Blender soups are great because, often, you just need a few ingredients. Start with one all-star, seasonal ingredient like winter squash, broccoli, tomato, or asparagus. Beyond that, perhaps an onion, some broth or water, some herbs or spices, boom - you've got what you need to make a beautiful, silky blended soup. A soup like this can come together in under fifteen minutes - you cook the aromatics, add the main vegetable with some broth or favored liquid, and let simmer until the vegetable(s) are cooked through. Then you go to town with more spices and toppings. I throw the term blender around loosely here. A hand blender is fine, and works great, particularly if you're one of those people who avoids dealing with a blender because of the clean-up. ;) A high-speed blender can give an extra smooth, beautiful texture, but I used an immersion hand blender for years, making soups like these, before taking the high-speed plunge. Still delicious.

1. A Simple Carrot Soup - (101 Cookbooks)
This simplest carrot soup! Carrots and onion form the base, it's spiked with dollop of red curry paste, and then pureed into silky oblivion. Get the recipe here.

2. Turmeric Carrot Ginger Soup with Coconut Almond Streusel - (Cheeky Kitchen)
If you're up for a more complex carrot soup, here's where it's at. Lemongrass, coconut, ginger, garlic, and tahini come together in this beauty. it's a blended carrot soup with a coco-almond streusel topping. Right? Get the recipe here.

3. Alkalizing Green Soup - (101 Cookbooks)
Ten ingredients in a blender, this soup is a potent jolt of alkalizing vegetables and herbs, made with a protein-rich split green pea base. This is great when you need an anti-dote to and overly indulgent week. Get the recipe here.

4. Stinging Nettle and Spring Garlic Soup - (Hungry Ghost)
With their abundant vitamins and minerals, I'm always looking for ways to work more nettles into my diet. Andrea always inspires, and this is the perfect soup for springtime or if you come across nettles at the market (or out on a hike!). Use a veg broth if you'd like to keep it vegetarian / vegan. Get the recipe here.

5. Roasted Tomato Soup - (Sprouted Kitchen)
When you've had your fill of the seasons best fresh tomatoes, and when you're ready to transition into fall, this is the soup to make. You still want to use great tomatoes, and you can easily make this vegan by using coconut milk or a thick nut milk in place of the heavy cream called for. Get the recipe here.

6. Julie Morris's Cumin Beet Soup - (Julie Morris / Jenni Kayne)
From Julie's Superfood Soups book, this vibrant blended stunner includes power ingredients like cumin, turmeric, and maca. It has a coconut milk base, nut milks will work as well. Get the recipe here.

7. Cauliflower Soup with Lemon Zest - (The Thinking CAP)
Sometimes simple is best, and that what you see here. A recipe by nutritionist Dana James strong on the cauliflower front, with a hint of lemon. Five ingredients (aside from water, salt). Get the recipe here.

8. Warm Almond, Garlic, and Parsnip Soup - (Green Kitchen Stories)
A (remote) riff on Spanish gazpacho. I love the use of underutilized parsnips here, and the red grape and thyme finish. Get the recipe here.

9. Broccoli Cheddar Soup - (101 Cookbooks)
I love the combination of broccoli, mustard, and Cheddar here. Get the recipe here.

10. Pumpkin and Rice Soups - (Local Milk)
Brilliant use of smoked salt here adding depth to a winter squash and apple blended soup base. Also, an herby kiss of fresh time counters the natural sweetness here. To make this vegan, swap in your favorite non-dairy milk for the cream - a thick homemade cashew nut milk works great - (1 cup soaked nuts blended w/ two nuts, strained). Get the recipe here.

11. Coconut Broccoli Soup - (101 Cookbooks)
A simple broccoli and spinach affair, made with coconut milk broth, double greens (broccoli & spinach), and topped with good stuff like pan-fried tofu cubes, lots of toasted almonds, and shredded scallions. Get the recipe here.

12. A Simple Asparagus Soup - (101 Cookbooks)
Spiked with a dollop of green curry paste, this is a springtime favorite. Just a handful of ingredients, and you can use cashew nut or almond milk in place of the coconut milk if you like. Get the recipe here.

13. Pumpkin and Rice Soups - (101 Cookbooks)
Ginger-spiked pumpkin (or winter squash) soup. It calls for fresh ginger juice, pressed from grated ginger, and a kiss of serrano chile. Just a short list of ingredients come together beautifully here. Get the recipe here.

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