Regardless of the temperature, soup is the ultimate meal. There’s something so comforting about a hot bowl of soup on a winter day — whether it's a lunchbox thermos of my mom’s tortilla soup in a crisp 55 degrees in my Southern California hometown or curling up on the couch with a steaming mug of vegetarian chili on a rainy day in New Jersey. And don’t even get me started on the nostalgia of a perfectly crispy, gooey grilled cheese sandwich dipped into a bowl of tomato soup. But, soup doesn’t have to be limited to just one season. In an attempt to normalize soup all year round, Spoon University has rounded up 33 of the best vegetarian soup recipes – all of which are vegetarian. In addition to classics like Split Pea Soup and Butternut Squash Soup, you’ll find plenty of inventive, hearty, and healthy soup recipes such as Coconut Black Bean Soup with Mango-Avocado Salsa and Curried Beet Soup with Tandoori Chickpeas.
These recipes are hearty, easy, and, most of all, tasty. From stovetop and Instapot to gluten-free and totally vegan, these vegetarian soups are sure to keep you satisfied and cozy throughout the rest of winter.
And, if a recipe calls for beef or chicken broth or stock, don’t fret — all of these recipes are easily made into vegetarian soup options with a 1:1 substitution of your favorite vegetable broth. For an extra umami kick, you can add a dash of soy sauce if desired.
1. Winter Squash Soup by Ina Garten
Soup is a staple in Emily Mariko’s Life Plan, and this Winter Squash Soup by Ina Garten seems to be one of Emily’s favorites. This recipe for pumpkin and butternut squash vegetarian soup is flavorful, easy to follow, and a crowd pleaser.
2. Binging with Babish’s Seinfeld-Inspired Wild Mushroom Soup
"No soup for you!" Just kidding, thanks to Binging with Babish’s take on the wild mushroom soup that’s insanely popular amongst the Seinfeld gang. This television-inspired soup is easily made vegetarian by substituting the homemade chicken stock with whatever vegetable broth you have on hand.
3. Vegan Carrot Top Soup by Justine Snacks
You may recognize Justine from Spoon University’s OG Instagram Reel Round-Up; now, “Mother Snacks” is keeping it cozy with a vegan carrot soup that’s thick, creamy, and lightly spiced. Plus, the recipe uses all of the carrot — including the tops to make a crispy, crunchy, no-waste topping.
4. Smoky Lentil Soup by Spoon HQ
Never worry about what to make on Meatless Mondays again. Regardless of diet, this hearty lentil vegetarian soup recipe from Spoon HQ can be served hot or cold, and will satisfy any meat lover, vegetarian, or vegan.
5. Spicy Mexican Tortilla Soup by Gordon Ramsay
As featured on Hell’s Kitchen, Ramsay’s delicious, super fast recipe for spicy Mexican-inspired soup makes for a quick and simple weekday meal.
6. Any Green, Any Bean, Any Pasta: Sohla El-Waylly’s Soup Formula
El-Waylly provides a formula that makes a simple, delicious vegetarian soup a no-brainer: any green, any bean, any pasta. Try orecchiette, collard greens, and cannellini beans per Sohla’s recommendation, or try an Asian-inspired pescatarian combination of rice noodles, broccoli, and green beans per Spoon HQ – and omit the prawns to make it totally vegetarian.
7. Coconut Black Bean Soup
As featured in Washington Post’s Eat Voraciously newsletter, this coconut black bean soup with mango-avocado salsa is creamy, bright, satisfying and vegan.
8. Trader Joe’s Chimichurri Soup
This 3-ingredient meal first made its rounds in the cult-like Trader Joe’s Facebook group, and is officially my own lazy meal staple. If you want a boost of protein, you can add frozen shrimp (pescetarian) or keep it vegetarian with a can of TJ’s Cuban-style black beans — or both.
9. Soba Noodle Miso Soup by Antoni Porowski
“In Japan, drinking the soba-noodle water, called soba-yu, is part of the pleasure of the meal,” says Queer Eye’s resident foodie Antoni Porowski. For his miso noodle soup, Porowski recommends using “the soba cooking water and some miso paste as the base” and encourages chefs to “be gentle with your miso and add it off the heat: high temperatures kill its beneficial live bacteria and probiotics.”
10. Spicy Bean Soup by Giada De Laurentiis
As featured on Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis' Spicy Bean Soup is a hearty mix of beans, vegetables, and spices. The recipe yields 10 servings, making it a great option for meal prep.
11. Butternut Squash Soup by Kourtney Kardashian
Ah, Kourtney Kardashian. Known for being “the least interesting to look at,” her PDA with musician Travis Barker, and now, her wellness blog. Poosh offers an inside look at Kourt’s favorite recipes, including her “go-to” gluten-free Butternut Squash Soup recipe that’s rich, delicious, and perfect for the cold winter months.
12. Classic Minestrone by Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart’s take on the beloved Italian dish isn't just hearty and healthy — it's flexible. Minestrone typically includes lots of leafy greens, other veggies, and beans; this recipe is only limited by the contents of your refrigerator and pantry– and can make an excellent vegetarian soup offering for dinner.
13. Tomato and Cannellini Bean Soup by Rick Martinez
"Vegetable soup is something I can eat a ton of and still feel healthy. The problem is, I get hungry again two hours later,” says cookbook author Rick Martinez. To combat the inevitable hunger soon after, Martinez developed this recipe with “beans, which deliver protein and texture, tiding [him] over to the next meal."
14. Dried Mushroom and Barley Soup
If you're looking for a hearty and healthful meal, consider this dried mushroom and barley soup from Food Network Kitchen. The barley adds nuttiness, while the dried mushrooms provide meatiness and umami for a nourishing, vegetarian dish that everyone will love.
