Winter is here already so along with our hats, scarves and extra thick socks, it’s that time to stock the cupboards and pantries with lovely feel good winter food. Nothing sums up a cold winter’s night better than being curled up with a rustic hot bowl of soup on the sofa, accompanied by a wholesome doorstop slice of soft bread too of course. Without further ado, here are our very carefully chosen and tasted Top 5 Winter Warming Vegan Soup Recipes!
1.“Chicken” Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup is well known for being the perfect meal when you have a winter cold or just want to warm up from the inside out!
Ingredients:
1 leek (finely chopped)
2 carrots (thinly sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
A handful of small broccoli florets
1 tin of sweetcorn
1 pack of vegan noodles or pasta of your choice
Chicken substitute
1 stock cube
Water
Salt
Method: First you need to select your chicken alternative, cook and set it aside. When I made and tried this I used Quorn Vegan Meat Free Fillets, sliced them into strips and it worked amazingly well.
Place all the vegetables apart from the sweetcorn into a pan and cover with water. Once boiling, lower to a simmer for a few minutes; crumble the noodles into the pan along with the sweetcorn, “chicken” and the stock cube. Add a little more water and bring back up to the boil. Turn the heat down to its lowest and leave to gently slow cook for ten minutes. Season with the salt and voila! Your vegan “chicken” noodle soup is now ready to slurp!
2. Potato, Leek and Pea Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 medium leek (horizontally sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
4 potatoes (cut into chunks)
1 tbsp white flour
75g frozen peas
700ml water
Salt and pepper
Method: Cook both the leeks and garlic in the sunflower oil for a few minutes then stir in the flour. Add approximately 200ml of the water and stir well to blend. Add the potatoes and the rest of the water until all the vegetables are covered. Bring to the boil stirring on occasion to avoid sticking, and then lower to a simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Last but not least, add the peas until tender. Bon Ap-pea-tit!
3. Carrot and Butterbean Soup
I had a vegan sausage roll with this instead of bread and it was a match made in heaven!
Ingredients:
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
8 medium carrots (peeled and cut into chunks)
1 tin of cooked butter beans (around 400g)
1200ml of water (approx)
Sea salt
Method: Fry the onion and garlic in the sunflower oil for a few short minutes and then add the carrot chunks and stir in well. Add the water and bring it all to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for around 15 minutes (or until the carrots are cooked through). Add in the beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with a little sea salt and liquidise. You can blend until completely smooth or leave it a little rougher for a more hearty meal.
4. Wild Mushroom Soup
Here you have a mushroom soup to go wild about!
Ingredients:
Olive oil (as per preference)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 leeks (chopped)
500g wild mushrooms (chopped)
250g chestnut mushrooms (chopped)
1200ml mushroom stock
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
Method: Gently fry the chopped leeks with the garlic in a drizzle of olive oil until they are soft, then add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and then heat through on a simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and liquidise. Lightly shake over salt and pepper to taste.
5. Tomato with-a-twist soup
Ingredients:
1 large carrot (coarsely grated)
1 large red onion (minced)
4-5 tbsp olive oil
225g red lentils
1 (450g) tin chopped or whole tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1800ml water
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper
Method: Cook the carrot and onion in olive oil with dry lentils (lentils are the twist) for about 10 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, chopping the tomatoes roughly if using whole ones. Bring to the boil, simmer until the lentils are soft (takes 30-40 mins approx). Liquidise for 30 seconds and then reheat in pan if serving immediately. You can add a splash of more water if you want the soup a little less thick. Don’t forget to cut up some crusty bread to mop up what`s left in the bowl after!
Now you have five soups that will put the warmth back into those cold winter nights. Not only do they taste sumptuous, they’re also extremely healthy for you. Being all plant-based and stacked with vitamins, these soups can be called soup-er! Have fun with these recipes and tweak them to suit you and your likes. Make sure you share your winter warming soups with us on Twitter @keepfitkingdom -wrap up and enjoy!
