Category: Soup

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Carrot, Turmeric & Ginger Soup

This is a delightfully delicious soup that warms you from the inside out. It has so many great health properties,  from the beta carotene in the carrots, to the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric, and the digestive aid of ginger. These are all wonderful ingredients to incorporate into your diet, and stay healthy during the winter months. You’ll even get a bit of vitamin C from the lime at the end.

But let’s be real, the most important part is that this soup is a huge crowd pleaser for eaters of all ages! 🙂 It’s sweet, creamy, flavorful and can easily be made vegan if you choose the coconut milk option. Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments!

Yields: 16 cups

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 inch fresh turmeric root

2 inches fresh ginger root

8 carrots

4 cups vegetable broth (low-sodium)

2 teaspoons salt

⅓ cup cream or coconut milk

½ medium lemon or lime

Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Optional Toppings:

Roasted Squash seeds

Cilantro 

Aleppo pepper

Plain Greek yogurt

 

Directions:

Roast Carrots:

Heat oven to 400°F. Place whole carrots on baking sheet. Coat lightly with olive oil and salt. Roast in oven for 25-30 minutes, or until soft and cooked through. Once cooled, cut off the ends and cut carrots into 2 inch pieces. 

 

Soup

Heat a large saucepan to medium heat. Dice the onion. Add oil to heat up before adding onion. Stir occasionally until transparent. Mince the garlic and add to onion. Saute for 1 minute. Peel the ginger and turmeric root with a spoon. Mince or grate them and set aside. Slice the lime in half. Juice the lime and set aside. 

Add the turmeric and ginger to pan with onion and garlic. Allow to cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped, roasted carrots, broth and salt. Raise the heat to bring to a slow boil. Then lower heat to simmer and cover for 15-20 minutes. Add the coconut milk or cream. Blend with an immersion blender to blend all onion, carrot and liquid together. If soup is too thick, add more broth or water a little at a time until desired consistency. Add the lime and then adjust seasonings to taste. Top with your choice of toppings listed above. 

 

This soup freezes really well and tastes great as leftovers for up to 5 days in the fridge.

If freezing, place in mason jar with 1 inch of empty space left at the top and the lid slightly off. Once frozen you can tighten the lid well to prevent freezer burn. Label with kind of soup and the date. Best used within 2 months.

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Winter Squash Soup with Green Apple & Spices

We’re (thankfully) nearing the end of winter, but I always love me some winter squash soup! Mmm…this one is the best I’ve ever made, with the beautiful warming flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg that combine with the squash and apple to make a perfect marriage. 🙂 Maybe I’m going a little overboard, but this soup is seriously delicious. It would be great with a couple dashes of freshly ground cardamom too. 

It’s so fun and easy to experiment with roasted, pureed soups for meal prep. I do this all the time, so I always have some in the freezer, ready to thaw out and enjoy for lunch the next day with a salad or a sandwich.  Try meal prepping by just making 2 kinds of roasted soups that taste really different and freezing half of each. You’ll be so glad you did in a few weeks when you can thaw some out and have a fabulously satisfying and hearty meal.

Winter Squash Soup With Green Apple & Spices

Yields: 12-14 cups

Serves: 12 as a starter or 6 as an entrée

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 large pumpkin, butternut or kabocha squash
  • 2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 green apples
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 inch fresh ginger
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ lemon

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°F. Cut squash into large chunks and remove the strings and seeds. Place squash pieces on baking sheet. Coat lightly with canola or safflower oil and salt. Roast in oven for 25-30 minutes, or until soft and cooked through. Once cooled, remove the flesh from the peel with a spoon.

Heat a large saucepan to medium heat. Thinly slice onion. Heat the butter in the pan until barely melted. Add sliced onions to the hot pan and stir occasionally until transparent, for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and core the apple and cut into wedges.  Peel and mince the ginger and garlic. Then add ginger and garlic to the onion. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg, and saute for 1 minute.

Add the squash, apples, broth, water and salt. Raise the heat to bring to a slow boil. Then lower heat to simmer and cover for 15-30 minutes. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender. Taste and adjust salt and liquid amounts as needed. Add the heavy cream and juiced ½ of a lemon.

Blend again and taste. Adjust as needed. Enjoy topped with roasted squash seeds, cilantro, pomegranate molasses, croutons, or freshly cracked black pepper.

