cubes, onion powder, and paprika. Stir until the cubes dissolve.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour and cold water together until smooth. No dry streaks should remain.
- Pour the slurry into the simmering broth while stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the soup comes back to a gentle simmer.
- Let it simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the soup thickens slightly and the raw flour taste disappears.
- Season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Start with a small amount of each and taste as you go. The bouillon is already salty, so you may not need any additional salt.
How to thicken soup with flour
Flour gives soup body without cream or milk. The key is to mix the flour with cold water before adding it to the hot broth. That is how to thicken soup with flour without ending up with lumps. Once the slurry is stirred in, the soup needs a few minutes at a simmer so the flour cooks and the raw taste goes away.
If the soup is still thinner than you want, whisk another teaspoon of flour into a few tablespoons of cold water and stir it in. Let the soup simmer again before checking. If it is too thick, add more hot water or a little extra bouillon.
Balance the salt
Bouillon cubes are usually salty, and their flavor can feel one-note when they are the only seasoning. Sugar does not make the soup sweet at this amount. It rounds out the salt and helps the spices come through. Use about 1/4 teaspoon for a 4-cup batch, then adjust.
Black pepper adds warmth. Onion powder and paprika supply the savory background that fresh vegetables would normally provide.
Three simple riffs
All three riffs keep the same base formula.
Onion-paprika soup
Use 1 teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon paprika instead of the smaller amounts. Finish with a generous grind of black pepper. The broth tastes deeper and a little roasty.
Peppery soup
Keep the base amounts of onion powder and paprika, then stir in about 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper just before serving. Add a tiny pinch of sugar to balance the heat. If you want more warmth, grind extra pepper over each bowl.
Lightly sweet-savory soup
Add 1 teaspoon sugar and use only a pinch of black pepper. Reduce the paprika to 1/8 teaspoon. Let the bouillon and onion powder carry the flavor. This version is gentler and less sharp, useful when you want something soothing.
Make it more substantial
If you have the same few ingredients and want more texture, drop small spoonfuls of a simple dough into the soup. Mix about 1 cup all-purpose flour with enough cold water to make a stiff dough, plus a pinch of salt. Drop teaspoons of the dough into the simmering soup, cover the pot, and cook until the dumplings are cooked through. This is an easy, filling variation drawn from the same pantry-only logic.
Mistakes to avoid
- Add the flour only as a slurry. Straight flour into hot liquid makes lumps.
- Do not skip the simmering time. Uncooked flour tastes starchy.
- Season after the soup has simmered, not before. The flavor changes as the broth reduces.
- Start with 2 tablespoons of flour for 4 cups of soup. Too much turns the broth pasty.
- Taste before adding salt. Bouillon cubes vary by brand, and many are already quite salty.
