Soup Recipes
This extensive collection of the best Mediterranean diet soup recipes is for you if you're looking for simple yet mouthwatering new ideas for the soup to make. Recipes from simple chicken soup to tasty vegetable soup, velvety soups, hearty stews, and more are included here. Plus, every cup of this hearty soup is packed to the brim with nourishment and bursting with robust flavors inspired by the Mediterranean, leaving you wanting more.
I think of myself as a "souper" who consumes soup consistently, regardless of the time of year. Not only can soup provide an overwhelming sense of warmth, but it is also an excellent way to make a substantial meal out of any leftover veggies or meats you may have on hand.
I have compiled a long list of the most exemplary soup ideas I have ever had, which contains something for everyone. For those of you who like chicken noodle soup! And if you're searching for some new ways to use up your lentils, beans, or grains, you're in for a real treat. I've got some delicious veggie soup ideas for you to try. For those days when you need something even more comforting than usual, I have included several recipes for meaty stews and fish soups that are enhanced with powerful spices.
A large bowl of salad and your preferred crusty bread (or pita) are all required to accompany any of these soups when they are served to guests. When necessary, I'll whip up a batch of couscous in a flash to use as a bed for one of the stews.
If you want to make any of these soup recipes into a meal, serve it with your favorite crusty bread and maybe a large bowl of salad as an appetizer.
Soup Recipes
These five nutritious soups are huge favorites among readers and are now a part of my regular soup rotation. They are the only source of solace!
Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
This chicken and rice soup are cooked in the Greek manner with a sauce made of lemon and eggs (known as avgolemono), which gives the soup a smooth and luxurious texture. You don't have to start from scratch while making ChickenChicken: The use of store-bought rotisserie chicken makes this clear avgolemono soup perfect for a midweek meal.
Soup With Turmeric And Lemon Flavored Chicken
A new favorite among the faithful! The flavor of this chicken soup is elevated with the addition of vegetables, herbs, and warm spices like turmeric. It is loaded with fresh lemon juice. If you want to give it more substance, you can thicken it with some healthy noodles or chickpeas from a can (make sure to drain and rinse them first), and you are free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Simple Chickpea Soup From The Mediterranean
This chickpea soup recipe is vegan and gluten-free and features hearty ingredients such as chunks of sweet potatoes and hearty vegetables. It is also laced with bold flavors such as cumin and fresh ginger. I use chickpeas from a can, but you can also prepare the chickpeas from raw ingredients if you prefer (I share instructions in the post).
Minestrone
This minestrone is prepared in the Italian style and loaded with various vegetables, beans, and even pasta. Among the many things that make this dish so attractive is the flavorful tomato broth accented by a generous amount of fresh herbs. Minestrone is supposed to be customized, so please do not hesitate to make this dish your own by adding whatever veggies you have available. If you prefer, you may add a handful of chopped potatoes or spinach to the plate.
Spicy Lentil Soup with Spinach
This dish packs a lot of nutritional punch from both lentils and spinach. This simple soup may be made using green, brown, or black lentils since all three varieties will retain their form while cooking to perfect tenderness.
Recipes for creamy soups
Nothing is more sumptuous than a hearty, velvety soup packed with aromas that evoke a sense of home. The following are some of my favorite vegetable-forward creamy soups that have a Mediterranean style:
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
This butternut squash soup is vegan and gluten-free, and it has a hint of sweetness and a nutty flavor thanks to the addition of some toasty spices and a substantial amount of high-quality tahini. Stunningly unexpected on so many fronts.
Tomato Basil Soup
This vegan roasted tomato soup recipe is as creamy as it gets while not calling for any heavy cream. When making this soup, I prefer roasted carrots since they provide a delicate sweetness and heaviness to the dish. Fresh basil and thyme are some herbs I like to use to flavor my words when I find them.
The roasted tomato basil soup is served in a massive saucepan with a spoon. Finished with basil as a garnish
Ginger Carrot Stew With Roasted Carrots
Like many other creamy soups, this carrot ginger soup is an excellent choice for making ahead of time since it tastes even better the following day. In addition to the fresh ginger, two of my favorite additions to these already delicious roasted carrots are garlic and a dash or two of allspice.
Soup Made Of Lentils And Pumpkin, Vegan
This is a soup made with a pumpkin with a touch of a Mediterranean flavor. Adding red lentils, which, once cooked, transform into a velvety sweetness, is an excellent choice for this recipe since it adds nutrition and substance to the soup. My favorite way to add a little extra kick to this recipe is to add a small amount of zhoug, a spicy cilantro pesto you can find in Asian markets.
Cream Of Cauliflower Soup With Roasted Cauliflower
Since the soup is so thick and creamy, you won't miss the cheese in this rustic and decadent cauliflower soup dish. This soup is enhanced with a touch of heavy cream, but if you want, you may use oat cream for the heavy cream (although it is a bit on the sweeter side). The taste of this simple soup is taken to new heights with the addition of a quartet of earthy Mediterranean spices: turmeric, cumin, sumac, and paprika.
