VEGETARIAN TACO SOUP IN THE CROCKPOT
This recipe left me in a quandary: do I post it on Taco Tuesday with tacos, or should I post it with soups? I guess this would fit in both places, which is why I'm adding it today.
This comes from Jolinda Hackett, who wrote for The Spruce Eats. Jolinda wrote, “I love Mexican food. Or, perhaps it's more accurate to say I love Mexican-American food. Or rather, I love both!
“This vegetarian taco soup recipe with kidney beans, pinto beans and black beans isn't going to win any awards of authenticity, but it's quick to prepare (you really just dump everything in the crockpot), easy, high-protein, nearly fat-free, and deliciously satisfying. Plus, it's a great vegetarian and vegan option for families on a budget. Keep it vegan by omitting the optional cheese and sour cream toppings, or use dairy-free and vegan substitutes.”
Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 480 minutes; Total Time: 485 minutes; Yield: 6 servings as a main dish
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 can corn kernels, drained
1 can kidney beans or navy beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 7-ounce can green chiles (optional - you may want to omit this if you're cooking for kids)
1 14-ounce can stewed tomatoes (Mexican-style is best, if you can find it) - do not drain
1 package taco seasoning mix
1/4 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Optional garnishes:
tortilla chips or corn chips
grated cheese
chopped green onions
fresh chopped cilantro
Preparation
Add ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low crockpot setting for 8-10 hours.
If you're in a hurry, you can also set this on high in the crockpot for 3 hours.
Top each bowl of soup with optional garnishes to serve: cheese, a dollop of sour cream, some tortilla chips or corn chips and fresh chopped cilantro or green onions.
This is a thicker soup, similar to a stew. To thin it out, you can add a little vegetable broth or soy milk, if you like.
HERBED CARROT SOUP
From the December 2005 issue of Runner's World; reprinted from HerbWise: Growing, Cooking, WellBeing, by Bruce Burnett
Ingredients
2 pounds of carrots, chopped
1 large onion, diced
6 sprigs of fresh parsley, 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, and 6 six black peppercorns, bundled together so that they can be easily removed after cooking
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tbs of butter
6 C of vegetable stock
Freshly grated mace or nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Lightly sauté the onion and garlic in the butter. Add the stock and carrots and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the bundle of herbs and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove the herbs, allow the soup to cool, and put it through the blender in batches. Reheat the soup over low heat while adding the mace or nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with some fresh, homemade bread and garnish with some fresh parsley and a little chopped fresh thyme.
Note: The original recipe called for vegetable or chicken stock.
RED LENTIL SOUP
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Melissa wrote, "This is a lentil soup that defies expectations of what lentil soup can be. Based on a Turkish lentil soup, mercimek corbasi, it is light, spicy and a bold red color (no murky brown here): a revelatory dish that takes less than an hour to make. The cooking is painless. Sauté onion and garlic in oil, then stir in tomato paste, cumin and chile powder and cook a few minutes more to intensify flavor. Add broth, water, red lentils (which cook faster than their green or black counterparts) and diced carrot, and simmer for 30 minutes. Purée half the mixture and return it to the pot for a soup that strikes the balance between chunky and pleasingly smooth. A hit of lemon juice adds an up note that offsets the deep cumin and chile flavors."
Total Time: 45 min utes; Yield: 4 servings
This was featured in "A Lentil Soup to Make You Stop, Taste and Savor," and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016062-red-lentil-soup.
Check out Melissa Clark's guide, "How to Cook Beans." While you're at it, if you haven't already signed up for The New York Times cooking enewsletter, I highly recommend it.
Note: This recipe originally called for 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth. Since I’m including it here, I removed the chicken broth and left it at just veggie broth.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
Pinch of chili powder or ground cayenne, plus more to taste
1 quart vegetable broth
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation
In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, cumin, 1/4 teaspoons each salt and black pepper and the chili powder, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.
Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partly cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup, then add it back to pot. The soup should be somewhat chunky.
Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder, if desired.
SLOW-COOKER VEGETABLE MINESTRONE SOUP
This is from Eating Well. It begins, "A winter classic, this crock pot version of minestrone is heavy on the vegetables and light on the pasta, keeping carbs in check while providing plenty of flavor."
