How to Make a Bowl of Homemade (vegan) Soup
Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup (A Pinch of Parsley) is the ultimate comfort food recipe, with childhood memories but none of the ‘not being friendly to chickens’. It’s ready in 15 minutes, and you can freeze leftovers, to heat later on.
This recipe is kind of a plant-based take on the old Campbells’ condensed cream of chicken soup. And the good news is that you only need one saucepan and a few easy-to-find ingredients. Use vegan chicken powder to turn it into ‘chicken stock’.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Just bin allium scraps (garlic, onion, leeks, shallots, chives) as like tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, acids could harm compost creatures.
If using tinned ingredients, fully remove lids (or pop ring-pulls back over holes), before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
Let leftover soup cool to room temperature, and store in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days. Cool completely before freezing leftovers (thaw before reheating in a pan, stirring often to keep the creamy texture).
Vegan Tomato Soup Recipe (just 4 ingredients!)
This homemade tomato soup (It’s Liv B) is made with just 4 ingredients: a can of canned diced tomatoes, an onion, some vegan butter (Flora has no palm oil) and salt (plus optional dried basil). And water! You just simmer the ingredients, then cool a little and blend!
Homemade Sweetcorn Soup
This sweetcorn soup (Full of Plants) is a delicious supper, from one of nature’s sweetest vegetables. And just look at the colour! It’s made with fresh or frozen sweetcorn, vegan butter (Flora has no palm oil), garlic, onions and shallots, and thickened with coconut cream.
Homemade Vegan Curried Parsnip Soup
Learning to make your own soup is empowering, affordable and delicious! Once you know the basics (just fry up onion and garlic with good veggie stock, add your ingredients and some water, then cook and blend. That’s it! You’ll never go back!
If you make a lot of homemade soup, it’s worth investing in a good stick blender, to save the faff of washing blenders all the time. It’s UK law that whoever sells it to you, has to take your old appliance back for recycling.
Curried Parsnip Soup (The Veg Space) is made with roasted garlic for extra flavour, and you can add as few or many spices as you like, depending on your preference.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Just bin allium scraps (garlic, onion, leeks, shallots, chives) as like tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, acids could harm compost creatures.
If using tinned ingredients, fully remove lids (or pop ring-pulls back over holes), before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
Let leftover soup cool to room temperature, and store in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days. Cool completely before freezing leftovers (thaw before reheating in a pan, stirring often to keep the creamy texture).
Silicone Souper Cubes (sold in Lakeland)
Souper Cubes are an American invention, a great invention. At present we don’t appear to have anything similar in England. They are sold in Lakeland (so get these while you can, as the trade tariff fiasco is affecting imports).
In short, these are made from silicone (made with sand, a kind of eco-alternative to plastic that is food-safe, lasts for years and is easy to recycle). Looking like giant ice-cube trays, you basically make a batch of soup (or bread or anything else), then pour leftovers into the trays.
Then when you want some soup, you just pop out a cube to thaw in the fridge, or heat up (to the correct temperature and don’t re-freeze, for food safety). They are great to avoid food waste.
If you live alone or as a couple, you can then make normal soup recipes (that often serve 4 to 6), and have your own homemade soup on tap, which will save you money, and give more variety than tinned soups.
The sturdy lids prevent spills and frost, and the flexible containers push out cubes easily (no more banging plastic containers on the counter, to get your soup or sauce out. You can also use them for homemade pasta sauce, curry, vegan pesto or broth. Silicone also resists stains and odours.
Souper Cubes are also easy to stack and dishwasher-safe. They were created ‘in her head’ by a busy mother, then designed by her husband, who thankfully is an engineer!
If you like making soup, invest in a stick blender, it’s a lot less faff than using blenders that you constantly have to wash out. It’s UK law that stores selling electronic goods have to recycle the old ones for you. So take along that dusty old blender in the kitchen cupboard, and swap it for a sleek modern hand-blender, to use with your Souper Cubes.
How to Make Your Own Cup-a-Soups
This vegan leek potato cup-a-soup (The Veg Space) is the ideal alternative to those palm-oil laden packs in stores. Cup a soup is nice and warming for winter days, and better for you than endless cups of coffee!
This recipe uses whole potatoes and stewed leeks, with good veggie stock and vegan cream, for a yummy drink treat in cold weather.
Start with a sturdy, heatproof jar or mug with a tight lid. Glass jars like Mason jars work well because they handle boiling water, and are easy to clean. Make sure your chosen container holds at least 400ml and seals well to stop leaks if you’re packing your soup for work or school.
Wash the container before you use it, then let it dry fully.
This potato leek soup (The Simple Veganista) will become a household favourite, especially since most canned versions contain milk or cream. This also contains canned beans, so is packed with protein too. And more filling, so you don’t have to eat a loaf of bread with it!
Leeks are affordable and local, so take advantage of those you find in markets and at farm shops, to make these tasty plant-based recipes! Just be sure to rinse leeks well, as most have grit that you don’t want to get stuck in your teeth.
This is a US recipe, so sub Yukon Gold spuds for Maris Piper or King Edwards. Along with leeks, you’ll also need some oil, tinned cannellini beans, good veggie stock (no palm oil), herbs and red pepper flakes. Plus sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, and parsley to serve.
Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, soup is so easy to make. This one is a case of rinsing and cooking the leeks in oil with spices, then adding and cooking the rest of the ingredients. This is quite a chunky soup, but you can use a stick blender to pulse it for a smoother texture.
Look in stores for Mr Organic Leek and Potato Soup. It’s both vegan and organic.
