These 10 Hearty Vegetarian Soups and Stews Are Sure to Keep You Warm This Fall

Few things are as gratifying on a cold day as a warm bowl of soup, and this is one arena in which vegetarian dishes can really stand out. Root vegetables, brassicas, grains, and beans we are just as appropriate for soups as they are for salads—or a stew that’s filling enough to be a meal, even without the meat. Looking for vegan options? We’ve got a bunch, including a rich, creamy, and fast tomato soup thickened with nothing but olive oil and bread; a slow-cooked bean chili spiked with Marmite for extra savoriness; and a stick-to-your-ribs soup that’s got all the flavors of a loaded baked potato, yet is 100% dairy-free. Read on for 10 vegetarian and vegan recipes that’ll furnish all the comfort you need in these blustery months.

(A note on stock: The vast majority of store-bought vegetable stock is, unfortunately, vastly disappointing. It’s worth the effort to make a big batch of our heartiest, most flavorful homemade vegetable stock, or this quick and easy stock to save time.)

Quick and Easy Creamy Mushroom Soup

This easy soup relies on your slow cooker to do most of the work, but roasting the mushrooms with onions and garlic beforehand greatly improves its flavor. We use a mix of heavy cream and half-and-half to make it extra rich, and cut them with sour cream for a little acidity. After cooking, purée the mixture in a blender until it’s completely smooth, or leave a few chunks in to get those little bites of roasted mushroom.

Hearty Vegan Polenta and Kale Soup With Miso and Toasted Sesame Oil

If you plan on making lots of vegan soup this winter, two ingredients will prove invaluable to you: soy sauce and miso, both of which add a necessary hit of umami “meatiness” to vegetable-based dishes. We use them in place of Parmesan cheese in this Italian-inspired kale and polenta soup, and make it all in a single pot.

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Bean and Pasta Soup)

This recipe is for those times when you want a soup not to start a meal, but to be the meal—a balanced, completely satisfying bowl that will fortify you against the cold. Though there are dozens of ways to make pasta e fagioli—including with meat—this one draws its flavor and texture from the pasta, beans, and aromatic broth alone, which means that quality counts. Start with good dried beans, preferably ones that haven’t been sitting on your pantry shelf for years, and err on the side of overcooking them so they’re soft and tender.

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup With Pistachio, Orange, and Mint Salsa

Maximizing the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes takes a bit of patience—here, we cook them at 300°F for a full hour, then bump up the temperature to lightly brown them. The upside is that after that step is completed, this pretty, fire-colored soup is easy to make: Sauté the roasted potatoes with aromatics, carrot, broth, and a hint of orange juice, then blend the mixture until it’s smooth. A garnish of pistachios, scallions, orange zest, mint, and cayenne turns a simple dish sophisticated.

Spicy Carrot and Ginger Soup With Harissa

This soup draws on our tried-and-true method for making an awesome creamy vegetable soup: Select main ingredients, primary and secondary aromatics, and a liquid; layer the ingredients slowly to bring out their flavors; and blend it all up with olive oil. In this recipe, the main ingredient is bright, earthy carrots, spiced up with North African harissa paste and ginger. We use raw carrots instead of roasted for the cleanest, freshest flavor.

15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup

So you want a delicious tomato soup, and you want it in a hurry? Good news: You can whip this one up in only 15 minutes. Olive oil adds body and white bread acts as an emulsifier in a base of canned tomatoes, simmered briefly with onions, garlic, oregano, and red pepper before blending. If you’ve got a high-powered blender and even less time, try the five-minute version, which requires no stovetop cooking at all.

Fully Loaded Vegan Baked Potato Soup

A cheesy, bacon-topped loaded baked potato is pretty much as far from vegan as it gets. But with our vegan nacho cheese at your disposal—which gets its rich, gooey texture from cashews, almond milk, vegetable shortening, and potatoes—and our vegan mushroom “bacon,” you can produce a soup with the same flavors that’s completely meat- and dairy-free. Nutty roasted cauliflower amplifies the cheesiness, and we enhance the meaty flavor with a little liquid smoke.

The Best Vegetarian Bean Chili

Many vegetarian chilis are basically quick bean stews with some chili flavor, but not nearly enough richness or complexity. This slow-cooked version cuts no corners, getting its powerful flavor from dried and canned chilies, tomatoes, soy sauce, spices, and—the not-so-secret ingredient—Marmite. A shot of booze just before serving helps bring out alcohol-soluble flavors.

This version of Moroccan harira features both lentils and chickpeas. Adding a thickening agent known as “tadwira” (mixed cornstarch and water) towards the end of the cooking process allows you to control how thick the harira will be. We finish the soup with a drizzle of beaten egg and fresh cilantro.

Caldo de queso features chunks of potato simmered in a broth with tomatoes, roasted green chiles, and evaporated milk until soft, with fresh Mexican cheese added to each bowl. The starches from the cooked potatoes along with the evaporated milk ensure the soup has a creamy, smooth texture.

January 2016