12 simple and warming soups for winter

Hot soup is one of life’s greatest comforts, particularly if you’ve been out in the cold and wet. We’ve hand-picked a selection of nourishing and tasty soup recipes that are packed full of veg and quick to whip up after a day in the saddle. They’re also friendly on the wallet too!

We’ve partnered with Olive magazine (also published by Immediate Media) to bring you the very best recipes for cyclists. All the recipes are easy to follow and take you through step-by-step how to create everything from homemade nutrition products to tasty, hearty post-ride meals. 

• Ultimate sportive nutrition guide
• 11 common diet mistakes to avoid while training
• Buyer’s guide to cycling energy products
• The health benefits of chocolate

1. Sweet potato, carrot and ginger soup — vegan

Creamy, comforting and with a fiery kick from the ginger, this soup packs in the filling, nutritious veg. It’s quick to make and it’s vegan too.

If you want to up the creaminess, you can add coconut milk, or up the spiciness with a little chilli. Either way, when it comes to the kind of food you’ll want after a cold, wet ride, this is hard to beat.

• Sweet potato, carrot and ginger soup recipe at Olive Magazine

2. Vietnamese green soup — vegan

This fragrant dish packs in a huge amount of nutrient rich green vegetables, from broccoli and peas to spinach.

It’s deceptively quick to make, and is a great way of using up leftover vegetables — waste not want not, after all!

The fragrant herbs and spices make for a heady, exotic, flavoursome bowlful, with the heat of ginger and chilli combining with the freshness of basil, lime and mint.

• Vietnamese green soup recipe at Olive Magazine

3. Chorizo and red lentil soup

This has got to be one of our favourite mid-week suppers for days when we want something quick and simple but with a punchy flavour.

You can whip this up with store cupboard ingredients, and although the chorizo gives it a rich, smoky flavour, it’s still relatively healthy. You can make it in 45 minutes, most of this time is simmering, so you can set it cooking, jump in the shower, and it’ll be ready when you are. 

• Chorizo and red lentil soup recipe at Olive Magazine

4. Fish soup

It might look impressive, but this creamy soup is actually very simple to make and the lean protein of the fish is perfect for refuelling after a cold wet bike ride.

You can experiment with Greek yoghurt or crème fraîche instead of cream if you want to drop the calorie content. 

• Fish soup recipe at Olive Magazine

5. Pea and ham soup cups with Parma skewers

Okay, so this is actually a bit of a cheat. If you can’t face cooking at all, but you want a dish that makes it look like you’ve spent hours slaving in the kitchen, then this is the one for you.

Basically, you’re glamming up shop-bought pea and ham soup with crunchy little morsels of tastiness in the form of Parma ham skewers and olive-oil crisped bruschetta, with a swirl of cream or crème fraîche and a sprinkling of black pepper. 

• Pea and ham soup cups with Parma skewers recipe at Olive Magazine

6. Bacon and sweetcorn chowder

It’s quick, simple, easy, very tasty and will satisfy those hunger pangs and bacon cravings in no time. Whip up a batch of this surprisingly low-calorie soup in 20 minutes, then sit back and relax. 

• Bacon and sweetcorn chowder recipe at Olive Magazine

7. Celeriac and cheddar soup with thyme croutons — vegetarian

Olive Magazine describes this as a ‘meal in a bowl’ and who are we to disagree!

We love the cheesy kick that the cheddar supplies, which complements perfectly the fresh flavour of the celeriac and is cut through with the crunch and flavour of croutons roasted with fragrant thyme. 

• Celeriac and cheddar soup with thyme croutons recipe at Olive Magazine

8. Prawn laksa (spicy noodle soup)

Managing to combine spicy, creamy and fresh flavours into one filling and veg-packed dish, this spicy noodle soup from Malaysia is just right when you’ve had a hard day and need a nutritious pick-me-up.

Prawns provide lots of lean protein and the fresh cucumber and coriander cut through the creaminess of coconut milk. Yum!

• Prawn laksa (spicy noodle soup) recipe at Olive Magazine

9. Fiery chickpea and harissa soup — vegetarian, vegan

The hot and spicy theme continues, this time with a soup inspired by the flavours of Morocco.

The fiery harissa paste in this vegetarian soup doesn’t just add warmth, it adds a richness of flavour to a soup that’s surprisingly simple to make — just 20 minutes of preparation and cooking time. 

• Spicy chickpea and harissa soup recipe at Olive Magazine

10. Tomato soup with quick spring onion cornbread — vegetarian

Tomato soup is surely one of the most traditionally comforting dishes, right up there with chicken soup.

This delicious version, which is given a subtle punchy kick of horseradish, comes with a filling polenta-based cornbread. Perfect for dipping, smothering in butter, or wolfing down as you wait for the soup to cool. 

• Tomato soup with quick spring onion cornbread recipe at Olive Magazine

11. Cauliflower and cannellini bean soup — vegetarian with food substitutions

Rich, creamy and deeply comforting — that’s the best way to describe this tasty soup, which combines slightly out of the ordinary ingredients to make something that tastes just right after a long ride.

The rosemary adds a wonderful flavour dimension to the dish and if you swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock it’ll make a vegetarian version. 

• Cauliflower and cannellini bean soup recipe at Olive Magazine

12. Red Thai curry noodle soup — vegetarian, vegan with food substitutions

A light and fragrant noodle soup dish that’s great when you don’t want anything too heavy, but do want something spicy, warm and nourishing.

Coconut, lemongrass, basil and lime bring wonderfully fresh flavours, while tofu adds the protein you’ll need for post-ride recovery. It’s also easy to transform this into a vegan dish: swap the fish sauce for salt, the egg noodles for rice noodles, and purchase vegan curry paste. 

• Red Thai curry noodle soup recipe at Olive Magazine

Why not have a look for more food-based inspiration in our other recipe collections, covering everything from breakfast suggestions to post-ride dinners.

• 10 hearty and satisfying vegetarian soups
• Quick and easy post-ride dinners
• 10 protein-rich meals for post-ride recovery
• 13 tasty high-protein vegetarian dinners
• 5 top flapjack recipes for cyclists
• 9 energy-boosting breakfasts to keep you riding strong

Updated January 2018