There's nothing quite like a hot bowl of fresh, homemade soup to warm you up and keep you feeling nourished through the winter months. Read on for 15 of our favorite easy, colorful winter soup recipes to help you support a whole foods diet and healthy weight, get plenty of essential immune health nutrients, and eat well on a budget through the colder days and beyond. 

Tasty and timeless, soup is a go-to for no-fuss, nutrient-dense meals. 

Most soups include a wide variety of vegetables which contain essentials vitamins and nutrients. Like beta-carotene rich carrots and immune-boosting mushrooms.

Beans, another popular soup ingredient, are not only a good source of fiber, but packed with protein to help you feel full and avoid overeating throughout the day. 

Creating your own soups at home, and making simple substitutions, can help to ensure a healthier recipe than store-bought or premade soups. Try subbing low-sodium stock to help manage sodium intake, and swap low-fat milk for cream in chowders and bisques to help cut back on fat and calories. 

The key ingredients in soups, like vegetables and beans, are usually low ticket items in grocery stores. Buying in bulk using fresh, canned or frozen ingredients can help you stretch your dollar.

A healthy diet regimen, whether you're focused on nutrition or weight management, can be time consuming given the prep involved in creating healthy and nutritious meals. Soup can add simplicity and convenience to your meal panning. On the weekends, when you have extra time, make a large pot of soup with 8 servings or more. Then, freeze individual servings to enjoy during the week when you’re on the run between stacked calendar appointments. 

These inviting winter soup recipes are not only healthy and delicious, but oh-so-easy to prepare.

Stews are big money savers. Less expensive, tougher cuts of meat can be used along with a variety of hearty vegetables. Because of the longer cooking time, the meat will become tender while the flavors of the other ingredients blend together as it simmers.

Tomato soup is an all-American favorite. This recipe is very easy to prepare, plus the use of low-fat milk makes it healthier than cream based versions.

This recipe is a great way to enjoy butternut squash, especially during the fall and wintertime when squash is readily available. Pureeing makes the soup smooth and creamy, without adding high-fat cream.

Mushrooms add a fabulous flavor and texture to any dish, but they can also add immune-boosting nutrients, something especially important during the cold winter months. Mushrooms are an excellent source of potassium, selenium, and B-complex vitamins, such as riboflavin and niacin. They also support a weight management diet as they are low in calories, fat, and sodium.

Matzo balls are Jewish soup dumplings made from Matzah Meal (ground matzo). Matzo balls are usually served in a chicken broth to create a soup popular during Passover and Shabbat. 

The consumption of pea soup dates back to as early as 500 to 400 B.C. by the Romans and Greeks. Through the centuries, a love of pea soup has been noted across the globe. A well-known nursery rhyme from England, originated in 1765, says, “Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot nine days old.” Pease is the archaic form of the word pea.

The name minestrone translates from Italian as “The Big Soup,” or "the use of many ingredients." No set recipe for minestrone soup exists: Traditionally, it’s made up of whatever vegetables are in season or leftover available ingredients. Have fun experimenting with your own different variations of minestrone! 

Studies have shown diets containing whole grains can reduce the risk of certain diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, and help support a healthy weight. Barley, for example, contains 8 essential amino acids which may help regulate blood sugar levels.

White beans are also known as navy beans, pea beans or cannellini beans. Beans have excellent nutritional value and add protein, B vitamins, iron, and fiber to your diet. Plus, they are low in fat and contain no cholesterol.

This classic Italian recipe combines filling, nutritious white beans with green, leafy kale, helping to add essential nutrients like fiber, vitamins A and C, and minerals potassium, calcium, and magnesium to your diet. 

A soup of French origin, bisques have a thick and creamy texture and are traditionally made from a puree of crustaceans such as lobster, crab, shrimp or crayfish. Thick and creamy vegetable soups may also be referred to as a bisque.

If you love corn with seafood, you've met your chowder match. Corn has been an important nutritional resource for thousands of years, and can be traced back to Mexican or Central American cultures as early as 3400 B.C. Today's corn is less starchy and sweeter, accounting for its popularity among many Americans. If fresh corn is not available, try using frozen or canned for nearly the same nutritional value.

The addition of ginger, red curry paste, and coconut milk put a great twist on a classic butternut squash soup recipe.

This is the perfect creamy comfort-food recipe to you warm you up on any cold day. Packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and immune-boosting garlic and turmeric. Plus, cauliflower is rich in choline, a vital nutrient for cellular, brain, and nervous system health.     

This light soup is ideal for vegetarians and those watching their calories. It’s a perfect way to use up any extra zucchini and tomatoes leftover from your autumn garden. 

Which winter soup recipe will you try first?

Have fun, get creative in the kitchen, and try experimenting with a different nourishing soup recipe each week. Your immune system, budget, and waistline could all be thanking you before the first blooms of spring. 

Adapted from original article by Yvette LaGarde, 2014.