15. Authentic French Onion Soup by Julia Child
This recipe by Julia Child takes a little longer than many simpler recipes, but it’s well worth the time spent. While the Master of the art of French cooking uses beef broth, vegetable broth is easily substituted to make this classic soup vegetarian-friendly.
16. Kadhi by Priya Krishna
Kadhi, according to Indian-ish author Priya Krishna, “is the food equivalent to that colorful, well-fitting wool sweater in your perpetual winter rotation.” It’s a creamy, cozy, tangy soup thickened with chickpea flour and yogurt and seasoned with a lot of pungent spices, and comes together in one pot with just a few minutes of stirring.
17. Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup by Spoon HQ
Spoon HQ brings the beloved chain bakery to your home with an easy, better-than-copycat recipe for Panera’s iconic Broccoli Cheddar soup.
18. Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli by Half-Baked Harvest
A slow-cooked classic becomes an easy weeknight dinner thanks to this Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli. A mix of wintry vegetables, tomatoes, parmesan, herbs, pasta, and beans comes together in the instant pot to create a healthy and warming bowl of soup.
19. Spicy Black Bean Soup by Valerie Bertenelli
Valerie Bertinelli’s recipe for this southwest-inspired soup comes together in just half an hour and is packed with protein and fiber, thanks to two cans of black beans. If spice isn’t your thing, leave the jalapeños out to take it down a notch.
20. Corn Chowder by Food & Wine
This classic corn chowder comes together in just two steps, making it simple for amateur chefs to whip up a meal that screams “#adulting.” While fresh corn is best, it can be made with frozen corn, making it even easier.
21. Black Eyed Pea Soup by Keeping the Peas
Loosely based on the Southern New Year classic Hoppin’ John, this vegan black eyed pea and kale soup is packed with protein, vitamins, and nutrients thanks to the peas added vitamins and texture thanks to leafy kale.
22. Split Pea Soup by Ina Garten
Before she was making cosmopolitans to pass time throughout the ongoing pandemic, Barefoot Contessa’s Ina Garten was making Split Pea Soup to survive the cold winter months. Her recipe (which actually belongs to Parker Hodges, a chef at her gourmet food store) calls for chicken stock, but can easily be subbed with vegetable broth.
23. Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup by Cookie and Kate
Who says that pumpkin needs to be limited to the month of October? This dairy-free soup highlights the squash with a touch of spice, and it is super creamy thanks mostly to the pumpkin, with a little help from cream (or coconut milk, if you want to make it vegan).
24. Tortilla Soup by Alison Roman
This vegetarian version of tortilla soup is just as flavorful and complex as its chicken counterpart, thanks to plenty of vegetables, spices and a secret ingredient: canned chipotles in adobo. Smoked and dried jalapeños softened in a vinegar-tomato mixture, these peppers offer depth to a light and tangy broth in this recipe from NYT Cooking.
25. Un-"Fuh"ck-Up-Able Pho by the Korean Vegan
Joanne Lee Molinaro, better known as The Korean Vegan, asserts that “The key to a good pho is the stock.” In order to “veganize” the rich, velvety beef broth that serves as the foundation for pho, Joanne turns to dashima (dried kelp), to serves as the perfect base for her stupidly easy, “no fuss, un-f*ck-up-able” vegan pho.
26. Mulligatawny by Madhur Jaffrey
Mulligatawny, which roughly translates to “pepper water,” is a curry soup that is most often made with chicken, vegetables, apples, and rice. This recipe, though, is inspired by Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook, Simple Indian Cookery, and was vegetarian-ized by the Cookbook Cook.
27. Wonton Soup by The Foodie Takes Flight
This wonton soup from The Foodie Takes Flight features vegan wontons in a simple yet tasty vegetable and mushroom base with chewy wheat noodles. If you’re looking to keep it simple, frozen vegetable wontons are an easy substitution.
28. Breakfast Soup by Huffington Post
In those chilly winter months, a bowl of cereal just isn’t as appealing as it is in the summer. There's always microwave oatmeal, but as the author asks, “who wants mush in the morning?” This breakfast soup, though, is “comforting and nourishing, and it feels like a healthy way to start the day.”
29. Vegan Wild Rice Soup by A Couple Cooks
Alex and Sonja of A Couple Cooks believe that “food should be three things: nourishing, delicious, and community-building, and this soup is all three.” This bowl of decadent soup is packed with fresh veggies, but it’s so savory and creamy you’d never know it.
30. Curried Beet Soup with Tandoori Chickpeas by Minimalist Baker
Inspired by Bollywood Theater in Portland, Oregon, this roasted beet and coconut milk curry soup is perfect for when you’re craving something a little spicy, warm, and comforting. The crispy, tandoori chickpeas make it a complete meal thanks to almost 11 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber.
31. Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup by A Calculated Whisk
This instant pot potato leek soup is half potato and half cauliflower, so you get great flavor and creaminess of potatoes with an added serving of veggies. Leeks add wonderful savory flavor to the soup, and are further complemented by the fresh chives sprinkled on top.
32. Peppery Purple Soup from Food52
This deep purple soup, originally featured in “Vegan 100” by Gaz Oakley, gets its gorgeous color from red cabbage and red onion. Nutritious and versatile red cabbage is complemented by a touch of thyme, and the balsamic and apple add a delicious sweetness.
33. Charred Tomato Soup with Melted Mozzarella by Alex Guarnaschelli
Tomato soup, bread, and melted cheese – what’s not to love? Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s recipe for Tomato Soup brings the nostalgia of Grilled Cheese Dunkers up a notch.
Which vegetarian soup is your go-to? Let us know in the comments!