As winter sets in, we look for warmth in hearty, gut-sticking comfort foods and piping hot soups and stews.

Many of our favorite winter soups are loaded with beans, which pair excellently with proteins and provide the heft necessary to thicken a basic stock. Our white bean and ham hock soup is topped with lacinato kale, while our Portuguese chickpea stew adds carrots, potatoes, and butternut squash to a meaty base of sausage, lamb, pork, and veal.

Adding pasta is another way to bulk up a winter soup—think Karfiolleves, a paprika-spiced cauliflower soup from Hungary. Then there are the stews: boeuf bourguignonne is a classic French recipe that cooks beef down in wine and nestles it in a pot packed with onions, mushrooms, and carrots.

Ready to get started? From Thai boat noodle soup to Dominican cream of pumpkin soup, these are our favorite winter soup and stew recipes.