Hearty Soups

When it comes to healthy soup recipes, few dishes are as satisfying and versatile as a bowl of homemade soup.

Perfect for winter comfort food, soups are not only easy to prepare but also incredibly nutritious. Whether you’re looking for easy homemade soups for dinner, a hearty vegetarian soup for lunch, or budget-friendly meals that use simple, storecupboard staples, these recipes fit the bill beautifully. Try classics like Leek and Potato Soup, Roasted Tomato Soup, Celery with Blue Cheese Soup, Vegetable Mulligatawny, La Potée, and Minestrone—all packed with seasonal vegetables, beans, and pulses that deliver flavour. Add crusty bread for a wholesome lunch, or enjoy them as a filling but guilt-free supper. For the ultimate depth of flavour, make your own homemade stock—you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes to every recipe.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Make your own homemade bread to serve! Click the image to watch our video for White Breads which includes an Easy White Loaf and French Bread.

Black and white bean soup in a brown soup dish with crispy bacon crumbled on the top

Black Bean Soup with Black Bean Salsa

This soup is simply stunning, one you'll want to make over and over again. Black beans don't have a stro...

This soup is simply stunning, one you'll want to make over and over again. Black beans don't have a strong flavour of their own but they do carry other flavours sup...

1 hour 30 minutes

a white bowl of soup with a spoon full of soup being lifted out

Carrot and Artichoke Soup

I love serving this, one of my most favourite soups. First, it has an extremely rich, beautiful colour, ...

I love serving this, one of my most favourite soups. First, it has an extremely rich, beautiful colour, almost saffron I would say. And second, people can never qui...

35 minutes

Vegetarian

a saucepan filled with soup sitting on a white tablecloth with a wooden spoon resting on the pan

Carrot and Coriander Soup

This is a lovely soup to make with spring carrots that are not quite as sweet as those in the summer. Co...

This is a lovely soup to make with spring carrots that are not quite as sweet as those in the summer. Coriander is said to have the flavour of roasted orange peel, ...

25 minutes - 30 minutes

Carrot and Leek Soup

This makes a nice change from the more usual Leek and Potato Soup, provided of course the carrots are not t...

This makes a nice change from the more usual Leek and Potato Soup, provided of course the carrots are not too expensive. The Delia Online Cookery School: Make your ...

20 minutes

Cauliflower Cheese and Broccoli Soup

A lovely fresh-tasting soup this. You can choose the cheese here – basically whatever you have: Roquefor...

A lovely fresh-tasting soup this. You can choose the cheese here – basically whatever you have: Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Cheddar – but this one’s made with Parmesan s...

35 minutes

Cauliflower Soup with Roquefort

This is a truly sublime soup, as the cauliflower and Roquefort seem to melt together so well, but I have al...

This is a truly sublime soup, as the cauliflower and Roquefort seem to melt together so well, but I have also tried it with mature Cheddar, and I'm sure it would be go...

40 minutes

Vegetarian

Celery Soup with Cashel Blue Cheese

English Fenland growers have developed new varieties of celery that can be grown in summer, and also overco...

English Fenland growers have developed new varieties of celery that can be grown in summer, and also overcome the severities of a British winter by growing English var...

40 minutes

A picture of a white bowl on a folded napkin containg chestnut soup with croutons and bacon on the top and a little sprig of thyme next to it

Chestnut Soup with Bacon and Croutons

A bone from a baked ham makes a good stock for this one – but if you use vegetable stock, it is still an ex...

A bone from a baked ham makes a good stock for this one – but if you use vegetable stock, it is still an excellent soup. You can buy the chestnuts ready peeled and ...

45 minutes

A copper saucepan full of cooked mulligatawny soup with a wooden spoon resting on the rim

Eliza Acton's Vegetable Mulligatawny

Eliza Acton is one of my favourite cookery writers and this is a recipe that I adapted from her cookery boo...

Eliza Acton is one of my favourite cookery writers and this is a recipe that I adapted from her cookery book, which was published in 1840. The Delia Online Cookery ...

Vegetarian

German Soup with Frankfurters

This soup is made more substantial by the addition of bacon and frankfurters. The Delia Online Cookery S...

This soup is made more substantial by the addition of bacon and frankfurters. The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch Delia introduce her online cookery school. ...

