Soups, stews, and chilis are so comforting in these winter months. That’s why I’m sharing 10 of my favorite recipes that are sure to keep you warm and healthy during this cold weather.
You don’t have to be a chef to create them, and you can leave out ingredients here and there and you’ll still have an amazing soup/stew/chili. I don’t ever follow recipes to a T; I just use them as a base for my cooking depending on what I have at home. So you don’t have to worry about making something exactly like the recipe–you can just tweak it to whatever works for you and what you love.
1. Chipotle Black Bean Tortilla Soup
This Mexican-inspired dish looks so damn good. It’s hearty, savory, yet simple–just one pot! I like to add extra cayenne pepper to soups like this for the extra kick and the added warm feeling that spicy foods give (for the recipe link, click the name of the soup above).
2. Cozy Butternut, Sweet Potato, and Red Lentil Stew
Butternut squash and sweet potatoes are seasonal winter vegetables, and cooking them up in a stew like this is bound to make you feel warm and cozy. This recipe may have a long ingredients list, but you can honestly leave out a lot of the ingredients in this recipe and it’ll still taste bomb.
3. Cheezy Loaded Potato Broccoli Soup
This recipe has a base of potatoes and broccoli, blended up, with seasonings. There’s no cheese in this recipe, because it’s vegan, but the addition of nutritional yeast gives it a cheesy flavor. If you don’t know what nutritional yeast is, it’s an underappreciated seasoning that tastes really really good. See 5 Reasons to Love Nutritional Yeast.
4. Ultimate Vegan Chili
I used to not like chili because I thought it always had to be really spicy (I used to hate spicy foods), but that is so not the case. I mean, I salivate just looking at this picture. Chilis like this one are best made in a large batch, so you have leftovers for the week, and it actually tastes better the longer it sits in the fridge. The flavors really mend together well.
5. West African Peanut Soup
Peanut butter in a soup? Heck yeah! This soup uses a delicious combination of peanut butter, tomato paste, and collard greens to create literal heaven. Don’t leave out the spices here because it will truly bring this soup to the next level.
6. Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Sticking with the African cuisine, this Moroccan chickpea stew is a must-try for any chickpea lovers out there. The simple combination of chickpeas and tomatoes form the basis of the stew, while the onions, garlic, ginger, and lots of seasonings will bring out some serious flavor.
7. Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quinoa Chili
What I love about the quinoa in this recipe is that it really helps thicken up the chili, so it’s not actually soupy, but thick and chunky with the beans and veggies. Now this recipe uses a crockpot to make the chili, but if you don’t have a crockpot you can just add everything to a large pot on the stove, cook on high heat until it comes to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
8. Chickpea Noodle Soup
This is a nice soup to make when you’re feeling under the weather. This soup is actually really easy to make; you just need some noodles, chickpeas, and any veggies you have on hand. You can customize it however you like with the seasonings and herbs (or you can just follow the recipe, if you’re feeling unimaginative).
9. Lasagna Soup
This is for when you feel like going Italian. This soup is easier to make than lasagna, and truly tastes Italian (honestly, what wouldn’t taste Italian when you add tomatoes, basil, and oregano?). Although the recipe uses a slow cooker, you can simmer this baby on the stovetop for maybe an hour until the lentils are fully cooked. Or, if you use canned lentils, you really only have to wait for the lasagna noodles to cook (10-20 minutes).
10. Coconut Curry Ramen
When you want to make fancy home-cooked ramen that is next-level to that sad packaged ramen bs, this recipe does the job. Minimalist Baker is probably my favorite source for simple, yet absurdly good vegan recipes. I highly suggest you check out her website full of recipes, whether you’re vegan or not.
Well, those are just 10 of the hundreds of soup/stew/chili recipes online. Again, I almost never follow recipes exactly, because 1) I may not like certain ingredients in the recipe, 2) I may not have all the ingredients at home (and I don’t usually feel like buying an ingredient just for a recipe), and 3) there isn’t one right way to make any recipe.
Many online recipes go all-out because they want to market the recipe in its most aesthetically pleasing and delicious form, to get clicks. Sure, if you don’t want to use 15 ingredients and garnish it with fresh chopped parsley or perfectly sliced avocado, you don’t have to. It’s all about your standards.
Personally, I don’t care if my food doesn’t look like these pretty Instagram photos, because my food standards aren’t that high–if it tastes good, I’ll eat it. But it’s all down to what you have the time and the willingness for. Cooking does not have to be difficult.