Healthy Soups

The combination of miso and turmeric is soothing and satisfying in this simple adaptation of classic miso soup.

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This pretty, fresh-tasting tomato soup is David Chang’s riff on Greek salad: He tops it with tomatoes, olives, honeyed cucumbers and feta.

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Chef and TV personality Hugh Acheson uses miso to add umami to this hearty and exceptionally savory soup.

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The secret to this speedy soup is buying ingredients with lots of built-in flavor, like hummus and jarred piquillo peppers.

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Vadouvan is a French spice blend inspired by Indian curry. Here, it's added to corn chowder for a new twist on the summer classic.

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Benjamin Leroux's terrific soup is an unexpected mix of beets, tomatoes and tomato paste; it has the flavor of a light borscht.

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Chef Annie Somerville thickens and enriches her fragrant cauliflower soup with unsweetened coconut milk. The thinly sliced jalapeño served on top adds a bright, fresh heat that’s delicious with the warm curry spices and sweet roasted cauliflower.

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Adding collard greens, bell pepper, corn and carrot to a rustic butternut squash soup is Mary Ellen Diaz's clever way of making it even more healthy. Together these vegetables deliver vitamins A and C as well as fiber and powerful antioxidants.

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Rocco DiSpirito likes to heat shirataki noodles (a low-calorie noodle made from tofu or a kind of sweet potato) in store-bought chicken broth seasoned with lime juice.

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Simmering the broth with a Parmesan rind gives the soup an even richer taste than sprinkling the cheese on top.

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Meaty portobellos are especially good for adding substance and flavor to this soup, but shiitakes or other mushrooms will work well, too. You can also add a ham hock to the pot while the split peas cook, if you like.

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Chicken breast adds plenty of protein but not much fat to this version of ajiaco, a cilantro-scented chicken soup that's virtually Colombia's national dish. Stirring in fiber-rich brown rice turns the soup into a satisfying one-dish meal.

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This satisfying soup from David Bull is an excellent source of fiber.

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Sweet potatoes are a great source of beta-carotene, essential for vision. The soup uses only one cup of the ginger broth; the rest makes a terrific cooking liquid for grains like quinoa.

More Great Soups

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Horseradish, originally consumed for medicinal purposes, became the condiment of choice for English roast beef in the 17th century. Chef Tristan Welch creates an ingenious granité by freezing horseradish with milk, scraping it into icy flakes and scooping it onto toasts to garnish a creamy nettle soup (spinach is excellent here too).

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Based on a brothy tortilla soup, this fiery, substantial soup is full of nutty-tasting barley, brown rice and bulgur, creating a dish that's high in fiber.

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Avgolemono is a classic sauce of chicken broth, egg yolks and lemon juice; the addition of a bit more chicken broth, rice and shredded chicken turns it into a satisfying soup.

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Top-quality jarred pesto is the key to this soup, contributing a lovely, herby nuttiness. Simmering the soup with a Parmigiano-Reggiano rind adds even more flavor complexity.

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"I haven't met a bean or pea that I didn't love," says Steven Satterfield. Here he soaks split peas for an hour before simmering them in the soup, so they're more tender and the soup is smoother.

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"In this industry, you often don't eat when you need to," says Ronnie Killen. "What helped me lose weight was eating at the right times." He started having real meals with lean proteins, like this turkey chili.

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This delicate broth is full of vitamin C, thanks to the pea pods Jeremy Fox simmers. (Snow peas are just as delicious and easier to find.) He tops the consommé with shards of white chocolate because he likes the way it brings out the peas' sweetness while adding only a little fat.

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Not only is yellow corn a good source of vitamin B, magnesium and thiamin, it also contains carotenoids (organic pigments with health benefits) not found in white corn. Ani Phyo likes to add a handful of vitamin A–rich spinach or soft lettuce to the chowder. “Then it becomes part-soup, part-salad,” she says.

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For this soup, a citrus oil is used in two different ways: for sautéing fennel before pureeing it with grapefruit juice, and for garnishing the soup before serving.

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"Ask anyone on my staff their favorite summer dish, and they'll tell you it's this one," says Hoss Zaré. Filled with herbs, nuts and raisins, the soup is delicious with grilled bread.

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Classic Andalucian gazpacho combines raw vegetables like tomatoes and onions with red wine vinegar for a little kick. Kerry Simon transforms the recipe by using grilled vegetables brightened with a blend of vinegar, orange juice and lemon juice.

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Sophie Dahl likes eating peppery watercress in the spring and has figured out a way to highlight its bright flavor in this silky soup. A single tablespoon of cream gives the vivid green soup a touch of richness.

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Chef Eric Skokan grows hundreds of vegetables at his farm in Boulder, Colorado, analyzing each variety for its best use. He prefers the Zagross Persian cucumber for this tangy soup.

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Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge make yogurt from the goat milk produced on the Beekman farm. They blend the tangy yogurt into this herb-flecked soup.

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This miso soup gets extra flavor from ripe tomatoes.

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Callaloo, originally from Africa, is served throughout the Caribbean in different forms--from a thick side dish to the soup you see below.

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This recipe works best with fresh corn and tomatoes at the height of the season. Add them in right at the end so they maintain their texture and fresh summer flavor.

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The Good News In this nutrient-rich soup, the vegetables are cut very small and the flavors are simple. "It's one of the first dishes I cooked for E.J. and Meril," says Emeril Lagasse. "It's great for young kids."

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