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.
The 10 day soup challenge was great for us. I no longer had to worry about what we were going to have for dinner and it was nice to actually have a plan for almost two weeks. There is plenty of leftover soup (I froze some of them) as it is just the two of us. My favorite soup was the Thai Coconut Soup. It was so creamy and delicious. The coconut milk, carrots, mushrooms, julienned zucchini instead of noodles. It checked off ALL of my flavor/meal needs. We truly enjoyed this challenge. Thank you!
Thank YOU for this amazingly healthy fun challenge!!! We LOVED it; saying we as I did it with my husband, who was a wonderful help in the kitchen: he is an expert on mirepoix now Jen, you and your team as well as your guest bloggers put a great plan in place: I loved the variety of the soups, and having different styles, from stew soups to light broth soups. I’m a planner and on RTY, so of course, loved the plan and the generated shopping list, it makes it so easy. Rating the recipes every daily made it challenging as we liked them all lots of 4 ⭐️, 3 ⭐️ and only 1 ⭐️ one. Hard to pick a FAV one but if I had to, thinking of the one I’d have for dinner again asap, I’d pick the Minestrone Soup and so many close second ones!!! Here is my review for the why:
As a coeliac, this is one of those dishes that I had not tried yet (as the ones served in restaurants are (due to the pasta) never gluten free, so was happy to see it on the challenge list! Excited to try it, it was great: easy to make, hearty and filling! I particularly liked the fact that there were so many different ingredients as it made eating it fun; 4 out of 5. Modifications wise, as I used vegetable stock cubes, I did not add the salt and I used a butternut squash instead of a yellow squash (never seen one sold over here) which worked great, just added a longer cooking time, so I added 2 more cups of water. I topped it with RTY Vegan Parmesan, which added a nice cheesy touch!
As per the result, so many but one stands out: 10 amazing nights of sleep; sleep is incredibly important and having 10 nights of excellent ones as the food was so healthy and easy to digest, so disruption was outstanding.
The 1-Pot Paprika Corn Chowder was my favorite as it had such a creaminess and warmth on such a cold evening – and was my first experience with nutritional yeast. I enjoyed making and trying these new recipes even though my husband and I are not vegan, we stayed true to the challenge. We will definitely revisit these recipes in the very near future. Thanks!!
I was able to prepare most of the soups. I had a couple of conflicts, but plan on picking the rest up next week. My favorite so far was the Thai Coconut Soup. I love the flavors in Thai cooking and this recipe did not disappoint. My major takeaway was that I convinced my husband to try my concoctions, and he was surprisingly appreciative. Thanks for the adventure.
I just cooked these ten soups in ten days! Pandemic boredom set in and I, who never cooks, wanted soup, instead of salad (because it’s FALL!). Think fire roasted tomatoes and corn, lentils and zucchini, pasta and wilted kale. I loved making every one of them. They actually progress in difficulty and some are done with some fancy kitchen gadgets, like a Vitamix. My favorite was Classic Minestrone because I learned how to adjust cooking time for my favorite vegetables. I learned how to broil red peppers the easy way in the Roasted Red Pepper Soup. But the most fun is the Black Bean Soup which is made in a blender! The recipes are easy to scale up and down. Plus there are links to great websites for more ideas.
The 10 day soup challenge was great for us. I no longer had to worry about what we were going to have for dinner and it was nice to actually have a plan for almost two weeks. There is plenty of leftover soup (I froze some of them) as it is just the two of us. My favorite soup was the Thai Coconut Soup. It was so creamy and delicious. The coconut milk, carrots, mushrooms, julienned zucchini instead of noodles. It checked off ALL of my flavor/meal needs. We truly enjoyed this challenge. Thank you!
Thank YOU for this amazingly healthy fun challenge!!! We LOVED it; saying we as I did it with my husband, who was a wonderful help in the kitchen: he is an expert on mirepoix now Jen, you and your team as well as your guest bloggers put a great plan in place: I loved the variety of the soups, and having different styles, from stew soups to light broth soups. I’m a planner and on RTY, so of course, loved the plan and the generated shopping list, it makes it so easy. Rating the recipes every daily made it challenging as we liked them all lots of 4 ⭐️, 3 ⭐️ and only 1 ⭐️ one. Hard to pick a FAV one but if I had to, thinking of the one I’d have for dinner again asap, I’d pick the Minestrone Soup and so many close second ones!!! Here is my review for the why:
As a coeliac, this is one of those dishes that I had not tried yet (as the ones served in restaurants are (due to the pasta) never gluten free, so was happy to see it on the challenge list! Excited to try it, it was great: easy to make, hearty and filling! I particularly liked the fact that there were so many different ingredients as it made eating it fun; 4 out of 5. Modifications wise, as I used vegetable stock cubes, I did not add the salt and I used a butternut squash instead of a yellow squash (never seen one sold over here) which worked great, just added a longer cooking time, so I added 2 more cups of water. I topped it with RTY Vegan Parmesan, which added a nice cheesy touch!
As per the result, so many but one stands out: 10 amazing nights of sleep; sleep is incredibly important and having 10 nights of excellent ones as the food was so healthy and easy to digest, so disruption was outstanding.
Thank YOU!!!
The 1-Pot Paprika Corn Chowder was my favorite as it had such a creaminess and warmth on such a cold evening – and was my first experience with nutritional yeast. I enjoyed making and trying these new recipes even though my husband and I are not vegan, we stayed true to the challenge. We will definitely revisit these recipes in the very near future. Thanks!!
I was able to prepare most of the soups. I had a couple of conflicts, but plan on picking the rest up next week. My favorite so far was the Thai Coconut Soup. I love the flavors in Thai cooking and this recipe did not disappoint. My major takeaway was that I convinced my husband to try my concoctions, and he was surprisingly appreciative. Thanks for the adventure.
I just cooked these ten soups in ten days! Pandemic boredom set in and I, who never cooks, wanted soup, instead of salad (because it’s FALL!). Think fire roasted tomatoes and corn, lentils and zucchini, pasta and wilted kale. I loved making every one of them. They actually progress in difficulty and some are done with some fancy kitchen gadgets, like a Vitamix. My favorite was Classic Minestrone because I learned how to adjust cooking time for my favorite vegetables. I learned how to broil red peppers the easy way in the Roasted Red Pepper Soup. But the most fun is the Black Bean Soup which is made in a blender! The recipes are easy to scale up and down. Plus there are links to great websites for more ideas.