Healthy, Quick & Easy Soup Recipes

Chile Verde, usually a slow-cooked stew of pork, jalapeños and tomatillos, becomes an easy weeknight meal with quick-cooking ground beef and store-bought green salsa. Make it a Meal: Serve with fresh cilantro, red onion and Monterey Jack. Add cornbread on the side and your favorite hot sauce.

This fragrant, Italian-flavored soup takes advantage of quick-cooking ingredients--boneless, skinless chicken breast, bagged baby spinach and canned beans. It features a simple homemade basil pesto swirled in at the end to add a fresh herb flavor. If you are very pressed for time, you can substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons of a store-bought basil pesto. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

This satisfying vegetarian, sweet potato soup is inspired by the flavors of West African peanut soup. We like the added zip of hot green chiles, but they can sometimes be very spicy. It's best to take a small bite first and add them to taste. Try chopped peanuts and scallions for a different garnish. Serve with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

Fresh or frozen ravioli cook in minutes and turn this light vegetable soup into a main course. Look for whole-wheat or whole-grain ravioli in the refrigerated or frozen section of the supermarket. Tortellini can be used instead of ravioli as well. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

White beans pureed into this broccoli soup make it extra creamy so you don't need heaps of cheese to do the job. Serve with a crunchy whole-grain roll and a glass of winter ale.

Here's the quintessence of Japanese home cooking: an aromatic, protein-rich broth served over rice. Admittedly, Japanese cooking leans heavily on sugar--for a less traditional taste, you could reduce or even omit the sugar.

This is a zippy Southwestern-flavored black bean soup. We make it with canned beans so it comes together in minutes. If you have leftovers, pack them up in individual serving containers for lunch the next day.

This wholesome sweet-and-sour soup combines beef, caraway seeds, sweet paprika and cabbage--ingredients that star in a number of German dishes. It is particularly nice served with crusty rye bread. For an even heartier soup, add diced cooked potatoes along with the cabbage. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

This is one of the few soups that make the cut in summer. Serve it chilled to take the edge off a hot August night.

The flavor of this salmon chowder is greatly enhanced by adding either fresh dill or dried tarragon: each herb lends its own distinctively different and appealing character to the soup. Even if you don't keep instant mashed potatoes in your pantry, it's worth picking some up for this soup. They give the soup a thick, chowder texture without any heavy cream or butter. Leftover mashed potatoes work too, but give a slightly less-velvety texture. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

Pureed summer squash makes a delicious base for this summery squash and corn soup. Start your meal with the soup or enjoy it as a light lunch. Fresh thyme and briny feta cheese give it fabulous flavor. For a variation, try the soup with any herb you have on hand or goat cheese in place of feta.

Inspired by pho--a traditional Vietnamese soup--this one-pot meal is garnished with crunchy mung bean sprouts and chopped fresh basil. You could also serve it with lime wedges and a bottle of Asian chile sauce, such as sriracha, on the side.

This twist on the Latin American staple is made healthier with lean ground turkey and crisp apples. It doubles well. Try tucking it into whole-wheat tortillas or serve over instant brown rice for a quick and healthy supper.

Red Thai curry paste adds heat and depth of flavor to this simple soup. If you like, omit the chicken and spinach to make an even simpler first-course soup.

Italian egg-drop soup, Stracciatella, is traditionally a light soup made with just chicken broth, eggs and herbs. We added pasta, chickpeas and arugula to turn it into a meal. Serve with: Garlic bread and Caesar salad.

Borscht is a simple beet soup typically made with beef broth and garnished with sour cream. We give it a kick with horseradish. For a vegetarian soup, use vegetable broth instead.

Once again, rotisserie chickens can really relieve the dinner-rush pressure-especially in this Italian-inspired soup that cries out for a piece of crusty bread and a glass of red wine.

Lemony rice, delicately flavored broth and gently poached tilapia are topped with a colorful blend of vegetables and herbs. The aromatic mint provides fresh and complex flavor.

San Francisco's Italian immigrants developed this stew to use the abundant local seafood. We've opted for farm-raised tilapia and scallops, but feel free to experiment with whatever is fresh.

Warm up a chilly evening with this light but satisfying one-pot meal. The tofu absorbs the flavors of this fragrant, spicy broth, making it anything but bland. Look for fresh Chinese-style noodles in the refrigerated case of your supermarket alongside wonton wrappers.