5 Vegan soups to spice up your lunch time
Have you hit the January food slump yet? You're trying to be a little healthier, but all the leftover sweeties and junk is calling your name from the Christmas press, while you desperately avoid your wilting lettuce in the bottom of the fridge.
Never fear, foodie! We've rounded up our favourite soup recipes from BOSH to give you some wholesome vegan veggie inspo for your lunch times! From twists on classic recipes to new vegan staples, there's a wintery, warming soup for every taste palette. Have a scroll and let us know which one you make! (If it's not the Indian spiced tomato, what are you doing with your life?)
Vegan ‘Chicken’ Soup
A classic. Hearty, warming and delicious, this vegan take on a winter staple delivers all the flavour and warmth of the winter kitchen staple.
Ingredients
2tbsp olive oil
2 white onions
3 carrots
4 sticks celery
2 cloves garlic
6 sprigs thyme
600g king oyster mushrooms
100ml dairy free yoghurt
2tbsp nutritional yeast
1 bay leaf
1 litre low sodium vegetable stock
½ lemon (unwaxed)
100g kale
10g parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Cut the caps off the mushrooms and cut into fine slices. Pull rough strips off the stems (the strips will resemble shredded chicken) and set to one side.
Peel, trim and halve the onions. Peel, trim and roughly chop the carrot. Trim and roughly chop the celery. Put all carrot, onion and celery in the food processor and pulse until diced. Peel and grate the garlic. Strip the thyme leaves off the stalks. Prepare the stock. De-stalk and shred the kale. Pick the parsley leaves and roughly chop.
Warm the olive oil in a stock pot over a medium heat. Add the onions, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt to the pan and stir for 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme to the pan and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken (shredded mushrooms) and chicken seasoning to the pan and stir for 6-7 minutes. Add the dairy free yoghurt and nutritional yeast to the pan and stir for 1 minute to combine. Add the bay leaf and stock to the pan and stir to combine. Turn the heat up and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
Add the kale to the pan and stir into the soup. Squeeze the lemon into the pan, catching any pips in your spare hand. Leave the soup to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the parsley leaves (keeping a few aside for garnish) to the pan and stir to combine. Taste the soup and season to perfection with salt and lots of pepper.
Indian spiced tomato soup
The perfect pick for the chilly weather we’re experiencing right now! The lush spices will warm you up and the tomatoes ensure you get that little extra boost of vitamin C! Ticks all the boxes!
Ingredients
1kg cherry tomatoes
2tsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1⁄2 fresh red chilli
2 garlic cloves
3 small green cardamom pods
1⁄2tsp cumin seeds
1tsp ground coriander
1⁄2tsp ground turmeric
1⁄2tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp ground black pepper
2 small red onions
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and black pepper
Directions
REHEAT OVEN TO 180°C | ROASTING TRAY | 2 LARGE SAUCEPANS | BLENDER
Roast the tomatoes | Tip the tomatoes into the roasting tray | Drizzle over 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper | Cut the half chilli lengthways, remove the seeds and add it to the tray | Crush the garlic cloves into the tray (skin on) | Crack open the cardamom pods and add the seeds to the tray | Cover the tomatoes with all the remaining spices | Mix everything around, put the tray in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
Peel and finely chop the onions | Heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil in one of the saucepans over a medium heat | Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sauté for 8–10 minutes, stirring regularly | Add the balsamic vinegar and stir for 2 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven, removing the garlic skins, and put everything in the saucepan, making sure you scrape all the spices in | Stir the contents of the pan to combine | Pour half the contents of the pan into the blender and blitz until smooth (if you prefer a chunkier soup, blend only until roughly textured) | Pour the contents of the blender into a separate saucepan over a low heat to keep warm, then blend the rest of the soup | Garnish with basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and serve with bread.
Sweet potato cauli soup
Dreamy and creamy, this soup is packed full of nutrients, exactly what you need for back to work and back to school to bolster your immune system!
Ingredients
600g sweet potato
400g cauliflower
1tsp cumin seeds
2 onions
2 large cloves garlic
2 inches ginger
2 tsp cumin
1tsp turmeric
1tsp smoked paprika
½tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp chilli flakes
40g tomato puree
400g tomatoes
1L veg stock
100g coconut cream
250g pre-cooked red lentils
250g pre-cooked beluga lentils
40g coriander
150g spinach
1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Rapeseed oil
Directions
You will need to preheat oven to 180*C, baking sheet lined with parchment, saucepan.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 3cm cubes, spread the cubes out on a baking tray, drizzle over a little rapeseed oil, sprinkle over a little salt and pepper | Put the baking sheet in the oven and roast the potatoes for 25-30 minutes.
