Our top 3 quick & healthy soup recipes

Soup is a great way to pack in the veg, using up whatever you have left in the fridge. It's also really quick and generally only involves one pot, a knife and a chopping board - oh, and a measuring jug if you're being precise with the stock measuring!

Joy has pulled together her top 3 soup recipes that are easy, healthy, use almost every part of the herbs and vegetables and feel like they nourish your soul, making them the perfect weekday lunches. 

If you’ve got a random carrot or half a pepper that need using up don’t be afraid to just chuck it into any of these soups! Use up that veg!

Cheesy croutons (or little slices of cheese on toast) are usually a welcome addition and (don't tell anyone) but sometimes, the next day, we’ll shove whatever's left onto some pasta as a sauce - waste not want not! 

Claire's green soup(Vegan)

Prep and cooking time - half an hour. Serves 8.

This spritely soup is packed full of vitamins and minerals and is bursting with zingy goodness. Did you know that kale is one of the most nutrient rich plants we eat?

Shout out to Claire - you know who you are. Thanks for the soup :)

Ingredients

1 big onion or 2 small, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 green chillies, roughly chopped

80g parsley, finely chop the stalks and the leaves  (don't bother picking the leaves off - just put the whole bunch onto a chopping board and chop up from the bottom of the stalks)

150g kale, roughly chopped

300g potato, chopped into very small chunks (about 1cm)

200g broccoli including stalk, split into florets and chop the stalk into 1cm cubes

260g spinach, whole baby leaves or rough chop bigger leaves

1 lime

2 ltr veg stock

Method

Put a big glug of veg oil in a pan.

Saute the onion, garlic, chilli and parsley stalks for 5 mins or so.

Add the potato and 1/4 tsp salt. Give it a good stir and then add the veg stock.

Bring to boil, simmer for 5 mins until the potato is cooked.

Add broccoli and bring back to boil.

Add kale and spinach, the rest of the parsley and squeeze the lime in. Drop the squeezed lime into the soup. Bring back to boil and simmer for a minute.

Remove the lime then blend until smooth.

Courgette, pea and basil soup (Vegan)

Very Quick. Cooking and prep time - 20mins. Serves 6.

Deliciously creamy and sweet, this soup is full of plant protein, potassium, antioxidants and vitamins K and C.

Ingredients

1 large onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped

900g courgettes, cut into chunky 1cm slices

1 large potato (about 230g), cut into 1cm cubes

¼ tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

50g basil, stalks chopped, leaves left whole (don't bother picking the leaves off - just put the whole bunch onto a chopping board and chop up from the bottom of the stalks until you get roughly to the leaves. It doesn't matter if you chop some of the leaves too).

750ml veg stock

1 can coconut milk, 400ml

400g frozen peas

Method

Put a big glug of veg oil into a saucepan on medium heat.

When the pan is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook off for about 5mins. Stir so it doesn't stick.

Add the courgette, potato and basil stalks with the salt and pepper.

Cook for 3 mins or so, again, stirring frequently.

Add the stock, bring to the boil then simmer until the potato is cooked (about 5 mins).

Add the coconut milk and bring back to the boil, then add the peas and basil leaves and bring back to the boil again.

Wizz it all up with a stick blender. 

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Roast squash, carrot and lentil soup(Vegan)

Cooking and prep time 45mins. Serves 6

A hearty, peppery, filling soup. Lots of beta carotene in here which your body will convert into vitamin A. Cleverly it will never convert more than you need! The lentils will give you B6, fiber, folate, iron, phosphorus and potassium.

Ingredients

550g peeled squash, cut into 2cm chunks

250g carrots, sliced into 5cm slices

2 onions, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, squashed and roughly chopped

25g parsley, chopped - stalks and all

Salt and pepper for seasoning

2 tsp sweet paprika

150g red split lentils

1.5ltr veg stock

Method

Roast the squash and carrots (with olive oil, salt and pepper) at 180* for about 25mins or until they are beginning to go a little brown at the edges and are cooked.

Just before the veg is ready to come out of the oven, put a pan with a nice glug of veg oil in it onto a medium heat.

Add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks and cook off for 5mins or so, stirring frequently so that it doesn't stick.

Get the veg out of the oven and add it to the pan along with ¼ tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper and the paprika.

Stir then add the veg stock and lentils.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15mins until the lentils are cooked.

Add the parsley leaves and stir.

Then, you guessed it, wizz it all up with a stick blender, taste and adjust the seasoning. Go heavy on the pepper here!

I like to add soy sauce for an extra umami kick. Try and use one that is properly fermented and not just flavouring. Chilli is also good if you like your soups to have a bit of heat.