Vegetable Soup for Colds
This easy vegetable soup recipe is my go-to remedy whenever someone in my family has a cold, the flu or even just a sore throat. It’s the best soup for any time you are sick! Move over Chicken Noodle, because the antiviral ingredients in this immune-boosting recipe will help chase the germs away.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Stovetop
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Easy
Why Is This The Best Soup For When You’re Sick?
It is time for a soup full of all kinds of delicious antiviral goodness! And during the winter with the flu and all kinds of other things running rampant, I thought I’d share my “flu buster” vegetable soup recipe.
Technically I can’t guarantee this will cure you, but a steaming mug full of veggies and vitamins that tastes amazing certainly can’t hurt. And the added bonus is that it is also gluten free, paleo, and Whole 30, so it is healthy all around.
Many people swear by Chicken Noodle Soup when it comes to soup for colds. Or maybe even Avgolemono Soup for a low carb version of the classic. But I prefer this healthy vegetable soup. Why?
- Creamy: Flu buster vegetable soup is smooth and creamy, without using any actual cream. So there’s none of that dairy that can increase congestion.
- Good For You: Each of the vegetables are nutrient powerhouses on their own, like cauliflower, onions, carrots, and zucchini. Put them together and you’ll have soup-er powers. Onions, garlic, ginger, and turmeric all have antiviral properties with immune-boosting benefits.
- Easy Prep: Since the soup is going to be blended, you don’t have to peel the carrots or potatoes. This makes it less effort, which is key when you are under the weather. Plus it adds additional fiber and nutrients.
- Diet Friendly: This recipe is gluten-free, and can easily be made vegan, paleo, Whole 30, and keto friendly.
Even if you aren’t sick, you can still reap the benefits of a big bowl of creamy vegetable soup, especially with the comfort food factor on cold winter days. The combination of veggies and spices tastes amazing together. Also, the silky texture from blending it all together soothes the body and soul.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cozy vegetable soup. Each ingredient in this flu buster soup does double duty – it helps make it taste delicious and has antiviral properties, antioxidants, vitamins, or other healthy ingredients to help you fight off those germs.
- Olive oil
- Onions and garlic – both contain compounds believed by some scientists to fight and even prevent the common cold.
- Turmeric – gets its orange color from curcumin, an antioxidant with healing properties.
- Fresh ginger – clears congestion and soothes your throat, and it might even block the common cold virus.
- Vegetables – potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, and celery will provide plenty of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
- Salt and pepper
- Lemon juice – citrus contains Vitamin C that can help you feel better faster.
- Vegetable broth or chicken broth – helps hydrate you.
- Cayenne pepper – while it won’t fight viruses, the heat from capsaicin can help clear stuffy sinuses
- Greek yogurt – an optional topping, and despite claims that dairy increases mucus production, it can actually be quite soothing on sore throats.
Of course, this is a gluten free vegetable soup recipe, but as always, please read all of your ingredient labels to ensure they are gluten free and not affected by cross-contamination or hidden sources of gluten. Since this is mostly vegetables and spices, you’ll just need to be sure you use gluten free broth or stock from a box or that you’ve made yourself.
Source: WebMD
How to Make Vegetable Soup for Colds
Here’s a quick look at how to make this healing soup for when you’re fighting the flu or a cold:
- Saute the veggies. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and turmeric, and saute for several minutes until the onions start to soften and become translucent. Add the remaining vegetables, and salt and pepper, and saute for several minutes longer.
- Simmer till soft. Add the lemon juice, and stir to coat the vegetables. Pour chicken or vegetable broth into the pot, cayenne, and additional salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.
- Puree the soup. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the soup until it is smooth and creamy. Return the soup to the pot, and heat it through before serving in soup bowls or mugs. Swirl in some plain Greek yogurt or coconut milk if desired.
What Is The Key To a Smooth Texture?
You have a couple of options to puree the veggies to make an ultra-creamy vegetable soup:
- Immersion blender – you’ll have fewer dishes to wash when you puree your soup right in the pot you are using to cook it when you use a stick or hand blender.
- Blender – you’ll need to blend it in portions because you don’t want to overfill the blender to avoid spilling hot soup on yourself. Also, to avoid burns, blend slowly to start, holding a towel over the top and venting the steam occasionally so that the hot steam does not build up and cause the pressure to pop the lid off.