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Tuscan Kale & Bean Soup

This hearty, winter bean soup is the perfect Italian comfort food on a cold February night. You can make it vegetarian or with some Italian sausage. Either get ground sausage and cook it up in a skillet with some oil and add to the soup for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Or you can slice sausage (remove the casings first) and cook it in a pan with a bit of oil and add to the soup for the last 10 minutes it’s simmering.  Mmmm….enjoy a little slice of easy, satisfying and warming comfort food.

Tuscan Kale & Bean Soup

Tuscan Kale & Bean Soup

Yields: 8 cups of soup

Serves: 4 heartily

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 tablespoons safflower or sunflower oil
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 1 bunch curly leaf or lacinato kale
  • 2 cups cooked cannellini or white navy beans (canned or cooked from dry beans)
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1  (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes or 3-4 large fresh tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano and/or dried basil
  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • ¾ cup heavy cream (optional)
  • ⅓ cup parmesan cheese (optional for serving)

 

Directions:

Slice the onions thinly. Heat a large saucepan or stockpot (with lid) over medium heat and add the oil. Saute the onion for 5 minutes, or until translucent. You can saute longer if you want the onion to be sweeter. Mince the garlic and add to the onion.

Cook for 30 seconds and then add cooked (drained) beans, vegetable or chicken broth, tomatoes (crush them in bowl first if using fresh tomatoes), dried herbs, salt and red pepper flakes if using. Season with black pepper. Start with 1 teaspoon of salt and you can always add more later if needed.

Bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to medium low. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove the stems from the kale and then tear the kale into 2 inch pieces. Add kale pieces to the soup for the last 2 minutes of cooking time. Taste and adjust salt and seasonings as needed. Remove from heat and add heavy cream. Juice the lemon and add ½ the juice of the lemon to the soup. Taste and add more lemon if needed. Serve hot. It’s great with crusty bread for dipping! You can even drizzle the soup with a little olive oil and top with parmesan or more red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

The Empowered Kitchen Tips:

To make this a meat dish, you can add cooked Italian sausage to this dish near the end, about 5-10 minutes before the end of the simmering time. You can also substitute 1 inch cubes of potato for the beans if you prefer to make it a potato soup. This soup doesn’t freeze well, so you can enjoy it for the next 5 days when kept in your refrigerator.

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Pea, Cilantro, Lime Gazpacho

It’s August and it’s been a hot one this summer! Keep your kitchen cool by experimenting with chilled soups this summer. Zero cooking needed. 🙂 If you have a blender or food processor, you can easily make this green gazpacho soup. Plus if you make it ahead, it only gets better after a few days in the fridge. 

You just need to chop the vegetables in big chunks like this. You can remove the seeds from the cucumber, but it’s not necessary.

Summer picnic with a friend and chilled green gazpacho. Mmm…joys of summertime. 

Pea, Cilantro, Lime Gazpacho

Yields: 6 cups

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 ½ large cucumbers
  • 1 avocado
  • 6 ounces fresh or frozen peas
  • 4 sprigs cilantro
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ½ medium shallot
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 lime
  • ¼ jalapeño
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • ⅔ cup vegetable broth (low sodium)
  • 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • Salt to taste (Start with ½ teaspoon)

 

Optional

 

  • More cilantro to garnish
  • 1 tomato for garnish

 

Directions:

Add the following ingredients to the blender as you peel and slice them. However, keep aside about ⅓ of the cucumber to cut into a medium dice. You will add this diced cucumber before serving the soup. It will not be blended with the rest of the ingredients.

Peel cucumber. Slice down the middle lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Save for another recipe, or place in compost bin. Slice avocado in half and scoop out flesh with a spoon.

Rough chop the cilantro, stems included. Peel and rough chop the shallot and garlic. Juice the lime into the blender. Slice jalapeño in half and carefully scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Make sure to wash hands well with soap after handling hot peppers and don’t touch eyes or sensitive skin. Add oil, whipping cream, broth and spices to the blender.

Turn blender to medium. If it’s starting to blend, turn to high until everything is well blended. If it doesn’t want to blend, add a few tablespoons of broth at a time until it begins to blend.

Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking. After finished blending, add diced cucumber pieces and pour into serving bowls. You can serve with a swirl of olive oil or cream, more cracked pepper and a garnish of cilantro and/or diced tomato if desired.

Enjoy!

Variations

You can use fresh parsley and a few sprigs of mint in place of the cilantro. In that case, the lime can also be substituted by lemon. Have fun experimenting! Comment below if you’d like to share your variations or how you liked the recipe.

