Soups and stews are versatile: They make a great main dish or first course, or a light lunch or snack. Sometimes they are a fall-back choice when nothing else sounds good. At our house, a stormy day automatically means soup for lunch because it is warm and comforting. (In fact, warming the bowls before serving is a nice touch, too.)

But soups and stews can be perilous because the typical thickeners—wheat flour, bread crumbs—contain gluten. Choosing the right substitute thickener—and the right amount—can be confusing. In addition, soups contain many ingredients (hence, all that flavor) so downsizing in the right proportions can be hard.

With this in mind, I chose these soups and stews because they require multiple ingredients and/or a thickener. Most soups will yield 1 to 1½ cups per serving, although stews yield closer to 2 cups because they are all-in-one meals.

Some soups or stews can be cooked on the cooktop or in a slow cooker. However, when a stew calls for baking in the oven, don’t cook it on the cooktop, as liquids can evaporate too quickly, leading to a dry stew. Sandwiches present their own unique challenge for people eating gluten free. In this chapter I offer recipes for those sandwiches that require multiple ingredients and that we all miss on a gluten-free diet.