10 Delicious Winter Soups and Stews – alive magazine
Welcome to Next Gen Natural, a column where we share a Gen Z perspective on natural health and wellness. I’m Michelle—alive’s Digital Assistant and creator of the Healthy Num Num food blog. I love healthy living and want to inspire you to integrate wellness into all parts of your life, regardless of your age.
Wintertime means it’s finally soup season. These delicious soups and stews are perfect to cozy up with for a chilly night in. Packed with vegetables, protein, and grains, each recipe is easy to make and comforting to consume. Busy week hack: make a big batch of soup to enjoy throughout the week as an easy lunch or dinner, or store in the freezer for a rainy day. Read on to find your new favorite winter comfort food!
This flavorful soup is perfect for those who eat a plant-based diet and enjoy a little spice in their meal. It comes together in just over 30 minutes and is filled with protein and fiber for a satiating soup. This recipe uses gingerroot, which is helpful for soothing stomach bloating and promoting regular bowel movements.
This is another 30-minute meal made with eight simple budget-friendly ingredients. The carrots provide a variety of nutrients, including vitamin A, which supports eye health—helpful if your eyes feel strained after looking at screens all day. The miso paste adds umami richness that pairs well with the sweet carrots and warm ginger flavors.
This Middle Eastern soup uses green or brown lentils, an often-overlooked protein source with just 1/2 cup containing 12 grams of protein. This recipe requires ahead-of-time prep work, as you’ll need to soak the raw lentils overnight and then cook them for an hour before making the rest of the recipe. Serve with a chewy piece of Crusty Sourdough Italian Loaf to soak up every ounce of its flavorful broth!
The red curry and ginger infuse deep flavor in this comforting bowl of spicy soup. This recipe uses your choice of squash; however, butternut or acorn squashes are popular choices. If using butternut squash, choose a smaller size for the sweetest soup flavor. The longer you store butternut squash, the sweeter and nuttier the flavor becomes. To make this recipe dairy free, replace Greek yogurt with a plant-based version or additional coconut milk.
This soup is oh so Gouda. The creamy texture comes from the puréed potatoes and pears without the addition of heavy cream. Pear fact: pears are one of the few fruits that don’t ripen on the tree but naturally from the inside out once they are harvested. Serve this soup with Sesame-Thyme Rice Crackers for a gluten-free side snack.
Looking to sneak some extra vegetables into your day? This recipe is a great way to enjoy a boatload of veggies, which can be left whole or puréed into a creamy soup. To increase the protein in this meal, add diced chicken breast or chickpeas. For a boost of collagen, replace vegan vegetable stock with beef bone broth, which also adds 9 grams of protein per cup.
Cauliflower, the star of this recipe, is a versatile vegetable that doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own but is great at picking up flavorful spices. The drizzle of olive oil on top provides healthy fats to help control blood sugar and reduce inflammation. Quick quality tip: when shopping, look for organic extra-virgin olive oil for a higher quality and more flavorful choice.
A hearty bowl of chili is always a crowd pleaser, especially when served with Blueberry Cornbread. If you’re not camping while making this recipe, easily prepare it on a stovetop. Extra beans or crumbled tempeh can be used in lieu of beef to make this chili vegan. Garnish your bowl with delicious toppings, such as diced avocado, grated cheddar cheese, sliced green onions, chopped chives, cilantro, sour cream, or tortilla chips for an added crunch.
If you have yet to try tomato and chocolate together, you may be skeptical. However, these two flavors paired bring out the best in each other: dark chocolate smooths out acidity in tomatoes, adding depth and richness to this recipe. Diced tomatoes can also be replaced by another complementary chocolate pairing like carrots or beets. Don’t knock it till you try it!
Quinoa is a nourishing and environmentally friendly protein that gets cooked together with the vegetables, saving you extra prep time. This brothlike stew includes a variety of vegetables like carrot, celery, butternut squash, and potato. For a superfood boost, stir in chopped dark leafy greens, such as kale or Swiss chard, in the last couple of minutes of cooking.