5 cosy and warming soup recipes for quick, wholesome family dinners
Heads up: I am not a chef, I’m just a mom trying to serve her family healthy dinners…and often I resort to a hearty, homemade soup. You could call me a bit of an expert though as I was raised on soup with my mom and grandfather being excellent soup makers. Those family recipes are not up to me to reveal though and often they require quite a bit of work. So instead I’ll reveal my favorite easy soup recipes which I often fall back on when I can’t get a whole dinner on the table and like to have as a back up in the freezer.
Spinach-curry soup
This soup will get your attention with its bright green color! It’s a really quick dinner fix as you don’t have to cut or peel the spinach. Only the potato and onion need some dicing. Besides those five minutes of work, you’ll be having dinner in no time!
Ingredients
Olive oil
400 g. Fresh spinach
Curry powder (consider mild if serving to kids)
1,5 onion
Vegetable stock (see instructions on the box)
1 potato
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Tip in the onion and fry for 3 mins.
2. Chuck in the spinach and add lots of curry. (watch the spiciness though).
3. Cover the pan with a lid and let simmer for 5 mins.
4. Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato.
5. Pour 2 liters boiling water over the shrunken spinach, stir in the stock and add the potato.
6. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for 15 mins.
7. Blend.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Ladle the green goodness into bowls and you’re ready to go.
Eggplant- sweet potato soup
I discovered this easy recipe by making soup from random leftovers and realizing it was quite the hit!
Ingredients
Olive oil
2 peeled eggplants
1 onion
1 zucchini
Curry powder (with kids you might want to go for a mild version)
Paprika powder
1 can of diced tomatoes with basil
Vegetable stock (see instructions on the box)
1 potato
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan. Tip in the onion and diced and peeled eggplant. Fry for 10 mins.
Add the zucchini and add lots of curry and paprika powder. (watch the spiciness though).
Cover the pan with a lid for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato.
Pour 2 liters boiling water over the veggies, stir in the stock and canned tomatoes and add the potato.
Cover the pan and leave to simmer for another 15 mins.
Blend.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
Zucchini soup
Easy doesn’t even cover how straightforward this recipe is. I love using zucchini, we always have them in the fridge, because they are so fast-food friendly. They don’t require extensive washing, peeling or deseeding. On the contrary, 5 minutes and they’re sautéing away in the pan!
Ingredients
Olive oil
2 zucchinis
1 onion
Teaspoon of laurel powder
Teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Teaspoon of thyme
Vegetable stock (see instructions on the box)
1 potato
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan. Tip in the onion and diced zucchini. Fry for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato.
Pour 2 litres boiling water over the veggies, stir in the stock and add the potato.
Add the thyme, laurel and nutmeg.
Cover the pan and leave to simmer for another 15 mins.
Blend.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
Butternut black pepper cumin soup
I love the Cajun combination of butternut sizzling away with black ground pepper and cumin. I first learned about it when cooking a soul food stew recipe and started using it with lots of other butternut dinners and sides.
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 peeled, deseeded and diced butternut
1 onion
Cumin powder
Black pepper
Vegetable stock (see instructions on the box)
1 potato
Method
Elliot helping me to make dinner. I like to share moments like these in my instagram stories.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Tip in the onion and diced, deseeded and peeled butternut.
Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper and cumin.
Cover the pan and sautee for 15 mins.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato.
Add 2 liters boiling water, stir in the stock and add the potato.
Cover the pan and leave to simmer for another 15 mins.
Blend.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
Mexican veggie soup
My sister has been a vegetarian for over ten years now and this is one of her favorite recipes. This soup does require a bit more preparation but the result is a wholesome, flavorsome soup that easily fills up hungry tummies!
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 Zucchini
2 red sweet peppers
1 onion
1 zucchini
2 potatoes
1 can of sweet corn
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
Cumin powder
Fresh cilantro
Vegetable stock (see instructions on the box)
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan. Tip in the onion and diced zucchini, red sweet pepper and corn.
Add the cumin and fry for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato.
Pour 2 liters boiling water over the veggies, stir in the stock and canned tomatoes and add the diced potatoes.
Cover the pan and leave to simmer for another 15 mins.
Add the red kidney beans and fresh cilantro (you can save some for when you serve if you wish).
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with grated cheddar cheese.
