It’s soup season, and if you’re not already craving a warm bowl of the stuff, it’s only a matter of time before you do.

But before you open up a can of sad, thin soup, consider making soup from scratch. It takes only three steps, a couple of cheap ingredients and will yield a bounty of leftovers.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be enjoying a bone-warming bowl of soup in no time:

Step 1: Roast Vegetables

Oven roasting vegetables will enhance the flavor and make vagetables easier to digest and puree. In the winter, when turning on the oven is always welcome, use vegetables that are prime for roasting. Try butternut squash, pumpkin, carrots, parsnips or potatoes— or mix and match with whatever you may have.

Step 2: Blend

Add your roasted vegetables to a blender or food processor. Next, pour in your liquid of choice. Coconut milk will take you in a more curry-esque direction and makes for a great cream replacement, while vegetable or chicken broth will yield a more savory and traditional soup. At this point you can blend as-is or add spices, such as cayenne for heat or cumin and turmeric. Add more broth, milk or water as needed until the soup is to your desired consistency.

Step 3: Garnish

A pureed soup with no garnish is good, but lacks substance. Round out your bowl with some herb-infused olive oil (see recipe below), or add toasted crunchy croutons, chickpeas, crisps of bacon or pumpkin seeds as a topping. You can also stir in some plain yogurt or sour cream into your soup for an artistic and flavorful finish.

Still wary of whipping up a batch of soup without a concrete recipe? Use this one for guidance: Butternut Squash and Sunchoke Soup

3 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cubed into one-inch pieces

1 lb. sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), scrubbed and cut into one-inch pieces

3 cups chicken stock

Olive oil, salt and pepper

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1. Toss your cut vegetables in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a
   400-degree oven until tender and pierce-able with a fork.
2. When done, remove the
   vegetables from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a baking sheet. Move
   vegetables to a blender or food processor, add the stock and blend until it reaches a smooth and velvet consistency. Season to
   taste with salt and pepper.
3. In a small pot over low heat,
   warm 1/4 cup of olive oil plus the rosemary sprig on the stove. Let it come to a boil then turn off the burner and let the
   rosemary “steep” in the oil for 10 minutes to infuse its
   flavor.
4. When you’re ready to serve, dish the soup into bowls and pour a spoon
   worth of rosemary oil on top of each serving.

Recipe makes about 4 cups of soup and will keep for a week in the fridge.

Grace Kerfoot can be reached at [email protected] or @gracekerf on Twitter.