As winter lingers and chilly days call for comfort, there’s nothing better than a steaming bowl of homemade soup. These Cosy Soup Ideas will bring warmth and flavour to your table in under an hour. Better yet, they’re naturally low-carb, gluten-free, and dairy-free—perfect for a nourishing meal to see you through the last weeks of winter.
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Cosy Soup Ideas
Feeding my family nourishing food is a priority for me, and during the cold months soup often makes an appearance in my meal plans. To make the soup a main meal, I like to add protein and plenty of vegetables, making it hearty and filling. This week’s cosy soups were Minced Beef and Tomato Soup, Coconut Chicken Soup and Sausage and Vegetable Soup.
Check out my YouTube video below to see how I made these soups this week. I decided at the last minute to serve one of the soups with Sourdough Cheese Scones so you’ll get that recipe as a bonus too!
Low-Carb, Gluten and Dairy Free Cosy Soup Ideas
Because of the various dietary requirements in my family, the soups I make are always gluten and dairy free as well as being low carb. This means that I steer away from adding potatoes, which are a staple in most soups. If you are not on a low carb diet, potatoes would be a great addition to the Minced Beef and Tomato Soup as well as the Sausage and Vegetable Soup.
I love to serve soups with a variety of toppings which will cater to everyone’s dietary requirements and preferences. Want more carbs? Add rice to your soup! Need some extra protein and calcium? Add a dollop of cream and sprinkle on some cheese! This way, the soup becomes totally customisable and something everyone can enjoy.
So, let’s get to the recipes!
Cosy Soup Idea N°1: Minced Beef and Tomato Soup
As I explain in the video, this was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants recipe. I totally made it up as I went along. I did, however, jot down the ingredients to share with you if you want to try something similar.
Serves 8-10 with leftovers
- 700g minced (ground) beef
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large courgette, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- 1 litre water/bone broth/meat stock
In a pressure cooker, fry the onions until translucent. Add the beef and fry until browned. Then add the carrots and courgettes and fry for a few minutes. Next, add the garlic, followed by the herbes de Provence and the liquid. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. If you are using a normal saucepan, bring the soup to the boil and cook for 45 mins.
To serve, you may wish to add some cooked rice or pasta to the soup, or else simply serve with a slice or two of fresh bread (check out my recipe for Simple Wholewheat Sourdough Bread). We also like to top this soup with some cream and cheese to make it extra luxurious. The spice lovers in your family might enjoy a splash of Tabasco to serve too.
Cosy Soup Idea N°2: Coconut Chicken Soup
The recipe I used in this week’s video was loosely based on my Coconut Chicken: Thai Flavours Without the Spice recipe.
I made some minor alterations:
- I added more liquid (1l coconut milk, 1l chicken stock)
- I used different vegetables: carrots and butternut squash as well as the courgettes and beans mentioned in the recipe. You can use whichever veggies you have to hand!
- I added 1tbp rice vinegar instead of the lime juice at the end – this made the flavours really pop!
Cosy Soup Idea N°3: Sausage and Vegetable Soup
I created this soup recipe at Christmas last year and it has since become a firm favourite! I hope to have a full blog post on here for this recipe soon. In the meantime, here is the quick version!
Serves 6-8
- 4 large sausages
- 2 onions
- 2 leeks
- 1 swede
- 8 carrots
- 1/2 butternut squash
- Olive oil to fry
- 1 1/2l bone broth/stock
- 2 tsp salt
Chop the onions, slice the leeks, peel and cut the other vegetables into small chunks.
Fry the onions until translucent. Add the leeks and fry until soft. Then add the rest of the vegetables and continue frying for about 5 mins. Pour in the bone broth/stock and add the salt. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 30 mins or until the vegetables are soft.
While the soup is cooking, fry the sausages in a little olive oil on a low heat until cooked through (around 20 mins, but this will depend on the size of your sausages). When they are cooked, cut them into bite sized pieces.
Remove 2 very large spoonfuls of vegetable chunks from the soup and keep to one side in a bowl. Use a hand blender to blend the rest of the soup until smooth. Add the vegetable chunks back to the soup along with the sausage pieces. Make sure everything is piping hot before you serve.
Serve with cheese scones (see below) or bread. You may wish to add a little cream or cheese, but I usually don’t, this soup is delicious just as it is!
Bonus recipe: Sourdough Cheese Scones, the Perfect Accompaniment to a Cosy Soup
I love serving cheese scones with soup. They make the meal seem so much more special, even though they only take minutes to make!
This is my sourdough version, which I think provides even more flavour. Keep your eye out for the full blog post for these coming soon!
If you are looking for a sweet sourdough scone recipe, check out my Sourdough Discard Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze, they are amazing!
Ingredients
Makes 8 large scones
- 300g plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 85g butter
- 1-2 tsp herbes de Provence
- 100g sourdough discard
- 100ml milk
- 1 tsp apple cidre vinegar
- 1 tbsp mustard
- approx 150g mature cheddar cheese (you might want to add more for more cheese flavour!)
- Extra milk to glaze
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C with the baking tray in it.
(I like to make this recipe in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but you can also easily make it by hand.)
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, butter and herbs in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or by rubbing the mixture with your finger tips.
Meanwhile, heat the milk until lukewarm and add the vinegar to the milk so that the milk curdles.
When the flour and butter mixture ressembles bread crumbs add the milk mixture, sourdough discard, mustard and 100g of cheese (keep the rest of the cheese to top the scones with). Mix until the dough only just comes together.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and shape it into a round disc, about 2.5cm (1 inch) thick. Using a bench scraper, cut the disc into 8 equal parts.
Place the scones onto the hot baking tray, brush with milk and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for approx 18 minutes.
Serve hot with salted butter and a cosy bowl of soup!
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Which of these soups will you try? Do you have any other favourites you like to make when the cold days are dragging on? Let me know in the comments below!
I’m not a huge kitchen gadget fan, but here are links to the equipment I used in these recipes and that I find myself reaching for again and again. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Bench Scraper
Click on the country you are ordering from France | UK | US
Instant Pot
Click on the country you are ordering from: France | US | UK (Amazon France and UK do not have the size I own, so I have linked a smaller size)
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Click on the country you are ordering from: France | UK | US
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