These vegan soup recipes are cozy, nourishing, easy to make, and hands down delicious. They’ll become favorites of all eaters at the table!
The best way to eat your veggies? Eat soup. Hi, we’re Sonja and Alex, plant-based recipe writers and cookbook authors with a penchant for soup. Why soup? Well, it’s delicious. It’s comforting. It’s easy to make. And more often than not, it can make vegetables taste like more than the sum of their parts. Whether it’s a cozy Tuscan soup that tastes like pizza, or a steaming bowl of Korean ramen, or a creamy cup of sweet and savory corn chowder, our vegan soup recipes will become tried-and-true favorites: guaranteed.
Here we’ve rounded up all of our favorite vegan soup recipes: with an eye towards recipes that are healthy and easy (since that’s what we’re most often asked for). Take a look through our favorites and let us know: which would you try? We’d love to know.
And now: our top vegan soup recipes!
Here’s a vegan broccoli soup that will become an instant favorite. It’s impossibly creamy, whole food plant based (WFPB), and it tastes like the coziest bowl of comfort. This easy and healthy soup is vegan and gluten-free, so it works for a variety of diets. It tastes like that cozy and comforting broccoli cheese soup from a can...but 1000 times better!
Scroll down for the recipe!
Here's an impossibly creamy wild rice soup! Yes, this soup is cozy, dreamy, and comforting in a way that most vegan soups only dream of. Cashews are blended with a bit of the soup to make that silky base. It's filled with tender wild rice, carrots and onions, and white beans to add more plant-based protein. We've heard from multitudes of people who say that even though it's vegan, meat-eaters love it just as much. Try either: Best Wild Rice Soup or Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup.
Next up in our vegan soup recipes...this stunner of a vibrant bowl. After one bite, we guarantee you'll be sold on this curry lentil soup. It’s full of hearty red lentils and root vegetables, and the broth is swirled with red curry paste and coconut milk. With all the texture and flavor going on, it feels rich and luxurious. But at the same time it’s a healthy, plant based meal!
This vegan soup recipe is so full of flavor and impossibly dreamy that you’d swear it had cream or milk in it. Turns out, it’s easy to make a potato soup without dairy that’s the equivalent of wearing a cozy sweater next to a roaring fire. There’s no blender needed: this soup is beautifully chunky and flavored with savory Old Bay. Load it up with toppings and it’s a stunner.
One of our top rated vegan soup recipes is this Moroccan cauliflower soup! The cauliflower is roasted until lightly charred in a very hot oven. Then it’s blended with onion, carrot and warm Moroccan spices into a silky puree. Think: cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon. This soup is pretty simple to put together, full of nutrients, and vegan and gluten-free too.
Yes, we’re pulling out the expletives because this lentil soup recipe is so delicious, you won’t even remember that you’re doing your body and the planet good. You’ll just feel like you’re wrapped in a cozy hug. Featuring fire-roasted tomatoes, savory fennel, and garlic, this vegan lentil soup is ready to amaze you.
Got an Instant Pot? Try Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Minestrone soup is an Italian recipe designed for using up any veggies you had on hand. This classic soup is full of chunky vegetables, white beans, and pasta in a tomato-y broth. Serve it with basil pesto (or vegan pesto) and it’s called Minestrone alla genovese. In Italian this means “minestrone soup from Genoa,” the capital of the region of Liguria Italy where all the great pesto comes from! Got an Instant Pot? Try Instant Pot Minestrone.
What’s more classic than tomato basil soup? This one is oh so easy to make. Chop some veggies, simmer, then blend. All hail the tomato basil soup! It couldn’t be cozier; even more so accompanied by crusty bread. This version is a gluten free, dairy free and vegan soup recipe, so it fits many diets. Though of course you could add a dollop of cashew cream to make it a creamy soup too!
What’s a list of vegan soup recipes without a good chili? This savory, hearty quinoa vegan chili is packed with protein and is gluten-free as well. It’s got lots of veggies and the secret ingredients are a bit of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chili peppers in adobo. Top with Cashew Cream or Nacho Cheese.
Want more chili? Our Classic Chili and Mango Black Bean Chili are also vegan recipes.
This one is our best ever corn chowder recipe, if we must say ourselves. It's another fan favorite, where blending cashews with a bit of the soup makes you swear it's loaded with dairy. This vegan chowder recipe turns out seriously creamy, with a savory, salty, and sweet flavor from simmering the corn cobs directly in the pot. It’s based on a similar vegan chowder from our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking.
