Our 18 Best Vegetarian Soup Recipes for Hearty Weeknight Dinners (2024)

When the weather cools down there's nothing like a cozy bowl of soup to warm you right up. If you're trying to go more plant-based or have some veggie-only friends to feed, consider a delicious vegetarian soup. Packed with fresh veggies, beans, and cheese (be sure it's rennet free), there's a vegetarian soup recipe here to fit your meatless meal plan. A lot of these hearty vegetarian soups have enough plant-based protein to make a meal, but you can also serve them as yummy starters.

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Broccoli-Cheese Soup

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Our 18 Best Vegetarian Soup Recipes for Hearty Weeknight Dinners (1)

How inviting does this vegetarian soup look?! In just 25 minutes time, you'll be diving spoon first into a cheesy, creamy bowl of broccoli soup. The bread bowl is totally optional, but it gives a rustic (and delicious) touch to your fall menu.

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Tuscan Bean Soup

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With more than 100 ratings, this top vegetarian soup recipe is loved equally by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Just seven ingredients (plus salt and pepper) and a quick simmer on the stove is all you need to get this easy vegetable soup ready to go. Feel free to make a double batch and freeze the soup up to three months for quick, easy meals.

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Ginger-Carrot Soup

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Our 18 Best Vegetarian Soup Recipes for Hearty Weeknight Dinners (3)

Ginger and carrots make a beautiful pairing. Carrots and sweet potato give this vegetarian soup its gorgeous color—not to mention a boost of vitamin A and antioxidants. Serve this healthy vegetarian soup as an impressive starter or with a salad for a light lunch.

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Curried Vegetable Soup

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Base this veggie-packed soup with vegetable broth, and you've got a delicious vegetarian soup. Coconut milk and curry powder give your bowl a global flavor. Feel free to add cooked grains like quinoa or tempeh to make the soup a hearty meatless meal.

Pair Your Soup with One of Our Best Bread Recipes

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Garden Greens and Mushroom Soup

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This blended greens- and mushroom-packed vegetarian soup is filled with nutrients and antioxidants. It's low in calories and has a savory flavor, thanks to the peppery punch of arugula. Sauté some extra mushrooms to use as a healthy topper.

Buy It: Cuisinart Hand Blender ($50, Walmart)

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Veggie Chili Verde with Seitan Crumbles and Lager

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Let's spice up a traditional vegetarian chili recipe. To achieve a "meaty" texture, we like adding seitan crumbles, which are made from wheat gluten. Shredded zucchini and cubed sweet potatoes bulk up your bowl with nutrients. Chipotle pepper and Mexican lager beer give every spoonful unbeatable flavor.

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Butternut Squash Soup with Ravioli

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Our 18 Best Vegetarian Soup Recipes for Hearty Weeknight Dinners (7)

You'd never guess that this vegetarian soup requires only six ingredients to make. Topped with cheese ravioli and drizzled with molasses, it's a party-worthy side dish that can be ready and on the table in 30 minutes.

Test Kitchen Tip: This quick and easy vegetarian soup can also be made in advance and frozen for up to two months. Just wait until serving time to add the ravioli.

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Coconut-Tamari Mushroom Soup

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Shiitake mushrooms provide the perfect savory umami flavor in dishes when meat isn't on the menu. This Asian-inspired vegan soup recipe combines fresh mushrooms with coconut milk and wakame (seaweed) for the ultimate meaty, seafood-like flavor with no meat or dairy involved. Use tamari to keep your soup gluten-free.

Sweet and Savory Asian Flavors Worth Adding to Your Pantry

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Sweet Potato Soup with Curried Cheese Crisps

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Delicious and creamy, this simple vegetarian sweet potato soup only requires a few ingredients. What really makes the autumn bowl of goodness stand out is when it's accompanied by homemade crunchy cheese crisps. Curry powder gives the crisps a sweet heat, and their light texture is perfect for dipping.

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Chunky Vegetable-Lentil Soup

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There isn't a better way to get your veggies than in this light and satisfying vegetarian soup that's less than 200 calories. It's full of fiber and plant-based protein—perfect for a cool-weather meal. Use green (French) lentils here, as they tend to hold their shape and texture better than brown.

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Quinoa-Nectarine Gazpacho with Crispy Spiced Tortilla Strips

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If you like chilled soups but would rather enjoy chunky soups than smooth, you'll love this summer spin on classic gazpacho. Sweet nectarines, creamy avocado, and crisp veggies give the soup its standout texture and flavor, while hearty quinoa makes the low-cal recipe a satisfying meal.

Vegan Soup Recipes to Inspire Your Plant-Based Menu

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Summer Squash Soup with Whole Wheat Orzo

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Just seven ingredients and 30 minutes is all it takes to make this vegetarian soup. The whole wheat orzo pasta, which is similar to rice, adds heartiness to lemon-marinated summer squash. Add some fresh snipped basil for a bright, herbal finish.

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French Lentil, Leek, and Mushroom Soup

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We recommend dishing up a bowl of this high-fiber vegetarian soup on a chilly evening. It's packed with good-for-you veggies, such as carrots, leeks, kale, and mushrooms, and it serves eight— so you can easily freeze leftovers for a quick dinner later on.

