On a cool fall or cold winter day, nothing beats a steaming bowl of soup. You can even cook cold soups in the summer. Whether you’re cooking a light veggie-based soup, creamy chowder, or a hearty soup with meat, it’s amazing to serve soup with delicious side dishes such as a green salad or bread.
Healthy soups are filled with delicious ingredients that are packed with the nutrition your body needs. Best of all, you can find tons of easy healthy soup recipes out there that have all your favorite flavors.
Eating a healthy soup dish just a few times a week can have a significant impact on your life. There are many hearty healthy soup recipes that not only warm your bones but also fill you up without adding too many calories.
As the weather turns colder and the days grow shorter, the comfort of a warm, healthy soup becomes increasingly appealing. Packed with an array of nutritious ingredients, healthy soups not only provide a satisfying meal option but also offer numerous health benefits. This article will explore a variety of healthy soup recipes that are sure to delight taste buds and bolster well-being.
Each recipe has been carefully selected to include a balance of essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and fiber, contributing to a well-rounded diet. With a focus on wholesome, natural ingredients, these soups deliver hearty flavors without the need for excessive salt or unhealthy additives.
Moreover, these healthy soup recipes cater to different dietary preferences, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. With such a diverse range of choices, individuals and families will find it easy to incorporate these delicious and nourishing soups into their daily meal plans.
The best healthy soups are also pretty easy to prepare. Most can be made in a crock pot. And you can freeze them for a quick meal in the future.
Below, we’ve put together 15 of the best soup recipes for your consideration.
When healthy soup ideas, it’s nearly impossible to go wrong with mushroom barley soup. This mushroom soup hits the spot for mushroom lovers, and it has a savory broth that’s to die for!
Ingredients in this barley soup recipe include extra virgin olive oil, baby Bella mushrooms, kosher salt, yellow onion, garlic cloves, celery stalks, carrot, white mushrooms, canned crushed tomatoes, black pepper, coriander, smoked paprika, cumin, low-sodium beef, or veggie broth, pearl barley, and chopped parsley.
This is one of our favorite mushroom soup recipes.
We recommend using pearl barley since it cooks quicker. However, if you happen to have hulled barley, it works just fine as well, it just takes about 20 minutes longer to cook.
Is it winter? Summer? Hot or cold outside? It doesn’t matter because anytime is the right time to enjoy delicious Italian Chickpea Soup!
This all-season soup is loaded with savory veggies swimming in a warm, bright, seasoned broth that just makes for the perfect meal.
The ingredients for this recipe include olive oil, Vidalia onion, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted), chicken or vegetable broth, chickpeas, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, ground black pepper, baby spinach, fresh basil, and finely shredded parmesan cheese (for serving).
You can add a parmesan cheese rind into your broth if you have one. Let it simmer in your soup for no less than 20 minutes, which is plenty of time to infuse the flavor into your broth.
This roasted butternut squash soup recipe features coconut milk, red lentils, and a robust blend of savory spices. This butternut squash soup is the perfect meal for those cold winter days, but it works for any time of the year.
Ingredients for this dish include olive oil, onion, garlic cloves, ground turmeric, ground cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, sea salt, ground black pepper, butternut squash, veggie broth, diced tomatoes, light coconut milk, red lentils, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, chopped spinach (optional), chopped cilantro, and sliced green onions for garnish.
When it comes to a healthy soup dish, it’s hard to beat a bowl of savory black bean chili. This is a great leek soup that’s not only low in calories. It’s also gluten-free and vegan.
But, aside from being easy on your waistline, it doesn’t sacrifice fantastic flavor.
Ingredients for this recipe include dried black beans, vegetable broth, water, cilantro, avocado oil, cumin seed, dried oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper, onion, bell pepper, garlic, aroma tomatoes, carrots, celery, leek, and sea salt.
Another incredible black bean soup is this healthy recipe for black bean tortilla soup that adds a lot of savory Mexican flavor.
While this soup recipe doesn’t contain meat, meat-eaters will love the taste of this vegetarian recipe. Black beans are loaded with fiber and protein and taste amazing!
If you’re looking for a creamy and thick, easy, healthy soup loaded with broccoli and potato, then this potato soup recipe is right up your alley!
Plus, it’s so creamy you would swear there’s like a gallon of cream in it! However, one serving has only 405 calories, and that’s for a large bowl!
Ingredients for this potato soup recipe include unsalted butter, small onion, garlic cloves, flour, milk (skim milk or coconut milk works well), chicken broth or stock, water, salt, black pepper, potato, broccoli, and grated cheese of your choice.
For a comforting, hearty soup that’s ready to eat in only 30 minutes, including meal prep, try this recipe for creamy spinach gnocchi soup made with mushrooms and parmesan cheese.
Ingredients for this dish include olive oil, butter, onion, celery, garlic, cremini mushrooms, veggie or chicken broth, Italian seasoning, potato gnocchi, heavy cream, and fresh baby spinach, freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
You can find shelf-stable gnocchi in the dry pasta aisle at your local grocery store. And this recipe feeds between 4-6 people depending on how many servings they eat. And this soup freezes very well for a quick meal.
Experience the flavor of the Mediterranean with this delicious recipe for Mediterranean red lentil soup. It’s not only healthy but super-easy to make and filled with unique Mediterranean spices that will knock your socks off!
The texture and flavor of split red lentils are like nothing else, even compared to other kinds of lentils. Plus, it takes just 20 minutes for red lentils to get soft and fall apart.
Ingredients for this dish include olive oil, onion, garlic, coriander, ground cumin, red lentils, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, Harissa paste, lemon juice, and to top your soup, fresh cilantro or parsley.
This cozy, savory white bean soup recipe has just a few simple ingredients, but more than makes up for it with an outrageously delicious flavor. It’s an excellent soup to freeze for leftovers as well.
Ingredients for this recipe include dried baby lima beans, dried great northern beans, skinless boneless chicken breasts, salt, canola oil (or olive oil), onion, carrots, celery, clove, reduced-sodium chicken broth, water, pepper, and fresh parsley.
We were very excited about trying this fantastic Minnesota wild rice soup recipe. If you’re looking for the perfect winter soup, you can trust the world of Minnesotians who know a thing or two about cold weather!
This rice soup is loaded with flavor and savory ingredients such as wild rice, butter, celery, carrots, onion, vegetable broth, evaporated milk, thyme, and salt.
And did you know that wild rice is a special kind of grass that’s usually grown in the Midwest? It’s very hearty, with a chewer texture than white rice, and does not get soft or soggy even under high temperatures.
You can never have too many black bean soup recipes, and his recipe for easy black bean soup is sure to make on to your weekly dinner rotation.
Ingredients for this dish include onion, olive oil, plum tomatoes, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, dried thyme, ground cumin, red pepper flakes, black pepper, canned black beans, and vegetable broth (or chicken broth).
It would be an understatement to call this one of the very best healthy soup recipes on the planet because the flavor of this pesto minestrone chicken soup is out of this world!
Ingredients for this minestrone soup include garlic, olive oil, onion, chicken stock, boneless, skinless chicken breast, parmesan cheese with rind, canned dark red kidney beans, carrots, crushed red pepper, four-cheese tortellini, curly kale, pesto, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
If you love a good chicken soup recipe, you’ll love this dish.
Make sure your dining chairs have seatbelts before tasting your first spoonful!
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
