Healthy, Hearty Soups & Stews: Help Yourself

When the temperature dips, and you’re craving something warm to take the chill off and fill your belly — it’s hard to beat healthy, hearty soups and stews. In fact, a favorite soup or stew is the ultimate one-pot meal. The flavors tend to meld and taste even better together the next day, and the large quantity means you’ll enjoy quickly re-heated leftovers for the coming week (or the benefit of freezing for later). The following recipes offer something for everyone and are loaded with savory beans and healthy vegetables, while a few feature flavorful meats as well. Delicious, nutritious, protein-packed and full of fiber, these soups and stews are a great way to get everything you want and need, all in one satisfying bowl.

White Bean, Sausage and Tortellini Soup

White Bean, Sausage and Tortellini Soup is a great weeknight dinner because it cooks quickly and easily in an Instant Pot or multi-cooker. Featuring Italian turkey sausage, Great Northern Beans, fresh cheese tortellini and baby arugula, it’s got all the makings for pleasing kids and adults alike — and packs a nutritious punch. Just add a loaf of crusty bread, and dinner’s ready. The next day, fill a thermos with leftovers for a hot and filling school lunch.

Beans and Greens Soup

Beans and greens is a classic Southern combination, and a soup version is a delightful way to experiment with those ingredients. Our master recipe features basic guidelines and quantities and is meant to be personalized to your taste, encouraging you to try different varieties and combinations of beans, vegetables, greens, broth and seasonings. And whether you make it vegan, vegetarian or with chicken or beef broth, you’ll love the end result. For a complex, flavorful soup that’s incredibly satisfying, we used Green Baby Limas with a variety of onions and vegetables, plus vegetable broth. A real winner.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

You’ll love this heartwarming Split Pea and Ham Soup from our friend Mary Foreman at DeepSouthDish.com. Chopped onion, celery and carrot are cooked in bacon fat and combined with Green Split Peas, herbs, stock, a meaty ham bone or smoked ham hocks, and then simmered over low heat till the peas are broken down and thick. For over-the-top “croutons”, we made a grilled cheese sandwich with smoked gouda and sourdough bread, cut it up into tiny squares and added a sprinkle of them on top — along with crispy bacon crumbles. Talk about feeling all warm and toasty inside.

Yellow Split Pea & Butternut Squash Stew

Creamy, hearty and filling with a bright blend of spices and seasonings, our vegan Yellow Split Pea & Butternut Squash Stew is an aromatic dish similar to Dal. And its big flavor comes from the use of curry, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon. Along with onions, carrots, garlic and fresh ginger, the combination of spices and vegetables with the Yellow Split Peas and butternut squash make for a wonderful stew. A sprinkled of pepitas on top, and freshly mashed avocado toast alongside it add color, crunch and healthy fat – creating a super healthy meal.

Beef & Lentil Stew

Hearty and comforting, this Beef & Lentil Stew is a true crowd-pleaser. A great dish for Sunday dinner that’ll reward you with leftovers during the week, it uses boneless beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes, along with celery, carrot, onion, spices, beef broth, diced tomatoes and Lentils. A bit of red wine and fresh Italian parsley are stirred in at the end for wonderful flavor. The meat gets tender, the lentils creamy, and the whole thing offers up delicious stick-to-your-ribs goodness.