Super Smooth Soups

In my post Five Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables, I recommended that you add veggie soup to your meals. It’s a ridiculously simple and satisfying way to get more produce down your throat. You can sip it from a mug or be all fancy-pants and enjoy a soup course before your main meal.

Soup is very big here in central Europe.

It’s pretty common to see people in cafés slurping a bowl of soup at lunch or as a first course at dinner. Because I’m a weirdo, I’m back to eating veg soup for breakfast, alongside grilled chicken or hard-boiled eggs (or salad… I’m kind of into salad for breakfast now, too. I mean, why not?! Soup and salad is the new breakfast of champions.)

I’m not saying you must eat veg soup for breakfast, I’m just saying all of these recipes are ultimate comfort food, any time of day—and if you cook them with bone broth, all the better. (Confession: I had to part ways with my giant stock pot when we left Vermont, and my Prague freezer is on the wee side, so I buy bone broth now. There is no shame in purchased bone broth, friends, and there are plenty of great places to buy it now.)

I’ve included tips below for how to add protein to turn these soups into complete meals. Just prepare the soup, cook the protein separately, and unite them in your bowl when it’s time to eat. And yes! They’re all Whole30 compliant.

Persian-Spiced Winter Vegetable Soup

What’s it all about: The sweetness of the butternut squash and tomato paste are amped up with exotic spices, and just a few potatoes give it a velvety texture. The paprika+cumin+cinnamon packs a little bit of a punch, and you can adjust the heat by changing the amount of Aleppo pepper you use

Make it a meal: Add roasted lamb shoulder or browned ground lamb

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

What’s it all about: The ginger and garlic in this recipe give it a nice bite, and you can adjust the amount of ginger up or down to manage the heat. You will be shocked at how creamy this soup is, without the benefit of dairy or coconut milk.

Make it a meal: Add roasted or rotisserie chicken, or browned ground chicken or turkey.

Paleo Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon

What it’s all about: The earthy spices of the Ras el Hanout spice blend mingle with smoky bacon and sweet potatoes to make happiness. Smooth, creamy without dairy, and spicy-sweet.

Make it a meal: Add very thinly-sliced cooked pork chops or pork loin, or browned ground pork.

Golden Cauliflower Soup

What it’s all about: With this soup, cauliflower proves once again that it is the ultimate magical vegetable. This puréed soup is creamy, smooth, and fluffy — like pillows and happy clouds and Smudge.

Make it a meal: Add browned ground beef or very thinly-sliced cooked steak.

Roasted Carrot-Caraway Soup

What it’s all about: I’m not usually a fan of carrots—too sweet—but roasting them turns the sugary sweetness into rich, caramel notes. Caraway pairs beautifully with carrots because they’re from the same family, and the caraway plant looks remarkably like leafy carrot tops.

Make it a meal: Add browned ground pork or chicken or shredded roasted pork shoulder.