4 Hearty and Healthy Soup Recipes

There is nothing quite as comforting as a warm bowl of hearty soup on chilly fall and winter evenings. Flavorful broths filled with roasted vegetables and fresh herbs or thick and creamy soups that nourish our mind and body are a wonderful part of the season.

Soup can be a great addition to a healthy lifestyle. They are a great way to add more vegetables to your meals and use relatively inexpensive ingredients, making them budget friendly. You can also make a big batch of soup and enjoy the leftovers all week long, meal prep made easy!

Since winter is a relatively hectic time of year for many people, especially as we move into the holiday season, I wanted to share a few soup recipes that are hearty and filling enough to be a complete meal, making meal time easy.

There are a few things to be mindful of when choosing a hearty and healthy soup –

• Cream based soups can add a lot of fat and calories. Thick and creamy soups can be achieved by pureeing vegetables or beans to achieve that same smooth texture.
• Use low sodium stock whenever possible to cut back on sodium in your diet. Using fresh herbs can add great flavor without having to use additional salt for taste.
• Add protein to ensure a well balanced meal. Some great examples include chicken, lentils, beans, or ground turkey.
• Be careful when it comes to toppings like cheese or sour cream. Opt for some fresh chopped herbs, fresh avocado or just a small amount of greek yogurt instead.

Below are 4 Hearty and Healthy Soup Recipes that I personally love and have on rotation all winter long!

Crockpot Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

This soup is so tasty and filling! Plus the fact that it’s made in the crockpot is a bonus.

I alter this recipe slightly when I make it by omitting the cream cheese and adding in two spoonfuls of plain greek yogurt instead. I also don’t add cheese on top as garnish but top with fresh cilantro, a dollop of greek yogurt and sliced avocado instead.

Italian White Bean & Spinach Soup from Sunday Nite Dinner

This is a family favorite in our house! I always double the recipe to ensure there are leftovers and love the fresh herbs with the ground turkey and spinach.

French Lentil Stew from The Domestic Dietitian

A vegetarian soup that is so filling you won’t even realize it doesn’t contain any meat. Using pre-cooked lentils is a time saving tip in this recipe but dried lentils work just as well.

Spiced Red Lentil & Root Vegetable Soup from Domestic Gothess 

This soup is so thick and creamy it is the perfect soup for a rainy day! The root vegetables add such a hearty texture and the spices add such a warmth and great flavor.

I found that you need to add a bit extra stock to this recipe to prevent it from being super thick in texture.

P.S. I’m finally taking the Instant Pot plunge! It was a great price this past weekend and I can’t wait to test it out with this Beef and Lamb No-Bean Chili from Erika’s Gluten Free Kitchen! If you are an instant pot pro share your tips or favorite recipe below.

I hope you enjoy these soups as much I have!

Last month I had the pleasure of guest posting on Jessica Cording Nutrition and shared a portion of this post.