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Asparagus & Pea Cream Soup

Put away those winter vegetables! Spring is here and peas and asparagus are in season NOW! 🙂

Take advantage of the cheaper prices of these vegetables and switch up your meal prep menu with this wonderful, velvety-smooth soup that’s a major crowd pleaser.  It can easily be made vegan with a plain, non-dairy milk. 

Meal Prep Tip: As long as you’re roasting asparagus for this soup, roast an extra bunch to snack on (they’re so tasty and sweet when hot, right out of the oven). Or serve them over rice or quinoa with fish, chicken, lamb or tofu.

Yields: 8-9 cups soup (great for freezing!)

Serves: 5-6 large servings

Cooking time: 1 hour, but you can freeze some and even double the recipe to maximize the use of your time.

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 large bunch asparagus
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil or butter
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • ½ lemon (optional)
  • 10 ounces peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3 cups broth (mushroom, vegetable or chicken)
  • 1 cup milk
  • Optional for Serving
  • 1 spoonful of plain yogurt
  • Sprinkle with pea shoots

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  If using frozen peas, take them out to thaw and pour into a bowl.

Wash asparagus and remove the hard end of each stem by breaking them close to the bottom. There is usually a white, more fibrous part near the bottom of the stem, where the asparagus will naturally break. Discard the tough ends. 

Place tender stems on a baking sheet or two. Spread out evenly so they’re not touching. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and coat with about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Use your hands to coat asparagus well with oil and salt.

Roast for about 20 minutes, or until they are soft to the touch and very slightly brown on the top ends.

While asparagus are roasting, thinly slice the onion and cut the lemon in half if using.

If using fresh sugar snap peas, you will also need to remove the peas from the pods. You can snack on the sweet pods. They’re great dipped in hummus, yogurt dip or tahini sauce.

Heat a medium saucepan to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter. Sauté the onions for about 10 minutes, or until soft, translucent and beginning to caramelize. You may need to reduce heat to medium-low to prevent burning.

When asparagus comes out of the oven, carefully transfer to a cutting board to let it cool before you slice them in halves or thirds.

Add peas to the onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the chopped, roasted asparagus, along with the salt, pepper, tarragon and thyme. Then add the broth. Cover and let simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat and carefully transfer to blender to puree the soup well. Or you can use an immersion blender, but a regular blender will work better for this soup. At this time add the milk and blend again or stir in with a spoon. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. If you want, you can add a squeeze of lemon at this time as well, but it’s delicious with or without it.

You can top this with a spoonful of yogurt or a few pea shoots for a beautiful presentation.

The Empowered Kitchen Tips:

This soup freezes really well and tastes great as leftovers for up to 5 days in the fridge.

If freezing, place in mason jar with 1 inch of empty space left at the top and the lid slightly off.

Once frozen you can tighten the lid well to prevent freezer burn. Label with kind of soup and the date. Best used within 2-3 months.

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Sweet Potato Soup with Garam Masala & Lime

This recipe is demonstrated with sweet potato, but you can riff on the same soup with parsnips, potatoes, carrots, butternut squash and so much more. Once you’ve made this soup, you can start to experiment with different vegetables and spices to make fabulous soups without a recipe for the rest of your days! 

Have fun with it. 🙂

Yields 14 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients

  • 8 sweet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 medium shallot
  • 10 cups water or veggie/chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lime
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream or full fat coconut milk
  • Optional Garnishes
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Pomegranate molasses
  • Whole plain yogurt
  • Cilantro

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place sweet potatoes on a sheet pan and lightly coat with olive oil. Roast sweet potatoes in oven for 45 – 55 minutes. They are finished when a knife easily slides through the entire sweet potato.  Let them cool and peel off the skins.

Once cool, cut into large diced pieces. (No need to dice them perfectly.)

Heat a large saucepan to medium heat. Add coconut oil to the hot saucepan.

Dice the shallot and add to the heated oil. Sauté shallot until translucent.  Add the garam masala to the shallot and sauté for 1 more minute.

Add the roasted sweet potato pieces, water or broth and salt.  Bring to a low boil and then lower to a simmer for 20-30 minutes.  

Use an immersion blender to blend the shallot and sweet potato together. Squeeze the lime and add to the soup, along with the heavy whipping cream or coconut milk. Taste and adjust salt, lime and cream to your preferences if needed.

You can optionally top this with a dollop of yogurt, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds, a swirl of pomegranate molasses, and/or chopped cilantro.