On November 12th, I hosted my 3rd annual Soup Swap and it was a smashing success!

There were 8 different soups, cooked by 8 fabulous Colorado women, most of whom weren’t on a strictly plant-based diet. In fact, the dietary profiles ranged from vegan, to Paleo, to ‘What the hell is plant-based!?’

That’s the beauty of eating veggies – they’re so versatile, anyone can enjoy them!

For those new to the concept of a plant-based soup swap, or perhaps you want to start your own tradition, check out the below direction and description.

What you need to do to participate:

Pick a plant-based soup to make (you’ll need to double the recipe) and come to the party with 6 containers full of 1 quart of your soup – we swap them, so make sure it’s in a container you can give away (dollar store has cheap containers!) The idea here is that everyone leaves with a variety of soups they can freeze!

What Does Plant-Based Soup mean?

Using veggie broth, tomato/based, or beans, create a soup that is animal & animal product free (no chicken, turkey, pork, cow, dairy, cheese, butter). It’s not hard! Earth balance has a vegan butter that is super cheap, there are nut milks & veggie broth is found everywhere! Be creative – plants are so versatile and delicious!!!

Here are some of the soups and recipes that were shared this year:

Indian-spiced Cauliflower Soup

Moroccan Lentil Soup 

Ginger Carrot Soup
Note: Sub cream for a can of full-fat Coconut Milk

Vegan Italian Wedding Soup
Note: I didn’t use a slow cooker – cooked the onions first (5-8 minutes) then added carrots, celery and garlic for another 5 minutes…..then the broth, cooking that for about an hour and a half, on medium heat.For the chick pea balls, I used panko crumbs and left them out of the soup, putting in little baggies so people could freeze them and add to the soup, without them getting soggy.

Two varieties of Minestrone were made: One traditional, One with Kale, Cabbage & Cannellini Beans

Italian Gnocchi with Veggie Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs vegan meatballs (Gardein Meatless Meatballs)
1 tbs olive oil, divided
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1  28 oz can diced tomatoes
60 oz veggie broth
1 tbs dried basil
1 tsp oregano
6 carrots, sliced into thin disks
1/4 cup parsley flakes
16 oz potato gnocchi
1 15.5 oz can great northern beans
Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown meatballs using 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet, then transfer to large soup pot.
Brown onions and garlic using 1 tbsp olive oil in same skillet; add to soup pot.
Add tomatoes, broth, oregano, basil and carrots – cook uncovered 45 min.
Add parsley and gnocchi, cook until gnocchi floats.
Add beans and cook for 10 minutes more.
Season with salt and pepper.

I also made a few plant based munchies we enjoyed before and after the swapping took place.

Beer Soup with Crispy Chick Peas
Note: I used a can of coconut milk for this and a bottle of Lefthand Nitro Milk Stout. I used tumeric, instead of paprika, and regular chile powder.

Cauliflower Buffalo Wings

I made two batches: spicy garlic & hot! This is by far the best, simplest cauliflower wing recipe I’ve tried and they turn out delicious!

Roasted Garlic & Beet Dip
Kale, Artichoke Heart & Carrot Dip

And this soup – Shiitake Mushroom Kale Ramen – was my original recipe – but I was worried the ramen would get mushy when frozen….so I kept it for myself and made the vegan Italian Wedding instead! It actually turned out delicious – the only thing I’d recommend if you plan to freeze it is to scoop the individual servings out, then add 1/2 a package of ramen or so to each individual container. That way when you reheat, the ramen hasn’t been fully cooked.

Cheers to plant based soups!