Master Homemade Soups: Expert Steps for Healthy, Delicious Recipes

Creating quick, healthy soups at home is simpler than you might imagine. Follow these proven steps from seasoned home cooks to prepare a large pot of fresh, nourishing soup.

Choose Your Soup Type

Soups divide into two main categories: clear and thick. Select the style first, then pick ingredients and seasonings.

• Clear soups: Built on a clear broth with vegetables and/or meat.
• Thick soups: Include purée soups (blended ingredients), cream soups (finished with cream), and velouté soups (strained and bound with egg yolk, cream, and butter).

Thick soups offer more satiety, often with higher calories and fats from thickeners and cream. Every soup starts the same: sauté chopped onion and garlic in oil.

Read also: ‘10 ways to eat more vegetables’

Add Nutrient-Rich Vegetables

Vegetables deliver essential vitamins and carbohydrates. Top choices: leek, zucchini, broccoli, pumpkin, mushrooms, and carrots. Don't overlook black radish—packed with vitamins B and C.

Try these winning combinations:

• Cauliflower soup with potato, raw ham, and crème fraîche.
• Chicory soup with zucchini and cheese.
• Brown bean soup with onion, carrot, and leek for a hearty meal. Substitute lentils for beans.

Boost with Superfoods

Elevate nutrition and texture: Blend in avocado for creaminess, chia seeds or quinoa for chew and fullness, or sprouts as a vibrant, healthy garnish.

Season for Bold Flavor

Go beyond salt and pepper for standout taste:

• Mint or red chili with spinach soup.
• Saffron threads for cauliflower soup's rich warmth.
• Thyme in place of parsley or basil.
• Turmeric with red lentil or onion soup.
• Ginger for carrot soup.
• Fennel seeds with tomato in fish soup.

Select Eye-Catching Toppings

Presentation matters—garnish to impress:

• Chopped roasted nuts.
• Mint or basil leaves.
• Fresh herbs.
• A swirl of cream.

Source: Santé March 2016. Text: Mara Ruijter