Healthy quick easy soup recipes for Slimming World soup
Soup was one of my regular lunches when I was following Slimming World and losing weight. I lost more than 10 stone altogether, and one of the things I quickly learnt was that lunch needed to actually fill me up. A tiny bowl of something that left me hungry an hour later wasn’t going to help, however healthy it might have looked!
Homemade soup worked well for me because I could make a big batch, portion it up and have lunch sorted for several days. It’s also an easy way to use plenty of vegetables without feeling as though you’re eating the same salad every lunchtime.
The Slimming World soup recipes below include everything from simple tomato and vegetable soups to lentil, pasta and cheese-based options. Some are light vegetable soups while others are much more substantial, so there should be something here whether you want a quick lunch or a proper filling meal.
Just remember that Slimming World can change its plan and the values it gives to foods, so always check ingredients against the current plan yourself rather than relying on old Syn or SWIP values you might find online. These recipes are unofficial and Just Average Jen isn’t affiliated with Slimming World.
How to make Slimming World soup recipes more filling
One of the problems with soup is that it can be filling, but that doesn’t mean every soup automatically is. A bowl of blended vegetables and stock might be plenty for one person and nowhere near enough for somebody else.
When I was losing weight, I found it much more useful to think about whether my meal would actually keep me satisfied rather than simply trying to make it as low-calorie as possible.
There are lots of easy ways to make soup more substantial.
Add grains
Pearl barley, bulgur wheat and other grains can turn a fairly light vegetable soup into something much more substantial. They’re particularly good in chunky soups where you want plenty of texture.
How much you need and when you should add it will depend on the grain you’re using, so check the packet instructions rather than assuming they all cook in the same way.
Add potatoes or other root vegetables
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips and butternut squash can all make soup more substantial.
You can leave them in chunks or blend them with the other ingredients. Butternut squash and potatoes are particularly useful in blended soups because they can create a lovely thick texture without needing lots of cream.
Add pasta
Pasta is brilliant if you want to turn soup into more of a meal. You don’t need to limit yourself to traditional tiny soup pasta either; use whatever shape you’ve got in the cupboard if it works with the recipe.
My vegetable pasta soup and pasta soup recipes are good places to start if you like this kind of soup. You don’t even need specific Slimming World soup recipes, just find a soup you love and add pasta!
Add lentils, beans or chickpeas
Lentils, beans and chickpeas can add fibre, protein and plenty of texture, making them useful when you want something more substantial than a simple vegetable soup.
Tinned pulses are especially convenient because they’re ready to add once drained and rinsed. If you’re using dried pulses, follow the packet instructions carefully because soaking and cooking requirements vary depending on what you’re using.
My red pepper and lentil soup and red lentil soup are both good options if you enjoy lentil-based soups.
Leave some texture
You don’t have to blend soup until it’s completely smooth. Sometimes leaving chunks of vegetables, beans, lentils or pasta makes it feel much more like a meal.
If you’re cooking for someone who isn’t keen on certain vegetables, you can also blend some of the soup and leave the rest chunky. They still get the vegetables without having to stare suspiciously at a lump of courgette!
Think about what you’re having with it
There’s nothing wrong with having something alongside your soup.
When I was losing weight, I had to get out of the mindset that making a meal as small as possible somehow made it better. If you know a bowl of soup isn’t going to keep you full until dinner, it makes much more sense to plan something suitable to have with it than spend the afternoon hungry and thinking about food.
Adding flavour without relying on lots of cream or cheese
Healthy soup definitely doesn’t have to mean bland soup. It doesn’t mean following official Slimming World soup recipes either. It can mean finding a recipe that just fits nicely in the plan.
Garlic, chilli, smoked paprika, cumin, curry powder and other herbs and spices can completely change a basic combination of vegetables and stock. Fresh herbs are lovely when you have them, but I use dried herbs all the time because they’re cheaper, convenient and don’t turn into green slime in the bottom of the fridge when I forget about them!
If you’ve got fresh herbs that need using, you can freeze many of them too rather than throwing them away.
My easy spice blends might give you a few ideas if you tend to reach for the same seasonings every time you cook.
Stock also makes a big difference, but remember that different stock cubes and pots can vary considerably in salt and other ingredients, so use one that suits your needs.
Easy ways to make soup when you’re busy
You don’t need to spend an afternoon standing over a huge saucepan to make homemade soup.