Recipes For Simple Cream Of Vegetable Soup
Vegetable soup is a tasty and soothing way to rejuvenate your body if you are ever in a situation where you want to reset your body but don't want to subject yourself to the rigors of a detox diet. In this circumstance, vegetable soup may be a tasty and soothing way for you to achieve this goal. In addition, there isn't a better method to use up the vegetables and herbs sitting in the bottom drawer of your refrigerator. Below are some of my favorite vegetarian and vegan soup recipes that I make regularly (there are more that may be found in the sections that follow):
Vegetable Soup
The homemade vegetable soup recipe you're about to read has layers of brightly colored vegetables, aromatics, fresh herbs, and a generous splash of lime juice for the brightest possible finish. Adding chickpeas, a plant protein source will make the dish heartier.
Soup With Mushrooms And Barley
This savory but straightforward mushroom barley soup is brought to life by including hearty mushrooms, finely chopped veggies, and delicate pearl barley. Just as soothing as the barley soup served at your go-to deli, but packed with even more flavor and finished with a hint of smokiness! Your collection of simple soup recipes will need to be expanded to include this one.
Vegetarian Sweet Potato Stew
One pot has sweet potato chunks that are so delicate they almost melt on your lips, tender carrots, tomatoes, and baby spinach that has been wilted. Warm spices like cumin and turmeric, which contrast the sweetness of the soft vegetables, are, in my opinion, the most effective flavor enhancers in this dish.
Herbed Vegan Potato Leek Soup
This is not your typical potato and leek soup; instead, it is a version that has the addition of garlic and cilantro for some added flavor and depth. To finish it off, give it a drizzle of excellent extra virgin olive oil and a splash of fresh lemon juice to bring out the earthy aromas it already had.
Additional Recipes For Chicken Soup
Chicken soup is one of those comfort foods from yesteryear that has a long history of use as a home cure to ease the symptoms of illness. It's also one of those delicacies found in every country and every home, although in somewhat different forms. In addition to Avgolemono and my Turmeric Lemon Chicken Soup, which can be found on the list of popular soups that was just presented, the following are some more reassuring chicken stews to consider making:
Chicken Stew
Yes, we go one step further with this heartier chicken stew recipe, packed to the brim with chopped vegetables and bursting with bold and bright flavors. Either serve it on a bed of farro grains or with a loaf of your favorite crusty bread to accompany it.
Soup Made With White Beans And Kale, Including Chicken
This is a hearty pot that is layered with protein thanks to the ChickenChicken and beans that are included in it; it is very satisfying. To save time, I use a couple of cans of white beans here; however, you can use dry beans instead; to do so, simply soak them overnight and then cook them in water for approximately one to two hours.
Recipes For Both Bean And Lentil Soup
The pantry of a Mediterranean country always has a good supply of beans, lentils, and other pulses. They are reasonably priced and can be prepared into a meal rich in protein derived from plants, fiber, and other nutrients. My minestrone and spinach lentil soups listed earlier are two popular ones, but here are a few more bean soup recipes to try:
Ribollita
Tuscan bean and vegetable soup that is thickened with day-old bread. Ribollita is hearty and incredibly flavorful, thanks to the use of one secret ingredient: Parmesan rind. I like to use kale in this soup, but you can do spinach or another leafy green.
Pasta Fagioli
This vegetarian Pasta Fagioli recipe is more than the sum of its humble parts of beans and pasta, and it comes together in 30 minutes or less.
Greek Red Lentil Soup
This dish is made with red lentils, onions, garlic, and sweet carrots, all seasoned with tomatoes. It's infused with oregano and rosemary and finished with lemon juice and fresh herbs. Keep it vegan, or add a sprinkle of creamy feta!
Harira Soup
Tomato-based Moroccan soup, prepared with lentils and chickpeas, fresh herbs, and North African spices like turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon. It is often thickened with broken vermicelli noodles or rice.
Chunky Vegan Lentil Soup
I prefer combining green lentils in this dish with any number of veggies I have on hand, such as zucchini, potatoes, celery, and carrots.
Three Bean Soup Recipe With Tomato Pesto
I used canned kidney beans, cannellini beans, and chickpeas; however, you are free to use whatever kind of beans you like or have on hand. Adding tomato pesto, which is put in at the end of making this soup, amps up the taste considerably and should not be left out.
Fasolada: Greek White Bean Soup
There are many other preparations of fasolada; this particular variation is straightforward and consists of white beans, garlic, onions, and celery. You should finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil at the very end.
Recipes For Seafood In Soup
Fish and other types of seafood play a significant role in the diet of those who follow a Mediterranean-style diet, and eating fish soup is a straightforward method to enhance the amount of fish you consume. The following are some dishes that are favorites among members of my family:
Fish Stew Prepared in the Sicilian Style
Fish Soup From The Mediterranean
Now, this fish soup goes more toward the warm tastes of the Eastern Mediterranean; it is unquestionably flavorful and has rich notes. It tastes best when I finish it with some fresh herbs and lemon juice. Do not omit to add the lemon juice at the very end since doing so will prevent the dish from having the proper amount of zing and balance.