Break the cauliflower into small florets, spread over a baking tray, drizzle over a little rapeseed oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle over the cumin seeds | Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the florets begin to char.
Whilst the potatoes and cauliflower florets are roasting, peel and finely chop the onions | Peel and grate the garlic and ginger | Remove the coriander leaves from the stalks and and finely slice the stalks Dice the tomatoes and roughly chop the spinach.
Warm 2 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onions, a pinch of salt and stir for 4-5 minutes to soften | Add the coriander stalks, garlic, ginger and cumin seeds to the pan and stir for 1 minute to release the aromas | Add the paprika, cayenne, cumin, turmeric and chilli flakes to the pan and stir them into the onions | Add the tomato puree and stir for 30 seconds | Pour the chopped tomatoes into the pan and stir for 2 minutes until well mixed and soft.
Pour the vegetable stock into the pan, turn the heat up and bring to a simmer | Add the roasted sweet potato and blend until smooth either with a hand blender or in a food processor | Pour the liquid back into the pan and bring to a very gentle simmer over a low heat | Add the lentils, spinach and ¾’s of the coriander to the pan and stir until completely warmed through | POur the coconut cream into the pan and stir it through | Add the roast cauliflower to the pan, squeeze in the lemon juice, catching any pips in your other hand and fold everything together | Taste the soup, season to perfection with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into 4 bowls, garnish with a sprinkle of chilli flakes, coriander leaves and serve immediately with some fresh sourdough bread.
Hearty minestrone
Ingredients
2tbsp of olive oil
1 large red onion
2 carrots
1 stick celery
150g celeriac
150g swede
400g swiss chard
1 large garlic clove
1 400g can green lentils
1 can plum tomatoes
10g thyme
4 sage leaves
1 bay leaf
750ml vegetable stock
50ml white wine
10g parsley
(Parsley Pesto Ingredients)
25g parsley
20g toasted pine nuts
1tsp of white miso
3tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (tester to adjust quantities)
Directions
Peel, trim and roughly chop the red onion and carrots | Slice the celery in to similar sized pieces | Peel and grate the garlic | Peel and roughly chop the celeriac and swede in to 1 cm pieces | Shred the swiss chard leaves in to thin strips and roughly chop the stalks | Drain and rinse the lentils | Remove the thyme, sage and parsley from the stems and roughly chop
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, place the carrots, onion and celery in the pan and fry over a low/medium heat until soft | Add the celeriac and swede and cook for a further 15-20 minutes | Add the chard and garlic to the pan and cook for a further 2-3 minutes | Add the chopped thyme and sage to the pan and stir through | Once all the vegetables are soft, add the lentils, tomatoes, stock, wine and bring to the boil
Taste the soup and season to perfection with salt and pepper | Cover and simmer for 13-15 minutes
While the soup is cooking, make the parsley pesto | Add the pine nuts to the blender and blitz into a meal | Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the ingredients come together into a textured pesto | Place half the pesto in a sealed container and save for another day
When the soup is ready, place half the pesto in a bowl, add the remaining pesto and scatter with parsley | Pour the remaining half of the soup into a sealed container, let it cool down to room temperature and place the container in the fridge ready to be reheated and eaten for lunch later in the week (make sure it’s piping hot)
Carrot & Coriander Soup
Ingredients
10 carrots
4 cloves Garlic
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil (for roasting)
1tbsp Olive Oil (for frying)
1 White Onion
2 inches Ginger
3tbsp Coriander (Cilantro) stalks
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Ground Coriander
4 cups (1 litre) Vegetable Stock
Small bunch Coriander
1/4 cup soy cream
Garnish: Black Pepper, Coriander & Soy Cream
Directions
For the carrot and coriander soup, start by roasting the carrots and garlic, with a drizzle of olive oil and some seasoning, for 30 minutes at 200°C. Whilst their roasting, fry off the white onion in a frying pan until translucent. Add the ginger and coriander stalks and stir well. Then mix in the ground coriander and cumin. Transfer this over to a larger pan and add the roasted carrots and garlic (remove the skins!). Add the vegetable stock, simmer for 10 minutes, and whizz using a hand blender. Stir in the soy cream and coriander, and serve with a drizzle of soy cream, some black pepper, and more coriander if you wish.
