These healthy soup recipes are made for crisp fall days and busy weeknights. From red lentil soup and creamy vegan broccoli to 1-pot vegetable noodle and slow cooker minestrone, all 15 are hearty, flavor-packed, and easy to make ahead. Grab a big pot, pick a favorite, and keep bowls ready for the week.
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Soup doesn’t just keep us warm. It comforts, fills the house with the best cozy aromas of the season, and makes it easy to eat more vegetables without even trying. Every one of these healthy soup recipes is built on whole-food ingredients like lentils, beans, potatoes, broccoli, and carrots, so the bowls are filling, satisfying, and full of plant-based protein and fiber (the red lentil soup has 21g protein + 25g fiber, and the split pea soup has 14g protein + 16g fiber).
Start the slow cooker minestrone in the morning and dinner is ready by evening, because the longer a soup simmers, the more flavorful it gets. Save your veggie scraps to make my Homemade Vegetable Stock— the flavor is unreal (and it’s free!). As fall settles in, this lineup is perfect for chilly evenings, meal prep Sundays, or anytime you want something hearty and wholesome.
These five are the soups readers come back to again and again. They each bring big, cozy flavor with simple steps, and they’re all great for making ahead. Start here if you’re not sure which pot to fill first, then keep the leftovers for lunches all week.
1
Vegan Tomato Soup
4.64 (670)
The tomato soup of my childhood, all grown up. Zucchini and carrots disappear into a silky, creamy blend (nobody will ever know), and a swirl of cashew cream seals the deal. Stock pot + immersion blender, 50 minutes.
Thick, cozy, and ridiculously easy. Red lentils melt into a spiced, stew-like bowl with fire-roasted tomatoes and a bright squeeze of lemon. No soaking, minimal chopping, 21g protein + 25g fiber. One large pot, 45 minutes.
Creamy, zesty, and just spicy enough, with tofu, mushrooms, and zucchini noodles in a lime-brightened coconut broth. It's a cookbook favorite and a soup on repeat at my house. One saucepan, 45 minutes.
Sweet carrots and zingy ginger get a silky upgrade from blended cashews and coconut milk. It's basically a warm smoothie you can sip right from a jar. Saucepan + immersion blender, 40 minutes.
Taco night in a bowl. Tortilla chips blend right into the smoky broth for a creamy, dairy-free body, and the toppings (avocado, corn, cilantro, extra chips) are the best part. Stock pot + immersion blender, 45 minutes.
Fewer dishes, more flavor. These healthy soups simmer in a single pot, Instant Pot, or slow cooker, so cleanup stays super easy. Choose a 15-minute ramen for a fast weeknight, a set-it-and-forget-it minestrone for a busy day, or a big pot of split pea or black bean soup to stock the fridge for the week.
6
Instant Vegetarian Ramen
4.45 (117)
Restaurant-style ramen without the restaurant price tag. Shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, and crisp veggies float in a savory tamari-sesame broth, with 14g protein per bowl. One pot + one skillet, 15 minutes.
Dump, seal, and walk away. Dried black beans cook from scratch (no soaking!) in smoky cumin, oregano, and salsa, then get a squeeze of lime. 12g protein + 13g fiber. Instant Pot + immersion blender, 1 hour 10 minutes.
My plant-based answer to chicken noodle soup, and yes, it tastes legit. Golden turmeric broth, tender carrots, and fusilli noodles, and it freezes like a dream. One Dutch oven, 40 minutes.
Minestrone literally means “big soup,” and this one delivers. Cannellini beans, butternut squash, and kale simmer in a fragrant tomato broth, with a spoonful of basil pesto on top. Slow cooker, 4 hours 25 minutes.
Old-fashioned, stick-to-your-ribs comfort without the ham bone. Smoked paprika and thyme bring the savory depth, and lemon and mustard stirred in at the end make it sing. 14g protein + 16g fiber. One stock pot, 1 hour 20 minutes.
Silky, velvety, and completely dairy-free. Potatoes, cashews, cauliflower, and coconut milk do the creamy work in these five cozy soups, so you get that rich, silky, spoonable texture with no dairy cream at all. Top with kale croutons, cashew cream, or toasted pepitas, then serve with crusty bread for the coziest bowl of the fall season.
11
Creamy Vegetable Soup
4.70 (182)
My lazy-day soup, made with frozen veggies, cannellini beans, and a rich, dairy-free cashew cream. Savory, filling, and even better the next day. Soup pot + blender, 40 minutes.
Potatoes do the creamy heavy lifting while broccoli keeps its bright, tender bites, and nutritional yeast brings a cheesy finish. 14g protein and on the table in 25 minutes. One saucepan + immersion blender.
No dairy, no problem. Golden potatoes and cauliflower blend into something velvety and deeply comforting, topped with crispy kale croutons you'll want to eat by the handful. Dutch oven + blender, 45 minutes.
The sleeper hit of the bunch. It sounds plain, but potatoes and cashews turn celery into a silky, herby, lemony bowl with 11g protein. Large pot + immersion blender, 30 minutes.
