Vegan

You’ll love making and serving this earthy medley of colors, textures, and flavors on a rainy spring evening.

Nutty-tasting Japanese soba (buckwheat noodles) add an offbeat touch to this soup. Look for them in natural food stores or Asian groceries.

This soup is very warming, and more filling than more common, very brothy miso soups.

Brimming with fresh produce in a light, mildly seasoned broth, this is just the soup to serve as an introduction to a festive spring meal such as Easter dinner or the Passover seder.

This Asian soup is brimming with invigorating flavors and textures. I love it as a change of pace in the winter from thick soups and stews. It’s still every bit as warming. Despite the length of the ingredient list, this is a quick soup—you’ll be eating in about half an hour.

With Thai ingredients available at most natural food stores and well-stocked supermarkets, it has become easy to enjoy the delightful flavors of this cuisine at home. Use your discretion with the red or green curry paste; a little will give a hint of heat, but if you want a spicier stew, you can step it up from there.

This soup features a slew of compatible ingredients made even more companionable in a mildly curried broth.

A satisfying meatless take on the classic Hungarian goulash, this makes good use of seitan, a high-protein, low-fat meat substitute.

For a hearty combination, serve with Hearty Bean Bread (page 146), or for a lighter accompaniment, serve with Bruschetta (page 159).

Cooked cornmeal makes a delightfully dense soup base. Serve this meal-in-a-bowl with a bountiful salad and crusty bread.

This is a good, basic, everyday sort of soup, suitable for cold weather. Try Cheese and Herb Corn Muffins (page 150) as an accompaniment.

Lentil soups are so satisfying in winter. Served with Quick Sunflower-Cheese Bread (page 144) or Focaccia Bread (page 148), this soup needs only a simple salad to make a very filling meal.

The presentation of this easy, offbeat soup is fun and dramatic.

A warming, hearty, high-fiber soup, this is great served with Green Chili Cornbread (page 145) and a simple salad or coleslaw.

This offbeat chili is a pleasant introduction to whole hominy, if you’ve never tried it before. You’ll find hominy near other canned corn products on supermarket shelves.

For those who like hot stuff, the hot chilies add a fiery kick to this soup. If you’d like a toned-down version, use mild chilies. This makes a big pot of soup, perfect for feeding a crowd. This is delicious served with a big salad and nachos or quesadillas made with Vegan Gourmet nacho-style nondairy cheese.

Millet, an exceptionally nutritious if rather bland grain, is used to great advantage in this soup, where it has an opportunity to soak up all the spicy flavors.

A vegetarian version of Brazil’s famous national dish, feijoada, this stew is abundant with nourishing ingredients. Serve with steamed fresh greens (you can dress them with garlic sautéed in olive oil) and slices of mango and/or papaya.

This meatless version of a rustic Provençal stew is sensual and satisfying. A fresh, crusty French baguette is perfect for soaking up its delicious broth. A bountiful tossed salad makes it a complete meal.

This long-simmering, yet easy winter soup is a natural choice as a hearty main dish. Make Whole Wheat Vegetable Muffins (page 149) while it’s cooking.