Best Vegetable Soups

Creamy and cozy, this soup gets deep flavor from celery root, celery stalks and celery leaves. Spinach and parsley add color, while sourdough croutons give the soup a nice crunch.

Given this soup's supremely silky texture, you'll think it's made with cream, but that texture actually comes from a potato pureed into the broth. For contrast, Food & Wine's Justin Chapple tops the soup with crispy broccoli florets and croutons.

This velvety soup has a wonderful balance of sweetness, spice and tang. The secret ingredient: gingersnap cookies.

This extra-fast vegan soup gets a hint of fruity sweetness from an apple and a double dose of creaminess from almond milk and pureed raw cashews.

Mild Spanish smoked paprika—also called pimentón—gives dishes an appealing smokiness. Using the sweetest, ripest tomatoes in season, Melissa Rubel makes a simple yet luscious soup flavored with smoked paprika and served with crunchy cheese toasts.

This superhealthy, supereasy soup is from Michael Stebner, director of culinary innovation for Sweetgreen, a Washington, DC-based string of restaurants that focuses on healthy and delicious food that’s also good for the planet.

Antioxidant-rich fennel is one of several good-for-you ingredients in this wonderful soup. San Francisco cookbook author Viana La Place simmers Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds in the broth to give it a rich, cheesy flavor.

For an ingenious twist on the classic combination of broccoli and melted cheddar, Barbara Lynch serves a warming broccoli soup with cheddar crisps. The soup is equally good with cauliflower or celery root in place of the broccoli.

Cook the broccoli rabe in a separate pan, not in the soup pot. That way, any excess bitterness from the vegetable goes down the drain with the cooking water rather than into the soup. You'll find, though, that a bit of bite enlivens the lentils.

Chef Ian Schnoebelen takes cauliflower soup to another level by adding sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes)—small, knobby tubers that taste sweet and crisp when raw, nutty and creamy when roasted. Schnoebelen cooks the sunchokes before pureeing them into the soup, which adds a wonderfully earthy flavor.

This velvety, spiced squash soup has layers of flavor, thanks to red chiles, tangy lemon juice and apple cider vinegar, plus a subtle touch of fish sauce.

Two bright garnishes bring extra flavor and color to this vibrant soup.

F&W's Melissa Rubel adds pumpkin to dal—the spicy, soupy Indian legume dish. The result is a hearty, healthy soup with a lovely edge of sweetness.

This silky, vividly colored sweet pea puree is ideal for entertaining because it is delicious both warm and at room temperature; the soups and crisps can be made entirely ahead, and the tart Majorero cream can be melted just before serving.

Colorful vegetables brighten our satisfying brothy soup. If Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes) aren't available in your area, substitute another flavorful, slightly scratchy vegetable such as parsnips or turnips, or simple increase the quantities of the other vegetables in the soup.

Chefs Braden Perkins and Laura Adrian created this lovely, silky soup.

Leafy green escarole brings heartiness to this healthy soup.

Eataly's vegetable counter specializes in vegan dishes—specifically, vegan dishes that people might not suspect are vegan. One is this thick, hearty soup made with a colorful mix of carrots, peas, leek and onion. Mario Batali also adds borlotti beans and farro, which make the soup hearty enough to be a main course. The crunchy grissini on the side aren't vegan; they're sweetened with honey.

Carrots, white potatoes, and spinach are our vegetables of choice here, but you could try green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, or sweet potatoes. Another option: Pass some plain yogurt at the table to stir into each serving for a touch of tang.

This minestrone is exceptional because it's packed with so many great vegetables and delicious toasted angel hair pasta.

Soupe au pistou is like a Provençal version of minestrone; it's a hearty vegetable soup made with dried beans, summer vegetables like zucchini and tomatoes, potatoes, herbs and a small shape of pasta. The pistou gets stirred in at the end. Unlike many other soups, this one is delicious served hot or at room temperature.

"I love a really flavorful pot of greens," says Melissa Perello. For this kale-and-cabbage soup, she uses just a little bit of pancetta and a Parmesan-cheese rind to give the broth a rich flavor. "It's definitely the kind of dish that tastes even better the next day," she says.