This vegan soup recipe is lovingly dubbed “pizza soup” because it tastes like liquid pizza! Really. The pizza flavor is due in part to the San Marzano tomatoes: San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of tomato that’s grown in Italy. The tomatoes are sauteed with garlic, fennel, and smoked paprika, which bring a meaty and savory undertone. Throw in some Tuscan kale to the mix, and you won’t even tell it’s there: you’ll only be able to taste the pizza!
Hungry for pizza instead? Our Best Vegan Pizza is legit.
This creamy, dreamy coconut curry soup recipe is not just mega delicious, swirled with coconut milk and spiced with curry powder, cumin, and coriander. It's also a pantry soup! What’s a pantry soup? A recipe made only of ingredients found in your pantry. It's also quick to whip up, healthy, and versatile for multiple diets: vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan.
This vegan butternut squash lentil soup tastes like a bowl of sunshine. It’s chock full of beautiful, colorful healthy ingredients, and it tastes surprisingly more delicious than you’d imagine from the humble ingredients. Using leeks brings a complexity to the body of the soup. The only part about this superfood soup that requires some time is chopping the vegetables. You can use the recipe as an excuse to practice your knife skills!
Love lentils? Also try our Tuscan Artichoke Lentil Stew.
This vegan tomato soup recipe is tangy, pure tomato-y, and made creamy using blended cashews. The nuts thicken the soup, at the same time adding protein. (Use almond milk for nut allergies.) But the best part? The star toast garnish! Cutting toast into stars is an easy way to dress up a soup: both kids and adults love it.
It sounds excessive, we know: 20 cloves of garlic in a soup!? Yes, the healthy dose garlic in this vegan soup recipe is exactly what makes the broth incredibly restorative and tasty. Don’t worry, the garlic is cooked down so you won’t have garlic breath: we promise! The soup also features leafy green kale and chewy mushrooms, making it ultra nutrient dense.
Ready for a seriously cozy soup that’s full of bold flavor? This Israeli soup recipe features freekah, an ancient grain that’s starting to have a moment here in the US. This soup feels like an elevated take on the chicken and stars canned soup of my childhood, but 100% tastier and healthier. The freekah adds body and a wisp of smoky flavor. If that’s not a reason to try this out, we’re not sure what is!
Another tasty veggie soup? Homemade Vegetable Soup
Here’s a cozy recipe that embodies the rhythm of soup season: this Hearty Vegan Lentil Stew! The broth is flavored with tangy fire-roasted tomatoes, garlic and smoked paprika, and it’s full of vegetables and hearty lentils. It was a big hit over here, as lentil recipes usually are! It makes a simple lunch or dinner that’s nourishing for the body — and the soul, too.
One taste of this curried carrot vegan soup recipe and you'll be sold. The velvety orange puree is creamy with just the right amount of spice. The secret to the big flavor in this vegan carrot soup is the Thai red curry paste. Thai curry paste has beautifully fresh flavors in a single jar: garlic, lemongrass, and ginger. Mix a spoonful of that with sweet carrots and silky coconut milk, and you'll be a believer in no time.
This tomato sage chickpea soup is savory, cozy and comforting…the classic antidote to a gray day. This vegan soup features sliced onions instead of the typical diced, which add a unique extra texture to the dish. The other stars are dried porcini mushrooms, which add a hefty umami to the dish, and fresh sage, which tastes like the culinary form of a hug. Alex’s opinion: “It has the vibe of canned soup, but tastes way better and healthier.”
This vegan sweet potato soup is nourishing, delicious, and easy to make. To get maximum flavor out of this soup, onion and garlic are sauteed together, then cooked with sweet potato and spices like cumin and turmeric. It's served with harissa, a North African red pepper paste. Peanut butter gives a creamy, savory undertone to the soup while keeping it vegan.
Here’s of the coziest soups out there, ready to join the ranks of tomato basil and wild rice. Yep, it’s mushroom barley soup! This one is full of flavor: it uses both dried and fresh mushrooms for earthy savoriness. And it’s got a warming broth and nutritious veggies. But the star? Whole grain barley, which infuses each bite with a pasta-like chewy texture. If you love barley soup, you’re going to be all about this one! It’s perfect for healthy desk lunches in a thermos or enjoying a big steaming bowl after a long day.
This dreamy, creamy vegan red lentil soup is an easy dinner that’s ready in under an hour. Bright red lentils are packed with nutrients and can cure any case of the fall or winter blues! This red lentil soup results in a complex and delicious flavor. And what really amps it up is the garnish – don’t skimp on this one! The combination of crunchy toasted almonds, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of tangy lemon makes this soup next level.