This delicious jalapeño vegan corn chowder is hearty and packed with 12 grams protein, providing a creamy texture without any dairy, and a kick of heat to warm you from the inside out.
Sometimes you find a soup recipe in need of a bit of oomph. I get it (I put hot sauce on a lot of dishes).
Fresh herbs: finely minced herbs can add a delightful flavor explosion to any soup. Try minced scallions, basil, tarragon, basil and dill.
Cashew Cream: A good vegan sour cream can provide depth and creaminess to almost any recipe. If you’d add sour cream to a soup, then you can add this!
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto: There’s just something about pesto that instantly levels up a recipe. I love adding a dollop of vegan pesto to a good vegetable soup. It’s just so good! I’ve got a few different variations you can try, and they all freeze well.
Vegan Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan is a staple in many American households. This vegan cheese sprinkle certainly gives Kraft’s a run for its money, and its made with real ingredients that really do add a cheesy finish to your dish.
I’m the mom who swapped Lucky Charms for green smoothies— and never looked back. Here you’ll find smoothie recipes and plant-based recipes made simple and tasty.
I loved the great community each off the participants were a delight. My favorite soup was the detox green lentils soup. I like how free I get to feel with vegan eating. Thank you for the challenge
The one-pot paprika corn chowder was my absolute favorite soup recipe because it tasted creamy, was delicious and hearty and felt filling. The dill ranch simple cashew cream was my favorite recipe. I enjoyed adding a dollop of it to my soups so much, which meant our first quadruple batch only lasted four soup days! Now with our second batch made, I’ve even enjoyed it as a pretzel dip! Going forward, I’ll totally be replacing meals I’d include sour cream with it instead, which feels like a monumental gain from this challenge. I’ve always enjoyed soup season and this challenge had helped me branch out to test soups I’d never have chosen before and aided me in my journey as becoming a healthier vegan with a vaster array of delicious, healthy and simple soup recipes.
My favorite recipe from the challenge was the Vegan Tomato soup and I liked it because it was fresh and healthy. I loved this soup growing up but only knew how to make it from a can in the microwave. I’m so excited this challenge helped me learn to shop, prep, and cook meals I normally would have bought in cans and microwaved not knowing how to do any better. One result I got from doing the challenge is more confidence in how to meal prep: pick a recipe list for 4-5 days, generate a shopping list, shop, plan and prep the ingredients, and then cook/assemble each day. I also learned more about what spices go well with what.
This was a great challenge to do. The recipes are simple to make and use few ingredients. There was a variety of soups to make to add variety to our taste pallets. If I had to choose one soup as my favorite I would say the red lentil soup. It is filling, delicious, versatile, has texture and healthy. Thank you for creating this challenge. I’d love to win a Vitamix so I can continue making soups. I can’t wait to try your smoothies next!
This was a great challenge, really enjoyed trying all these recipes. I would say my favorite recipe was the Thai coconut soup, never tried making Thai food from scratch at home and this was a great confidence booster. Actually lost some pounds during this challenge even though on most nights I had more than one serving of the soup, goes to show you can fill up without eating heavy meals. Thank you and looking forward to the next challenge.
I loved the great community each off the participants were a delight. My favorite soup was the detox green lentils soup. I like how free I get to feel with vegan eating. Thank you for the challenge
The one-pot paprika corn chowder was my absolute favorite soup recipe because it tasted creamy, was delicious and hearty and felt filling. The dill ranch simple cashew cream was my favorite recipe. I enjoyed adding a dollop of it to my soups so much, which meant our first quadruple batch only lasted four soup days! Now with our second batch made, I’ve even enjoyed it as a pretzel dip! Going forward, I’ll totally be replacing meals I’d include sour cream with it instead, which feels like a monumental gain from this challenge. I’ve always enjoyed soup season and this challenge had helped me branch out to test soups I’d never have chosen before and aided me in my journey as becoming a healthier vegan with a vaster array of delicious, healthy and simple soup recipes.
My favorite recipe from the challenge was the Vegan Tomato soup and I liked it because it was fresh and healthy. I loved this soup growing up but only knew how to make it from a can in the microwave. I’m so excited this challenge helped me learn to shop, prep, and cook meals I normally would have bought in cans and microwaved not knowing how to do any better. One result I got from doing the challenge is more confidence in how to meal prep: pick a recipe list for 4-5 days, generate a shopping list, shop, plan and prep the ingredients, and then cook/assemble each day. I also learned more about what spices go well with what.
This was a great challenge to do. The recipes are simple to make and use few ingredients. There was a variety of soups to make to add variety to our taste pallets. If I had to choose one soup as my favorite I would say the red lentil soup. It is filling, delicious, versatile, has texture and healthy. Thank you for creating this challenge. I’d love to win a Vitamix so I can continue making soups. I can’t wait to try your smoothies next!
This was a great challenge, really enjoyed trying all these recipes. I would say my favorite recipe was the Thai coconut soup, never tried making Thai food from scratch at home and this was a great confidence booster. Actually lost some pounds during this challenge even though on most nights I had more than one serving of the soup, goes to show you can fill up without eating heavy meals. Thank you and looking forward to the next challenge.