A brown soup bowl with goulash soup and dumplings on the top

Goulash Soup with Dumplings

I've always loved the goulash flavours of beef, tomatoes and spicy paprika and this soup is certainly a gre...

I've always loved the goulash flavours of beef, tomatoes and spicy paprika and this soup is certainly a great 'winter warmer'. In fact, it's a meal in a bowl so no ...

1 hour 20 minutes

Ham Bone Stock

There are times – after Christmas for example, or after a party – when you may well have a ham bone to spar...

There are times – after Christmas for example, or after a party – when you may well have a ham bone to spare. Don't miss the chance to make this stock which will gi...

1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours

A white bowl of soup showing diced vegetables and frankfurter

French Farmhouse Soup

This is a traditional French farmhouse soup or potee that is really a sort of cross between a soup and a st...

This is a traditional French farmhouse soup or potee that is really a sort of cross between a soup and a stew and makes a meal in itself. If you have a ridged gridd...

Leek and Butternut Squash Soup

Leek and Potato Soup is a number one classic in our house, but for something different try it with what I c...

Leek and Potato Soup is a number one classic in our house, but for something different try it with what I call the perennial pumpkin – butternut squash. In the autu...

40 minutes

Vegetarian

Four white bolws of leek and potatoe soup with creme fraiche swirled on top and a garnish of snipped chives

Leek, Onion and Potato Soup

This has to be one of my own top of the pops favourites and has proven to be one of my most popular recipes...

This has to be one of my own top of the pops favourites and has proven to be one of my most popular recipes with everyone over the years. The chilled version of thi...

35 minutes

Vegetarian

Libyan Soup with Couscous

This recipe first appeared in The Food Aid Cookery Book, published in 1986, and was contributed by Mary El-...

This recipe first appeared in The Food Aid Cookery Book, published in 1986, and was contributed by Mary El-Rayes. It's a truly wonderful soup, meaty with lots of fr...

1 hour

Lobster and Coconut Soup

Here we’ve got a ready-made soup as a backdrop – so no initial work needed, just a little tinkering around ...

Here we’ve got a ready-made soup as a backdrop – so no initial work needed, just a little tinkering around with some other very fine ingredients, which puts it in a di...

10 minutes

A white bowl with pasta soup garnished with herbs and cheese, with a spoon inside. A round loaf of bread is placed behind the bowl on a marble surface.

Minestrone with Macaroni

If you have a food processor, it makes very light work of chopping the vegetables. But use the pulse but...

If you have a food processor, it makes very light work of chopping the vegetables. But use the pulse button so you don't chop them too small. For a change, you can ...

1 hour 30 minutes

Minestrone with Orecchiette

The cheating element come from having most of the vegetables ready prepared and the beans ready cooked. ...

The cheating element come from having most of the vegetables ready prepared and the beans ready cooked. I'm not pretending it's totally authentic but, believe me, t...

35 minutes - 40 minutes

Potato Soup with Bacon

This is a thick, very warming soup, just right when the weather is cold. The Delia Online Cookery School...

This is a thick, very warming soup, just right when the weather is cold. The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to chop onions in our video, press the recipe im...

35 minutes

Potato Soup with Leaves

This recipe was invented around one of those ready-mixed bags of watercress, baby spinach and rocket leaves...

This recipe was invented around one of those ready-mixed bags of watercress, baby spinach and rocket leaves. Otherwise, just make up the same quantity from your own...

20 minutes

Pumpkin Soup with Toasted Sweetcorn

This is a very fine combination: the soft, velvety texture of the pumpkin makes the soup deliciously creamy...

This is a very fine combination: the soft, velvety texture of the pumpkin makes the soup deliciously creamy and the toasted sweetcorn provides contrasting flavour and ...

30 minutes

Vegetarian

Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Melting Cheese

The lovely thing about pumpkin is that it has a really velvety texture in soup, and if it's oven-roasted be...

The lovely thing about pumpkin is that it has a really velvety texture in soup, and if it's oven-roasted before you add it to the soup, it gives an unusual nuttiness t...

40 minutes - 45 minutes

Roasted Tomato Soup

At first you're going to think 'Why roast tomatoes, just for soup?' but I promise you that once you've tast...

At first you're going to think 'Why roast tomatoes, just for soup?' but I promise you that once you've tasted the difference you'll know it's worth it - especially in ...

Vegetarian