Healthy Soup Recipes - Great in Your Healthy Diet

I cook up a big pot of soup most weekends, and often make some more in the week.

That way the kids can take a flask in their lunch boxes on cold days.

Try these easy and quick recipes for soups using chicken, veggies, beans, ham and much more.

Black Bean Soup Recipe A delicious fragrant soup with an Oriental twist.

Butternut Squash Soup A light and warming soup.

Pumpkin Soups A whole range of pumpkin soups.

Carrot and Lentil Soup Lentils add substance and protein to this colourful soup.

Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe Food to nurture your very soul - home made chicken soup

Hot and Sour Soup Recipe Sharp and zesty, a light Chinese broth-style soup.

Ham and Bean Soup Recipe Leftover ham or trimmings from a gammon joint work well in this hearty soup.

• Making soup is really simple. These healthy soup recipes are wonderfully easy, but in all honesty, you hardly need a recipe at all. Just cook any vegetables you have in stock, and blend.
• There's no need to sweat vegetables in fat before you add the stock. I've tried making soup both ways, and you really can't tell the difference.
• These healthy soup recipes cut out unnecessary fat wherever possible. Find out here, how you can use these healthy soup recipes for weight loss
• Pop down to your local greengrocer and buy a handful of whatever dark leaves are on offer – spinach, kale, sprouting broccoli - and use them as a base in one of these healthy soup recipes. They're stacked full of valuable vitamins.

Healthy Soup Recipes - Making Stock

But the very best soups, with the richest, heartiest flavour, are made with home made stock. It's not hard to do - here's how to make stock.

Chicken stock

• Next time you roast a good, organic chicken, save the carcass for stock. Or, if you can get them, use raw bones.


• Break up the bones and put them in a large pan with a couple of peeled and roughly chopped carrots, an onion, a stick of celery, a few peppercorns, a little salt, a couple of sprigs each of thyme and parsley. If you don't have all of these extra ingredients, it doesn't matter.


• Add enough cold water to cover, bring to the boil, skim off the foam and leave to simmer for 3 hours.


• You can make stock much faster in a pressure cooker – I give it 20-30 mins at high pressure.


• Either way, leave the stock to cool, strain into a bowl and chill, then remove the fat.


• Stock freezes well. Make sure you bring it up to boiling when you use it after thawing.

Vegetable stock

• Put vegetable trimmings and peelings – onion, potato, carrot, leek, broccoli, tomato, whatever you have – plus a little salt, a few black peppercorns, a bay leaf and some dried herbs into a pot and cover with cold water.


• Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Leave to cool, then strain. This stock also freezes well.

More Healthy Soup Recipes

Healthy Soup Recipes: Thin and Smooth

GORGEOUS GREEN SOUP

This makes a beautiful velvety soup that's not too thick. If you prefer a soup with more substance, add a handful of cous-cous to the blended soup, and leave it to swell in the hot soup for five minutes. It adds a lovely texture. If you have more time, a handful or rice or small pasta shapes work just as well, but need simmering for 10 minutes.

Ingredients
500g (10 cups) spinach
1 large onion
2 medium potatoes
750ml (3 cups) vegetable stock

Serves 3-4

Method
Get the stock simmering nicely, wash and shred the spinach removing any tough stalks, peel and chop the onion and potatoes, and add all to the stock.

Season lightly. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, until the veg are softened. Blend. Serve immediately, or chill.

Variations

• For a creamier, richer soup, cook the vegetables in 500ml (2 cups) stock. This will give you a thick puree, which you can thin down to taste with organic milk.
• You can add any vegetables you have to hand – chopped carrot, squash, sweet potato, leeks, broccoli. The result is always slightly different, and may not be as intensely green, but will still be delicious.
• Add depth and warmth. Peel a 1-inch piece of root ginger and grate it in while the soup is simmering.
• Grate in some fresh nutmeg. Particularly good with spinach.

Healthy Soup Recipes: Delicious Homemade Soup

CRIMSON BEETROOT BROTH

The sweet, slightly earthy flavour of beetroot shines out in this delicious recipe. And is that not a beautiful, rich colour? This versatile soup can be served hot or cold.
Low in calories, refreshing but sustaining, it makes a wonderful lunch or supper dish. Don't leave out the topping – it makes this soup really special.

Ingredients

1 onion
600g (3 cups) raw or ready-cooked beetroot (not in vinegar)
3 carrots
250g (1¾ cups) potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 litre (3½ cups) vegetable stock
For the topping
6 tbsp organic low-fat natural yogurt, or low-fat crème fraîche
3 tbsp finely chopped walnuts

Serves 4-6

Method
Peel and slice the onion, carrots and potatoes.

Grate the beetroot if using raw, or dice if using ready-cooked.

Add all vegetables to the stock, bring to the boil, and simmer gently until vegetables are tender. If you like, liquidise the soup briefly in a blender.

Serve hot, or chilled, topping each portion with a spoonful of the walnuts mixed with yogurt or crème fraîche.

Healthy Soup Recipes: Winter Warmer

RICH VEGETABLE SOUP

A little bacon goes a long way to adding richness and depth to the flavours in this recipe. You can use less bacon if you like, and add a little oil to pre-cook the vegetables before adding the stock. Or leave the bacon out completely, and add the veg and lentils to the stock as the first step.

Ingredients
100g (1 cup) streaky bacon, derinded and chopped
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
100g (¾ cup) lentils rinsed and drained
1 litre (3½ cups)chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Serves 4:

Method
Cook the bacon gently in a large saucepan until the fat runs, then add the vegetables and fry gently for 5 minutes.

Add the lentils, stock, seasoning and bay leaf and simmer for 25-35 minutes until the lentils are tender.

Remove the bay leaf and blend the soup briefly. Stir in the parsley just before serving.

Healthy Soup Recipes: Clear Onion Soup

EASY ONION SOUP WITH GRUYERE TOASTS

A fast French one, a warming classic recipe for cold days.

Ingredients

6 onions, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1½ (5 cups) litres vegetable or chicken stock
4 slices French bread
3 tbsp grated Gruyère cheese

Serves 4:

Soften the onions in the olive oil.

Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Pour over the stock and simmer for 20 minutes.

Towards the end of cooking time, grill the bread on one side, turn over, sprinkle with the cheese and grill quickly until the cheese melts. Float a cheese toast on each bowl of soup to serve.



Here's where to find a healthy cabbage soup recipe collection.

Healthy Soup Recipes: Simple Veggie Soup

CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE - VEGETABLE AND BARLEY SOUP

I first made this cabbage soup recipe on a chilly Saturday morning, wondering if the kids would go for barley and cabbage… They certainly did, and were a bit disgruntled when there wasn't any more. Next time, I'll make double.

Ingredients

1 litre (3½ cups) stock
2 sticks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 small swede diced
125g (¾ cup) barley
¼ Savoy cabbage, finely shredded

Serves 4

Method

Heat the stock to simmering, then add all the vegetables except the cabbage.

Season and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and simmer for 5 more minutes.

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