Whether you’ve pulled the forecast up on your phone or thrown the curtains back to see gray skies, you know you’re in for a rainy fall day. It’s par for the course, at least as far as fall goes, with dropping temperatures to blame for the changing weather. And, while the wetness and gloominess may initially put a damper on your day — natural light makes us happier, especially at home — you can make the best of a bad situation with your day’s menu.

There’s perhaps nothing cozier on a cold, rainy day than a bowl of soup served piping hot. So, slice up a fresh loaf of crusty bread, turn on your hob and take out the biggest pot in your kitchen: It’s time to make one of these 11 hearty soups that are a surefire way to brighten even the rainiest of fall days.

1. Spicy Tomato Chorizo Red Lentil Soup

If your hometown sees fall rain roll in with extra-low temperatures, your first order of business should be whipping up a batch of this spicy soup. Chorizo lends the dish its kick — the Spanish sausage has a kick of spice that’ll warm you up even more than a bowl of hot soup. With the addition of lentils to the mix, you’ll be extra-full after a single bowl, too, thanks to the beans’ natural fiber and the benefits that come with it.

2. Italian Noodle Soup

You’re not alone if you crave carbs as soon as the weather changes. This soup gives you the best of both worlds: just enough pasta to sate your cravings with plenty of vegetables to make you feel even better about the home-cooked meal you’ve just put together. You can credit a sprinkle of cheese on top with adding a little bit of protein, too.

3. Roasted Garlic Sage Pesto Pumpkin Soup

There’s no need to explain why this recipe makes the list. Pumpkin is the quintessential ingredient of fall, and even the rainiest of days can’t take away the festiveness you’ll feel while spooning up this soup. That’ll be especially true for those who serve the soup as suggested, inside a hollowed-out mini pumpkin and topped with crispy pumpkin seeds, to boot.

4. Chicken Tortilla Soup

Summertime probably saw you celebrating Taco Tuesday with a frozen margarita and, of course, a plate of tacos. Switch things up this fall and trade your tacos for hearty chicken tortilla soup. You can keep the margarita, since they’re good year-round.

5. Matzo Ball Soup

Many people associate matzo ball soup with Passover, and it is traditionally part of the Jewish celebration. However, the hearty soup is the perfect comfort food year-round and an ideal part of your cold-fighting routine this fall. One of the many facts about matzo ball soup is that it contains chicken broth, which contains an amino acid known to fight mucus buildup in the lungs. Other ingredients in the soup, including onions and celery, further bolster your immune system. Try out this perfect rainy day soup for your next dinner.

6. Crockpot French Onion Soup

The crockpot can and should be your new best friend this fall, especially on rainy days. There’s not much better than coming home to a hot dinner on a gloomy evening, especially when that hot dinner has been simmering to perfection all day. Plus, French onion soup is a fan favorite, so everyone in your family will love a ladle or two once the crockpot has done its duty.

7. Creamy Kale Sweet Potato Soup

Bacon is eternally popular, and for good reason: It’s good. This creamy soup gets a nice kick from bacon, and it might just be enough to help you sneak leafy kale into bowls of picky eaters at your table — even if that picky eater is you. Italian sausage and sweet potatoes are in the mix, too, so a bowlful of this hearty soup will fill you up and warm you up.

8.Curried Tomato Soup

If the first thought of soup is of the canned varieties, it’s past time to broaden your horizons. This easy soup is the perfect replacement for the condensed tomato one you grew up on. Sure, it’s tasty, but this quick recipe tastes fresher, a bit spicier and a whole lot more interesting. There’s even a cool swirl of coconut cream on top to quell any spice left on your palate. Yum.

9. Brie + Apple Beer Soup

Fall weekend days with football on the TV call for one thing: beer. So, when you’re watching your favorite team throw the pigskin and it just so happens to be raining where you are, this is the perfect soup to accompany the game. Plus, you can make it extra fall-tasting by swirling in 12 ounces of a fall-flavored pumpkin beer, for example.

10. Spicy Vegetable Chili Soup

We haven’t had a good, old-fashioned vegetable soup on the list yet. This one is perfect for your fall reciperotation because its main ingredient tastes so seasonal. Butternut squash shines alongside carrots, hearty beans and some zesty cinnamon. You’ll get even more of a warming zing from a bit of red chili, though that ingredient is optional.

11. Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

The above chili gets its flavor from the optional extra-spicy ingredient that gives the whole soup a kick. This chili is much more traditional in the soup sense: There are beans, corn, red peppers, chipotle peppers, adobo and garlic. You can toss it all into your slow cooker and go, too, making it one less thing you have to do when all you want to do is curl up, stay cozy and avoid the rain outside.

What soups will you make this fall? These 11 are only the beginning of a long list of tasty possibilities. So don’t take a rainy, gloomy forecast as a bad thing — instead, consider it an excuse to whip up another tasty bowl of soup this fall and beyond.