11 Delicious Soups Hearty Enough For Dinner
Winter is here, which means you've tossed aside those healthy salads that just don't warm you up in the cold months. The problem with warming foods is they're often fatty and unhealthy. Cheeseburgers, lasagna, and hot slices of pepperoni pizza are all incredibly tempting when you aren't thinking about your beach bod and are just looking for a little comfort. Hence the brilliance of National Soup Month coming around in January — aka the dead of winter.
Broccoli Spinach Soup
Broccoli and spinach combine in a vegetable broth with red pepper flakes for a slightly spicy and healthy dinner. This soup is topped off with a poached egg to add texture and creaminess, but you can replace it with tofu if you're trying to keep it vegan.
Chipotle Sweet Potato Chowder
Creamy Tomato-Basil Soup
Following the classic recipe of tomatoes, cream, and chicken stock, this recipe hits the spot any day. Pair it with a pesto-Gruyére grilled cheese for an easy warming dinner that your whole family will love, or make the soup vegan if you're trying to keep it clean for 2016.
Escarole and White Bean Soup
Escarole and creamy cannellini beans are a natural Italian pair. The sweet sautéed onion and garlic add incredible flavors to the creamy beans that taste heavenly with the leafy green escarole. Simple ingredients topped off with freshly grated Parmigian0-Reggiano — what more could you ask for in a dish?
Greek Avgolemono Soup
A great alternative to chicken noodle soup, this lemon soup has a slight tang, long-grain rice, and juicy pieces of chicken to warm you up. Serve this with some stuffed grape leaves and fresh homemade hummus for a fantastic Greek meal.
Miso Soup
Leek Soup in Pretzel Bun Bowls
Inspired by Harry Potter's Leaky Cauldron, this soup combines potatoes, bacon, and leeks for an incredibly warming dish. No one will complain about hunger after chowing down on these pretzel bread bowls that soak up the creamy broth from this soup.
Maine Lobster Bisque with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
This creamy lobster bisque uses no cream, but it does have chunks of juicy lobster hidden throughout the soup for an incredible treat. The stock is made with the lobster meat and shells, so the entire soup has strong lobster flavors.
Click here for the Maine Lobster Bisque with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds recipe.
Manhattan-Style Clam Chowder
This slightly spicy, tomato and bacon-based soup has slight hints of clam and is filled with chunky vegetables. The potatoes in this recipe soak up the spices from the broth, making every bite of this soup tasty and satisfying.
Onion Soup with Bacon, Winter Herbs, and Gruyère
Sweet French onion soup filled with beef-broth-soaked bread cloaked in a layer of perfectly melted cheese is truly a food-lover's dream. This warming soup nicely balances out heavy textures with a thin broth that's enhanced with sweet caramelized onions and applewood-smoked bacon.
Click here for the Onion Soup with Bacon, Winter Herbs, and Gruyère recipe.
Tortilla Soup
With tomatoes, beans, peppers, and tortilla strips, this popular Mexican soup makes a great light dinner any night of the week. The jalapeños and red pepper flakes give this broth a nice bite that pairs well with some homemade tortilla chips!