15 Healthy Soup Recipes: Perfect Soup Recipes for a Cozy Dinner

These comforting soup recipes are hearty and full of vegetables. Swap any chicken broth for vegetable broth and any milk or heavy cream for coconut milk to make vegetarian soups.

1. 1. Butternut squash soup: Butternut squash soup basically has its own season, and with good reason: the sweet flesh soaks up flavorful stock and spices and has a naturally smooth (not stringy) texture when blended. Braise it in stock or broth first to soften, then blend and season. Alternatively, prep the squash in a slow cooker before turning into a soup.
2. 2. Cabbage soup: Cabbage and sauerkraut are the stars in this vegetarian soup. To make cabbage soup, simmer cabbage, sauerkraut, onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, and red pepper flakes in a vegetable broth. The soup contains a variety of textures, because cabbage retains its crunchy texture even when it’s cooked for a long time.
3. 3. Carrot soup: The sweetness of carrots balances pungent ginger for a soup that's at once comforting and refreshing. This carrot ginger soup is gluten-free, and you can easily make it vegan by substituting olive oil for butter and vegetable stock for chicken stock. For a creamy carrot soup, add a swirl of heavy cream, sour cream, or Greek yogurt (or substitute coconut milk for dairy-free, vegan carrot soup). You will need a blender for this recipe to purée the soup.
4. 4. Celery soup: Celery soup is a vegetable soup, traditionally consisting of chopped or puréed celery, heavy cream, butter, diced onion, and dill. Healthier variations of this creamy soup may swap the heavy cream for vegetable broth and incorporate more herbs and chopped vegetables.
5. 5. Chickpea soup: This hearty soup is flavorful and packed with protein. Simmer chickpeas in vegetable or chicken stock with tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Add serrano chiles, cumin, and curry powder to give the soup a kick. While most chickpea soups are a gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan staple, they can also contain meat, like chicken or lamb. Popular chickpea soup variations include Italian minestra di ceci, tomato-forward Moroccan harira, and curried chickpea soup, a staple in Southeast Asia that features coconut milk, lemongrass, and ginger.
6. 6. Gazpacho: This popular summer soup is traditionally made with tomatoes, sweet green or red bell peppers, cucumber, red onion, garlic, vinegar, and crusty bread. Omit the bread to make the recipe gluten-free. Serve gazpacho cold.
7. 7. Italian kale soup: This Tuscan soup is known as ribollita. It is a vegetable soup made with cavolo nero (aka Tuscan kale or dinosaur kale), crusty bread, onions, carrots, garlic, celery, white beans, and tomatoes. Its name comes from the fact that it was often made from last night's minestrone soup heated up the next day with leftover bread. To make the soup gluten-free, omit the bread in the recipe. You can also add parmesan as garnish, or omit to make the recipe vegan.
8. 8. Lentil soup: Lentils are a superfood and provide an easy alternative to meat protein. Lentil soups are both healthy and hearty, and to make this recipe, simmer lentils in a vegetable or chicken broth with leeks, carrots, celery, and kale.
9. 9. Miso soup: A comfort-food staple in Japanese cuisine, this umami-rich miso soup is made with miso, dashi stock, and add-ins such as tofu, scallions, and toasted nori seaweed. An easier, less authentic way to make miso soup vegan is to use your favorite grocery-store vegetable broth instead of making your own dashi.
10. 10. Mushroom soup: Mushroom soup, also known as cream of mushroom soup, is a soup that typically features a roux, heavy cream, mushrooms, and chicken broth. To make vegan mushroom soup, swap the dairy with a non-dairy milk, like cashew milk, coconut milk, or coconut cream, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
11. 11. Navy bean soup: Navy bean soup, or ham bone soup, consists of navy beans, aromatics like garlic and herbs, and vegetables simmered together in a broth enhanced with cooked ham. Navy bean soup has a creamier, stew-like consistency, akin to split pea soup or lentil soup, thanks to the texture of the cooked beans and rendered fat from the ham bone. To make Navy bean soup vegetarian, substitute the chicken stock for vegetable broth and incorporate more veggies, like diced sweet potato, diced tomatoes, and a handful of dark, leafy greens like kale or chard. Boost the protein and creamy texture with other legumes, like chickpeas or lentils.
12. 12. Pumpkin soup: To prepare this fall pumpkin soup, simmer pumpkin in a vegetable or chicken broth with aromatics, then blend the soup into a purée. To make pumpkin soup creamy, add heavy cream or coconut milk at the end of the cooking process.
13. 13. Potato leek soup: Potato leek soup is a classic soup made of puréed potatoes and leeks. You can serve potato leek soup hot or cold, and the soup can be smooth or chunky in texture, like chowder. Some potato leek soup recipes contain cream, but this vegetarian soup version features veggies, aromatics, like thyme and a bay leaf, and vegetable stock or chicken stock.
14. 14. Tomato basil soup: This classic soup uses three pounds of fresh tomatoes simmered in vegetable broth, with carrots, onions, garlic, and basil. Paprika, oregano, red pepper flake, and black pepper give the soup a spicy note. To make the tomato soup creamy, add in a dash of coconut milk, almond milk, or dairy-free cashew cream at the end of the cooking process.
15. 15. Vegan broccoli cheddar soup: Broccoli cheddar soup is a comforting and delicious soup, and an easy way to get your daily dose of greens. This vegan version of the classic broccoli cheddar soup is dairy-free and uses cashews and potatoes to make a creamy, cheese-like broth.

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