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Simple Soups

Soup is the king of thrifty meals and batch-cooking – easy to make, freeze, reheat and infinitely adaptable. You can make almost any kind of soup with just a few simple tips.

Soupa-Soups

Easy, cheap & filling, let’s soup…

Soup can be an easy, affordable way to get more veg into children. You can always add more veg (without anyone noticing), it makes them more digestible (especially greens), and is healthier and cheaper than buying ready-made soups.

Homemade soup can be made with pretty much any veg, and is useful for reducing food waste – vegetables that are looking a little wilted or wrinkled are perfect for using in soup, saving them from the bin and creating a nutritious meal at the same time! Leftovers work really well in soup, too, meaning nothing needs to be wasted. You can even make soup more filling and affordable by adding in cooked pasta (cook a little extra for dinner to chuck in) or chunks of toast to bulk it out.

Secrets to Soup Success

We suggest making a big batch of soup to keep in the fridge (for a few days) or the freezer (for a few months), which will use less energy and time than making it each day, and supply you with convenient healthy meals when you’re short on time. You can store it (once completely cooled) in old clean jars, old washed out plastic takeaway tubs, or any freezer-safe container – just make sure it is cold and leave a little empty space at the top of the container as it will expand slightly in the freezer. Soups are also perfect in a thermos for a warming lunch on the go.

The secret to great soup is great stock. Whether you use liquid, powder or cubed ones, the flavour can be a personal preference, and the costs can vary significantly, so find whichever best suits your budget and tastes as a family.

Follow these simple steps to start building your own soups, try different vegetables and experiment with dried herbs and spices, or follow a recipe to help you start out and flex your soup-making muscles.

One Recipe…Many Soups

Ingredients

First, gather your ingredients. You will need:

Stock: Cubes, bouillon powder, or liquid – just follow packet instructions to make it up. If you don’t have any, just use water and add a little more seasoning (see Taste).

Vegetables: Use up leftovers (cooked or uncooked), frozen veggies, plain uneaten veggies from dinner, anything on offer in the shops, or veggies that are just on the turn.

Taste: Add a little flavour with basic dried herbs (1-2 tsp will do), curry powder, or just salt & pepper. You could add creaminess with milk, coconut milk or cream at the end of cooking, too.

Bulk: Bulk out the soup with root veg, beans and pulses, which are cheap, filling and nutritious. And feel free to throw in any leftover cooked meats from dinner at the end of the soup-making process.

Get frying the base

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan and chuck in a few handfuls of veg per person (raw or cooked, fresh or frozen or tinned). If using cooked/leftovers or tinned veg, fry for a couple of mins to heat through. If using raw or frozen veg, fry until soft (5-15 mins depending on the veg).

add ingredients

Add the other ingredients, starting with about 500ml of stock (or water/coconut milk/chopped tomatoes), some salt & pepper to taste, and some optional dried herbs (like basil, oregano or thyme) or spices (curry powder, paprika, cumin or coriander all work well) to add flavour (these are totally optional, but if you have some on hand it can add an extra flavour boost).

boil and simmer

Bring to the boil and simmer until veg is very soft. Blitz with a hand-held blender until smooth (or leave a little chunky if you prefer it that way) or transfer to a food processor (carefully!) for blending when cooled slightly. Add more stock or water if it’s too thick – it should be no thicker than a milkshake. Taste and add more seasonings/herbs/spices if needed.

Enjoy!

Serve warm. If you are using cooked meat, add after blitzing the soup rather than before for best results. Pulses like chickpeas and beans can be nice to hold back to add texture, too. Similarly, if you are using cream or milk to add creaminess to a soup, add it at the end to avoid it cooking and curdling.

…And Repeat!

As you get more confident, try mixing up the flavours and ingredients more to suit your family’s tastes.

Soup-Spiration

If you want to have a go at coming up with your own soup flavour combinations but aren’t sure where to start, here are some ideas:

Carrots and lentils

Sweet potato and greens

Tomato and red peppers

Broccoli and blue cheese

Squash and apple

Parsnip and curry powder (with coconut milk)

Sweetcorn and chicken or bacon

Cauliflower and chickpeas

Celery and cream

Leeks with white fish and a little milk or cream (leave chunky for a chowder-like soup)

Beetroot and coconut milk

…and so many more. Have fun finding your family’s favourites!

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Soup Kids Will Love!

Soup can be a bit of a divider for kids – some love them chunky, others smooth, some love them more bland, others with plenty of flavour. Some insist they don’t like them at all!

If your kids are hesitant, why not try these top tips to win them over with kid-friendly soups:

Children usually prefer sweeter flavours, so use sweeter veg like butternut squash or pumpkin, sweet potato, red or yellow peppers, tomatoes, sweetcorn, peas, carrots, etc.
Give your soups fun nicknames using favourite children’s characters, heroes or the colours of the soup. Try making Monster Soup, Witch’s Brew, Mean & Green, Princess Pea Soup, or put your own name and spin on your soups!
Encourage slurping and playing with their food to make it fun.
Try serving the soup in a mug to make it easier and more tactile for them.
Make the soup attractive or funny, like creating a face in the soup when you serve it with a couple of peas, sweetcorn or carrot slices for eyes and a mouth from a bit of pepper.
Add croutons or small torn up bits of toast and challenge the kids to fish them out with the spoon.
Ask your kids which way they prefer their soups: are you a chunky or smooth/cold or hot/thick or thin/creamy or savoury?

And remember to keep trying!

Sometimes it takes kids a while to get on board, but the more they see and try it, the more used to it they are and the easier it gets.

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