Soup With Shrimp
Orzo soup with baby spinach, veggies, and plenty of fresh herbs, simmered in a tomato-based broth and topped with shrimp. You might consider leaving out the orzo if you want to reduce the number of carbohydrates in this dish. You might also use a different kind of pasta, such as pearl couscous, or a cooked grain, such as farro or barley (the grains take longer to cook, so it is best to make them ahead of time and add them to the soup toward the end of the cooking process).
Simple And Quick Salmon Soup
Salmon fillets are broken into bite-sized pieces and added to a flavorful broth containing carrots, potatoes, and fresh dill. The dish is ready in about 20 minutes, yet it tastes like you spent a lot of time making it.
Clams Steamed In A Broth Made With White Wine
According to a Mediterranean region's recipe, clams are cooked in a white wine broth with onions, garlic, bell peppers, and fresh herbs. My daughter refers to it as "clam soup," She enjoys dipping chunks of Italian bread into the liquid whenever she can.
Recipes For Soups Prepared In Crockpots And Instant Pots
I almost always use a Dutch oven when I prepare soups and stews. However, if you are interested in using your instant pot for a speedy preparation, or if you need a crock pot stew that you can set and forget, here are some suggestions:
Chickpea Soup Made In An Instant Pot
This chickpea soup is vegan and loaded with veggies, plant-based protein, and fiber, among other beneficial nutrients. The dish can also be made in a slow cooker or on the stovetop if you prefer! I adhere to all three procedures.
Soup With Cabbage
For this particular cabbage soup, I prefer to use my slow cooker since I believe that the Cabbage tastes best when it has been allowed to remain in the broth for an extended period for it to become soft and absorb the flavor of the spices and aromatics. Depending on your preference, you may prepare it in an instant pot or on the stovetop. To complete this vegetable and cabbage soup, it is essential to add a dash of lemon juice and some fresh herbs just before serving and to whisk these ingredients in at the very end.
Tomato And Chickpea Chili Prepared In A Slow Cooker
This chickpea chili is hearty and comforting, making an easy meal you can have any night of the week. The unconventional chili recipe that I use has several layers of vegetables, including onions, peppers, scallions, and jalapenos, and it is one of my favorites.
Vegan Quinoa Chili
Possibly the most comforting slow cooker soup recipe you'll find here on the site! The only ingredients required to make this delicious quinoa chili are two cans of beans, some crunchy vegetables, and a generous amount of lime juice. And the flavor improves, even more the following day!
Additional Recipes For Chickpea Stew
I am a huge fan of chickpeas in soup, and because I have so many warm and comforting recipes that include chickpeas, I wanted to mention two more even though we already discussed other bean soups:
Stew made with chickpeas and spinach
This stew dish takes frozen spinach and transforms it into a dinner using ingredients and tastes that are simple yet potent. This vegan spinach chickpea stew is packed with flavorful ingredients, including chickpeas, spinach, tomatoes, and vermicelli, and it is sure to fulfill your hunger. If you want to keep this stew free of gluten, you may omit the vermicelli.
Stew Made With Cauliflower And Chickpeas
The chickpea stew that everyone in my family loves! This warm and soothing vegan stew is flavored with various spices from the Mediterranean region, including cumin, cinnamon, and turmeric. You may serve it over rice or couscous that has had a fast cooking time. It wouldn't hurt to have some rustic bread to soak up all of the deliciousness, would it?
Meat-Focused Soups And Casseroles To Warm You Up!
I just could not compile a list of my most comforting soup and stew recipes without including at least a few meat-based alternatives for those who like eating meat.
Soup with Meatballs
This quick and straightforward meatball soup is made with spaghetti, chopped vegetables, and Italian-style meatballs cooked in a flavorful tomato broth. To top it off, I like to add some freshly chopped parsley and a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese.
Minestrone With Italian Sausage And Peas
Bowtie pasta, Italian sausage, and a few unexpected ingredients such as chickpeas, green beans, and artichoke hearts are used to make a minestrone dish that is not only delicious but also a lot of fun to make.
Stew Made With Beef From Italy
Recipe for a simple and rustic Italian beef stew loaded with vegetables and aromatics such as tomatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. The slow cooker does all the hard work transforming harsh ingredients into a meltingly tender stew that everyone will adore.
Stew Made With Moroccan Lamb
Recipe for a braised lamb stew that is comforting, delicate enough to fall apart, and packed with chickpeas, vegetables, and warm Moroccan spices. (You may also prepare this in pressure or slow cooker if you like.) Serve it with my couscous that can be made in only 15 minutes!
Turkey Lasagna Soup
An effortless soup version of lasagna made with ground turkey and ricotta made with part-skim milk and simmered in a rich tomato-based broth. When I crave lasagna but don't feel like putting together a casserole, this is what I make instead.
I hope my list of Mediterranean diet soup recipes and hearty stews inspired you to try something new. Please leave a comment below with your review and tell me what you've created because I'd like to hear about it.