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Sweet Potato-Black Bean Stew

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This chunky sweet potato stew is chili-like in texture and can easily be doubled to feed a crowd. Fresh jalapeño and red bell pepper give the hearty meatless stew stew a bit of heat, while the black beans provide an ample amount of protein.

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Tortilla-Bean Soup

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This vegetarian tortilla soup is so good even the meat-eaters won't be missing chicken. Fire-roasted tomatoes add a hint of smokiness to the veggie-packed base featuring onion, chile peppers, beans, and hominy (or fire-roasted corn). We also include the directions to make your own crispy tortilla strips for a crunchy topping.

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Minestrone

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This top-rated vegetarian soup is a classic. For a simple dump dinner, combine canned tomatoes, chickpeas, pasta, bell pepper, and broth into a pot. Twenty minutes later, the pasta is perfectly cooked and you've got a hearty meatless soup ready to dive into.

Delicious Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes for Quick Meatless Meals

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Sweet Corn Soup with Toasted Corn Guacamole

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Our 18 Best Vegetarian Soup Recipes for Hearty Weeknight Dinners (17)

Here's a fun way to use up those ears of corn you got from the farmers market. And nothing goes to waste here. The corn kernels are removed for the soup and the cobs are boiled to help create a flavorful, creamy broth—no dairy required! The toasty corn guacamole adds texture to every dreamy bite.

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Black Bean Nacho Soup

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Our 18 Best Vegetarian Soup Recipes for Hearty Weeknight Dinners (18)

Fans of nachos will love warming up with a bowl of this vegetarian soup. Two types of cheese along with half-and-half give this rich soup its creamy base. Shred your own cheese from blocks to achieve the silky finish (the pre-shredded kind have anti-caking ingredients that might not give you the smooth soup result you want).

Buy It: Zekpro Cheese Grater ($13, Walmart)

Our 18 Best Vegetarian Soup Recipes for Hearty Weeknight Dinners (2024)

FAQs

What is a thick hearty soup called? ›

A potage is a category of thick soups, stews, or porridges, in some of which meat and vegetables are boiled together with water until they form a thick mush. Bisques are heavy cream soups traditionally prepared with shellfish, but can be made with any type of seafood or other base ingredients.

How to make canned soup a meal? ›

Add protein: Leftover chicken or steak, some cooked diced ham or bacon or sausage (just a little — that soup is already salty). If you don't want to add meat, think of what makes a bowl of ramen so yummy; a soft-cooked jammy egg could be just the thing.

What is the number one soup in the world? ›

According to the Taste Atlas Awards, the international food database, the Filipino favorite, Sinigang, is hailed as the best soup in the world.

What type of soup is often considered a luxury soup? ›

Bisque is considered a luxury soup and best served for dinner. They are prepared with a puree of vegetables, poultry, fish or meat and thickened with bechamel sauce or a cream finish. A French word which means velvety, it describes the texture and appearance of the soup.

What is the best canned soup? ›

Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Tomato Soup

It might even be the best soup we've ever gotten at the grocery store. It's about “as decadent as plain tomato soup can get” thanks to the organic milk from dairies local to Oregon (according to Pacific Foods). The tomatoes are sweet.

How to doctor up canned vegetable soup? ›

How to Doctor Canned Soup to Make It an Actually Exciting Meal
  1. Protein. You can add heft and interest to almost any type of canned soup with a bit of protein. ...
  2. Dairy and Dairy-Free Alternatives. ...
  3. Cheese. ...
  4. Herbs. ...
  5. Seasonings and Spices. ...
  6. Grains and Beans. ...
  7. Condiments and Garnishes.
Feb 19, 2019

Can soup be a full meal? ›

Hearty soups like Russian Borsch, Vietnamese pho, and Italian Minestrone are considered as main courses. They have an apt mix of vegetables, protein and carbohydrates in a single bowl. Thick soups that carry not only the broth, but also toppings that make them sumptuous, can be had as your dinner.

What is a very thick soup called? ›

Bisque and chowder are two types of thick soup with origins in French fishing villages. Learn about the differences between these two creamy soups.

What is another name for thick soup? ›

Different Types of Soup
Thin SoupsClear
Thick SoupChowder
Potage
Bisque
Cold SoupGazpacho
13 more rows
Mar 9, 2022

What is the name of some thick soup? ›

Thick soup recipes (250)
  1. Thick Peas & Mint soup. ...
  2. Knorr thick tomato soup. ...
  3. Pumpkin Beetroot sweet corn Thick soup. ...
  4. Spicy – Tangy Urad Dal Thick Soup / Spicy – Tangy Black Gram Thick Soup. ...
  5. Carrot Drumstick Soup. ...
  6. Curried parsnip soup. ...
  7. Paya Soup (Mutton trotters) ...
  8. Mutton Nihari.

What's another word for thick soup? ›

Best answers for Thick soup:
RankLengthWord
95%6POTAGE
95%4STEW
95%7POTTAGE
95%5PUREE
6 more rows

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