A soup maker can be really convenient if you make soup regularly. You prepare the ingredients, add the liquid and seasonings and let the machine do most of the work. Have a look at my soup maker recipes and tips if you’ve got one or are thinking about buying one.
Roasting vegetables first is another easy way to add flavour. If you’ve already got the oven on for something else, you can roast peppers, tomatoes, squash, carrots or other vegetables at the same time and use them for soup afterwards.
The slow cooker works well for some chunky soups too, particularly recipes containing ingredients that benefit from a longer cooking time. My slow cooker Italian meatball soup is a good example.
For quicker pressure-cooked options, there are also soups amongst my easy Instant Pot recipes.
Slimming World vegetable soup recipes
If you’re looking for vegetable-heavy soups, there are lots of different flavours to choose from.
Tomato and basil soup is a classic option, while my rich tomato soup is another choice if tomato soup is your favourite.
Creamy mushroom soup is lovely when you want something with a different flavour, and celeriac and celery soup is worth trying if you fancy using vegetables you don’t buy very often.
For something sweeter, try carrot, ginger and orange soup, butternut squash soup or red pepper and butternut squash soup.
There are some slightly less obvious choices too. Smoky aubergine soup is very different from a traditional vegetable soup, while coconut and pea soup is handy when you’ve got frozen peas sitting in the freezer and fancy doing something different with them.
Lentil and pulse soups
Lentils are particularly useful when you want soup that feels a little more substantial.
My red pepper and lentil soup combines lentils with vegetables, while red lentil soup is another simple option.
Because lentils absorb liquid as they cook, these soups tend to be thicker than a straightforward vegetable soup, which I personally prefer when I’m having soup as my actual lunch rather than as a starter.
Pasta soups for a more filling meal
Adding pasta changes soup completely. Instead of a bowl of blended vegetables, you’ve suddenly got something that feels much closer to a proper dinner.
Minestrone soup is probably the obvious example, with pasta and vegetables together in a tomato-based soup.
There’s also my hearty vegetable pasta soup, or you can have a look through my pasta soup recipes for more ideas.
If you have an electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot lasagne soup takes the pasta-soup idea even further and is definitely one of the more substantial options.
Cheese-based soup recipes
Cheese can make a lovely soup, but this is one area where I’d be particularly careful about assuming a recipe is automatically low in Syns or fits your personal Slimming World allowances.
My broccoli and Stilton soup is a lovely warming option, especially if you’ve got Stilton left after Christmas.
There’s also an Instant Pot broccoli and cheese soup if you prefer using an electric pressure cooker.
Check the quantities in the individual recipe and calculate anything you need to according to the current Slimming World plan.
More Slimming World soup recipes to try
If you’re still undecided, here are some more ideas:
Curried parsnip soup is lovely if you like the sweetness of parsnips with warming spices.
Red and yellow pepper soup looks impressive because the two differently coloured soups are served together.
Minestrone soup is a good option when you fancy something chunky rather than blended.
Red pepper and butternut squash soup is warming and naturally thick once blended.
Coconut and pea soup is something a little different from the usual vegetable combinations.
Creamy mushroom soup is ideal if mushroom soup is your favourite but you’d rather make your own.
And for meat eaters, Italian meatball soup is much more substantial and can work as a complete meal.
Can I batch cook these soups?
Most soups are ideal for batch cooking, although exactly how well they store and freeze depends on the ingredients.
Simple vegetable and lentil soups tend to be particularly convenient. Soups containing pasta, potatoes, dairy or certain toppings can sometimes change in texture after freezing and reheating, so check the advice on the individual recipe where I’ve included it.
I like portioning soup before freezing it rather than freezing one enormous container. Individual portions are far more useful when you suddenly realise at lunchtime that you’ve got absolutely no idea what to eat!
Always cool and store leftovers safely and reheat them thoroughly before eating.
Looking for soup recipes that aren’t specifically Slimming World?
If you simply fancy homemade soup and aren’t particularly interested in whether it fits Slimming World, head over to my healthy soup recipes.
There you’ll find my soup recipes organised by type, including vegetable soups, lentil soups, pasta soups, soup maker ideas, slow cooker soups and Instant Pot recipes.
And if you are following Slimming World, remember that you don’t need to choose the lowest possible option every time. One of the biggest lessons I took from losing weight was that food still needs to work for you in real life. A lunch that leaves you hungry and miserable isn’t particularly helpful just because it looked good written down in a food diary.
