MyPlate-Inspired Soups and Stews

Cooking Light is working with the Partnership for a Healthier America and USDA’s MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to thousands of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov.

Cannellini beans, native to Tuscany, work beautifully in this rustic soup because they hold their shape after simmering in the flavorful broth. In addition, the orzo pasta absorbs all of the right flavors of this warming dish. 

Nothing beats a bowl of chicken noodle soup — it's familiar, flavorful, and instantly soothing. While we love our classic recipe, we've included some twists to satisfy all types of taste buds. 

Our rendition of Classic Chicken Noodle Soup is just what the doctor ordered. Bone-in chicken fortifies commercial unsalted stock and adds meaty depth to the soup.

Roasting the poblano chiles offers a fast route to deep flavor in this hearty bowl of vegetable stew.

Homemade tomato stock provides the base for this fresh soup. Prepare the soup through step 2 up to a day ahead. Reheat over medium-low heat, and stir in the basil, lemon rind, and butter just before serving.

This classic beef stew recipe has all you expect in beef stew: tender chunks of beef, carrot, and potato. Yet the cremini mushrooms are a wonderful and welcome surprise.

Our hearty chicken stew is similar to Brunswick stew–only the Haitian version is certainly fierier, thanks to the habanero. If you don’t like it quite so spicy, use a seeded, minced jalapeño, which is somewhat fruitier and not as powerful.

Known for heightened flavor over time, we recommended making this delightful, creamy soup several days in advance and reheating over medium-low heat when ready to eat.

Fava beans are traditional in this stew, which we updated with edamame. Green peas can be substituted for the edamame, if you like.

This top-rated Southwestern soup is a great way to use up leftover chicken. The creamy chunks of avocado add a richness that’s unusual to find in most chicken soups.

A Southern classic dish, our version features chicken, chopped bell pepper, lima beans, and corn in a tomato base. Serve with garlic bread and garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.

This recipe for chilled corn soup yields an incredibly sumptuous, velvety concoction that’s vegan and nearly fat-free. Use corn at the peak of freshness as this simple preparation will highlight corn’s natural sweetness.

Sugary butternut squash and meaty chicken thighs remind us how well sweet and savory flavors play together in Moroccan cuisine.

A creamy classic, our version of baked potato soup is rich, warming, filling, and only around 330 calories per serving. Garnish with cheese, onions, bacon, and cracked pepper when ready to eat.

A delicious combination of tastes and textures, this first course soup combines smoky chile heat, crisp sweet corn, and silky-rich avocado.

This pork stew recipe is an easy way to feed your family meat and veggies in just one dish. It’s easy to make, ready in just 45 minutes, and consistently delicious.

Serve this simple roasted red pepper soup recipe with crusty bread and a simple green salad for a quick lunch or lighter dinner option.

Our luscious pumpkin soup is made with pumpkin puree, yellow bell peppers, carrot, and onion and is topped with toasted pumpkin seed kernels for added crunch.

This ham and bean soup recipe gets great flavor from a smoked ham hock, fresh vegetables, and fresh herbs. Starting with a package of dried bean soup mix instead of using canned beans helps keep the sodium in check.

Beaten egg thickens this Asian-inspired soup, reminiscent of an egg drop soup. You can make the seasoned, toasted nori garnish to eat with the rice.

You can serve this light, bright-tasting soup hot or at room temperature–or if you want to get a head start, make it ahead and serve chilled.

In our play on Italian wedding soup, cooked quinoa serves as a nutty, whole-grain binder for the meatballs. We like the tenderness of lacinato kale in this soup, but you easily can substitute other varieties.

Traditional broccoli-cheese soup has nearly 400 calories and more than 18g saturated fat per serving. Ours has less than half the calories and one-fourth of the saturated fat.

Prepared mashed potatoes tend to come packed with a lot of sodium--too much for a side dish. Here we stretch them out into an entrée-sized soup that's creamy, cheesy, and brightened with fresh herbs.

Pair this spicy tomato soup with your favorite grilled cheese sandwich for a warm and filling weeknight dinner.

We took four of the top recipe search categories from our website—chicken, kale, quinoa, and soup—and combined them into one tasty dish that we think will become your new favorite. Rinse the quinoa to ensure that any bitter coating is removed.

Covering the pot when bringing the liquid to a simmer gets this soup ready even faster.

It's amazing how much flavor there is in such a humble (and, by the way, inexpensive) dish. The star of the soup is hominy, with its chewy texture and toasty-corn character; you'll find it with the Latin foods in the supermarket.

The soup can be topped with a variety of things: We love Parmigiano-Reggiano and rosemary, but savory sprinkles like chopped smoked almonds or toasted pecans would be lovely. This tastes even better the next day...or the day after.

Albóndigas soup is a traditional Mexican soup featuring spicy meatballs offset by the fresh flavors of vegetables and herbs.

Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Apple is the definition of hearty in a bowl. Earthy green cabbage mingles with moist shredded chicken, chicken sausage, and broth-soaked potatoes. Tart, crunchy apple slices add a fruity counterpoint to this German-inspired soup.

This chilled soup is full of delectably sweet fresh corn and gorgeous pieces of king crab legs.

The irresistible trifecta of starchy, creamy, and comforting pleasures found in loaded potato soup makes this warming bowl a restaurant and home-cooked favorite, especially on chilly, wintry days. Because cauliflower has two-thirds fewer calories per ounce than the starchy potato, swapping some in is both wise and tasty.

Smoked paprika and cumin round out the sweetness of San Marzano tomatoes. If you can't find these tomatoes, use a can of regular unsalted tomatoes.

You'll need about 1 1/2 pounds of butter bean pods to get 2 cups shelled beans. You can substitute fresh lima beans, if you prefer.

Winter root vegetables lend their complementary, slightly sweet flavors to this hearty bowl. Stir in more water or broth if you prefer a thinner consistency.

This butternut soup is the perfect way to brighten up cold dark days, with its vibrant color and even better taste. For multiple-meal-use, just wait to add the toppings until it’s time to reheat.

Yummy, thick Japanese udon noodles are the soul of this dish: slippery enough to slurp, fat enough to lend a satisfying chew. Meaty shiitake mushrooms, fragrant star anise, and a touch of dry rice wine deepen the broth's flavor. You'll be crowing after a bowl of this.

For added creaminess and a lovely presentation, we swirled this vibrantly colored beet soup with sour cream. Even without the additional decoration, the bright and vibrant color of this soup will make a dinner table show-stopper.

Once you try this classic French Onion Soup recipe, you'll never try another. It culminates in a rich-tasting soup with melt-in-your-mouth onions.

For a shortcut version of this dish, use unsalted chicken stock instead of making your own.

Serve this full-flavored soup as a first course, or as a smooth vegetable stew over rice with a side of cooked greens. We've used luxurious full-fat coconut milk, which yields a decadent, silky soup. You can use light coconut milk, if you prefer, for a soup with less body (and only 1g saturated fat per serving).

Inspired by the flavors of Spanish romesco sauce, this starter soup gussies up bottled roasted bell peppers with Marcona almonds (already toasted, saving a step), lots of garlic, and sherry vinegar.

Pureed cauliflower creates a wonderfully creamy soup; meaty shiitakes add textural flair.

Microwaving, instead of roasting, the sweet potatoes saves more than an hour.

The fresh, herby pesto adds a pop of bright flavor to earthy root vegetables, setting this stew apart from the ordinary. Best not to leave it out.

Arrabbiata, a spicy sauce of garlic, tomato, and chile pepper, forms the base for this stew. You can substitute cod or shrimp for the tilapia. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Smoky chorizo and bright lime add depth to a soup made quick with canned beans.

If you're making this dish ahead of time, be sure to store the soup and pasta separately.

With only 150 calories, yet 8g of fiber, and nearly 6g of protein in one cup of cooked bulgur, this wheat is a hearty addition to a stew. For an easier cleanup, poach the eggs directly in the stew once the broccoli rabe is tender.

Chopped onions, carrots, mushrooms, and the flavor of thyme sprigs come together with browned-beef to create a hearty stew for a chilly night.

Packed with kale, beans and an assortment of veggies, this dish is sure to make it into your regular rotation. This completely satisfying chili also cooks in a fraction of the time it takes to make traditional meat chili.

For a lighter meal, you can omit the rice noodles; the calories will decrease to about 230.

This weeknight-fast soup is chock-full of hearty veggies, fresh herbs, and flavorful center-cut bacon slices.

Smoked chorizo gives this tortilla soup a deep, smoky flavor without overpowering.

The perfect simple dinner on a busy night, this soup gets a double hit of fennel essence from chopped fennel bulb and the fennel seeds that flavor the sausage.

Talk about packing some heat: This stew is fiery-fantastic, and we absolutely love it. You can alter the spiciness by using a milder pepper (such as banana pepper or Anaheim chile) or adjusting the amounts and types of paprika.

Orzo and shrimp star in this quick and easy weeknight stew. For a delicious leftover lunch, add a cup of spinach leaves to the soup; then reheat and stir until wilted.

Shave a few more minutes off your prep and cleanup time by asking the butcher in the grocery store meat department to cut up the ribs for you.

Our gumbo-style soup removes the roux step (saving as much as an hour) and instead uses aromatics sautéed with tomato paste for a toasty flavor foundation. Serve with a crusty baguette for mopping up every last delicious drop.

We were blown away by the rich flavor of this fast soup. Fennel gently cooks until it has a faint lick of licorice, then gets pureed with white beans for a silky texture.