Variations
- Make it vegetarian or vegan. Be sure to use vegetable broth, and if you want to add a creamy swirl, try coconut milk or coconut yogurt instead of Greek yogurt.
- Make it low carb. Skip the potatoes and use a full head of cauliflower instead of a half head.
- Make it chunky. Only puree half of the vegetables and add it back to the pot with the rest of the cooked veggies that you haven’t pureed.
Make It a Meal
Here are some serving suggestions to round out your meal.
- Add some crackers. Crush a few of your favorite crackers or make Gluten Free Cheddar Crackers.
- Dunk some bread. Serve it with a piece of Gluten Free Cornbread or to round out your meal.
- Have a sandwich. Cut a couple of slices to Gluten Free Bread and pile on your favorite sammie fillings.
- Serve soup and salad. This vegetable soup would be wonderful with a seasonal Harvest Salad.
- Make a toddy. Mix up a Cold Toddy Whiskey Mule to soothe that sore throat.
More Soup Recipes
Flu Buster Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon peeled, minced fresh ginger root
- 2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped (you can substitute another half head of cauliflower for a low carb option)
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped (no need to peel)
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- juice of one lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
- 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to preferred level of spice)
- Greek yogurt, if desired, for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Saute the onion, garlic, ginger, and turmeric for a few minutes, until onions start to soften and become translucent.
- Add the remaining veggies, and salt and pepper, and saute for several minutes longer.
- Pour in the lemon juice, and stir to coat the vegetables.
- Add the broth, cayenne and additional salt and pepper, if desired bring to a boil, cover and boil for 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.
- Use an immersion blender, or add the contents of the pot to a blender of food processor (in portions, if needed, based on the size of your blender), puree until smooth and creamy.
- Return the soup to the pot, and heat through.
- Serve with Greek yogurt, if desired.
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Amazing! Thank you for sharing, made me feel a whole lot better x
So happy to hear this!
We have a cold at our house right now so I made some for the sick, and I can definitely recommend it as a feel good soup if you like spice! Maybe we’ll all magically wake up with no symptoms tomorrow?! Here’s hoping!
Oh, and I did make a modification I should mention – I subbed butternut squash for both cauliflower and zucchini, as that was what I had on hand, and it was still so delicious! & Made a double batch so we’d have extra!
Hope you are feeling better!
Thank you! All better! 🙂
This recipe was amazing! I’ve got a cold right now and this is just what I needed to help me start feeling better. I think my lemon was strong because I can definitely taste it (which I like) but I might cut it down to half a lemon next time. 🙂 At any rate, I LOVED this soup! Thanks for the recipe!
Feel better soon!!
Made this tonight the fiancé and I both have an upper respiratory infection no covid or flu but feels just as awful! I mustered up the strength to make this today and boy I’m glad I did! The first bite I was unsure but 2 bowls later I was in love ! I doubled the recpie did not upset my tummy like I thought all the veggies would! 10/10
Thank you and feel better soon!
We LOVE this recipe as well, I substituted in one large sweet potato for the 2 white potatoes and it was delicious. We have made this 4x now in the last month😂 Thank you for the delicious recipe!
I found your recipe last year. Great flavor & nice kick w/the cayenne. We love it! Thank you!
Oh good, I hope it keeps you warm and coy this winter.
This recipe was super delicious, I traded one of the potatoes for sweet potato, and added some ground cumin and basil to the mix and topped with chopped scallions, chives and cilantro and it was delicious! Definitely will be making this again! Thank you for sharing
Oh yum, love those flavors!
Oh my god this soup is amazing. I used what vegetables I had on hand: carrots, celery, onions, garlic, spinach, potatoes, and Roma tomatoes. I did everything else exactly the same. Mine turned out a brilliant green color! So good! I’m already feeling better.
Oh wonderful!
My family loves this soup. I add chicken and chic peas to it. We don’t get colds so I make it because it’s so nice.
This soup is delicious and very healthy! I added some chickpeas for protein and some curry powder! I didn’t have cayenne pepper so I added crushed red pepper flakes before blending and it worked just as well. I also topped it with goat cheese which was so tasty! I’ll definitely make this again, even when I don’t have a cold! (Might try roasting some chickpeas and adding them on top…)
Can you sub parsnips for the potatoes, and can you make this in the crock pot on low overnight?
I haven’t tried it, but I would think that would work. It will definitely affect the flavor though since parsnips have a stronger flavor than potatoes.