Prep Time: 30 minutes; Additional Time: 6 hours; Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes; Makes 8 servings
To view this online, go to https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/269114/slow-cooker-vegetable-minestrone-soup/.
Ingredients
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 (15 ounce) cans no-sodium-added red kidney beans, rinsed
2 (15 ounce) cans no-sodium-added diced tomatoes, undrained
6 cups no-sodium-added vegetable broth, such as Kitchen Basics
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 large zucchini, chopped
4 ounces whole-wheat pasta elbows or other small pasta (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Combine carrots, celery, onion, garlic, green beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, broth, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a 6- to 8-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
Stir in zucchini, pasta, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook on Low until the pasta is tender, 15 to 20 minutes more. Serve immediately, topping each serving with about 1-1/2 tablespoons Parmesan.
Tips
Equipment: 6- to 8-qt. slow cooker
CREAMY BROCCOLI SOUP
This is from The Mayo Clinic Diet.
Serves 6; Serving size: 1-1/3 cup.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons thyme leaves or 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning
32 ounces low-sodium vegetable broth
6 cups frozen broccoli, chopped
6 tablespoons plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
Instructions
Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium to high heat.
Add onion and cook for about 4 minutes, until soft and translucent.
Add garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes and lemon pepper, cooking for an additional minute.
Add vegetable broth and broccoli. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 8 to 9 minutes, until broccoli is tender.
Remove soup from the heat. Puree in batches in a blender until smooth.
Top each serving with a tablespoon of yogurt.
Nutritional Information: Amount per serving: Calories: 90; Total fat: 3 g; Saturated fat: 0 g; Sodium: 135 mg; Total carbohydrate: 12 g; Dietary fiber: 6 g; Protein: 6 g
SPICY PEANUT SOUP WITH SWEET POTATO & KALE
This is from Lindsay, whose blog, Pinch of Yum is fantastic. (Hint: If you'd like to check it out, and I really, really think you should, feel free to do that now. I'll wait...or you can check it out after looking at today's recipes. But seriously, check it out!!!)
Anyway, this recipe starts out, "Okay, YUMMMM. Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potatoes + Kale! Comforting and SUPER nutritious. Naturally vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free, ALL THE GOOD THINGS."
Total Time: 35 minutes; Yield: 5-6 (about 1-1/2 cups per serving)
Note: The total time will change if you decide to use your slow cooker, which I'm planning to do sometime in the next couple of days. I'm always looking for recipes that convert well to a slow cooker, for a variety of reasons.
To view this yummy recipe online (as well as to read everything Linsay wrote about this recipe), go to https://pinchofyum.com/sweet-potato-peanut-soup.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
half an onion, diced
1 jalapeno, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
one 14-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
one 14-ounce can light coconut milk
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry and/or turmeric
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup peanut butter
1–2 cups kale, stems removed, chopped
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Saute until soft and fragrant.
Add sweet potatoes. I like to brown them a little bit with the aromatics to get them nice and flavorful.
Add tomatoes, coconut milk, water, spices, and peanuts. Simmer until sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
Add peanut butter and kale. Simmer until everything is thick, creamy, and delicious. Top with more peanuts and a little cilantro if you’re obsessed like me.
Notes
Instant Pot: Cook everything except peanut butter and kale on high pressure for about 3 minutes with a quick release. (Sometimes I reduce the liquid when I make it in the Instant Pot by a cup or so, and then just add more as needed when it’s all done. But that is optional – it should work fine either way.) Stir in the peanut butter and kale after cooking. Voila!
Slow Cooker: Cook everything except peanut butter and kale on low for 6 hours. Stir in the peanut butter and kale. Donezo! Don’t cook the sweet potatoes too long or they’ll fall apart on ya! Just cook until they pierce easily with a fork. If you’re doing Sugar Free January with us, this is an excellent recipe that has natural sweetness and nutritious fats to keep you full. I like to dip into this with some seedy crackers – you can find our product recommendations on this post.
One last note. This recipe is inspired by an amazing West African recipe called maafe, or groundnut soup. I did what I always do and changed/added some ingredients based on what I love and what I had on hand (kale, jalapeño, coconut milk, cilantro, etc.) making it more of a cultural mash-up. That’s why I’m not calling it a proper West African peanut soup even though those are its roots. If you want a legit West African version of that soup, here are two sources – a blog post, and a video.