Love lentils? 10 Top Vegan Lentil Recipes
Ever tried Brussels sprouts in...soup? Here they're shredded and added to a soup pot with farro, a whole grain that’s a bit like barley, but cooks in about 1/3 the time. For the flavoring: a bit of shallot, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, which adds a savory, unexpected flavor. Brussels sprouts soup might sound unexpected, but it’s a crave-able way to boost immunity and get your cozy on.
This lovely vegan tomatillo soup doesn’t take too much time to put together and has a subtle, intriguing flavor. After you roast the tomatillos, you blend together the roasted veggies with veggie broth to use as the base of the soup. Then you add black beans and hominy, and simmer until warmed through. The garnishes are where this soup really shines: radishes, cilantro and lime bring a zesty flavor that you won’t be able to stop eating!
And last up in our vegan soup recipes: sweet potato chili! This vegan chili recipe is loaded with savory flavor and vegetables like beans and sweet potatoes, which are superfoods high in nutrients. But even better: it’s so, so tasty! The flavor has added complexity from chili secrets like cocoa powder and balsamic vinegar. The recipe makes enough for a huge pot, so it’s good to feed a crowd (we’re of the opinion that chili should only be made in massive quantities). Garnish with sliced green onions and Cashew Cream or Nacho Cheese.
Related:
- Want the best of? Try 30 Best Soup Recipes.
- Want healthy soups? Try 13 Best Healthy & Easy Soup Recipes
- Eat vegetarian? These 25 Best Vegetarian Soups are favorites.
- Love Italian recipes? These 8 Italian Soups are fantastic.
Making homemade vegetable broth
Many of these soup recipes use vegetable broth. If you have time and leftover vegetables, a great way to use them is making your own homemade vegetable broth! It uses up old vegetable scraps and is a great way to minimize food waste in your kitchen! It takes about 1 hour to make. Here’s our Easy Vegetable Broth Recipe.
What to serve with these vegan soups?
So you’ve got the vegan soup recipes: but how to make them into a meal? Here are a few sides that pair well with soups:
- Easy Vegan Cornbread
- Best Vegan Biscuits
- Artisan Dutch Oven Bread
- Artisan Multigrain Bread
- Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Almond Cashew Homemade Crackers
- Blackberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Favorite Chopped Salad
- Best Tossed Salad Recipe
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- The BEST Kale Salad
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pomegranate
Vegan Broccoli Soup (& More Vegan Soup Recipes!)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This creamy vegan broccoli soup is intensely creamy and 100% plant based! It’s an easy healthy soup that everyone loves (like broccoli cheese, but better).
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 6 medium)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 pound frozen broccoli florets (or 4 cups small steamed broccoli florets*)
- 1 large carrot
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Dice the onion. Mince the garlic. Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized chunks.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the vegetable broth, cashews and potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer (not a boil), and simmer about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender and falling apart when poked with a fork.
- Meanwhile, run the frozen broccoli under hot water to thaw it. Chop it into smaller florets as necessary. All packages are different, so make small bite-sized florets the size you’d like for a soup. You can chop the broccoli stems off and keep them in the soup as well. Place the broccoli in a bowl and mix it with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a bowl and black pepper. Peel and grate the carrot into long strips (we used a handheld julienne shredder).
- When the potatoes are tender, use a ladle to transfer everything to a blender. Add the thyme, dill, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and another 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Hold the top tight and blend everything for a minute or two until fully creamy. (This quantity just fits in a standard blender.)
- Pour the creamy soup back into the pot and add the broccoli and carrot. Simmer about 5 more minutes until the broccoli is cooked through. Taste and add additional salt as necessary (we added 1/4 teaspoon more).
Notes
*If you’re cooking fresh broccoli, here’s how to simulate frozen: Cut it into very small florets. Then steam it but cook it a few minutes longer so that it’s very tender (not crisp tender as indicated in the recipe). Leave out any seasoning, since you’ll add salt as part of the soup recipe.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Keywords: Vegan Soup Recipes, Vegan Soup Recipe, Broccoli Soup, Vegan Broccoli Soup
Last updated: November 2020
2 Comments
Rebecca Hogaboam
October 11, 2020 at 9:50 pmMmmm…so yummy. We loved this Vegan Broccoli Soup.
Sonja Overhiser
October 12, 2020 at 9:00 amSo glad!!! It’s a favorite here too. Thanks so much!