Soups

Soups are such a great way of getting more vegetables you should try and make a pot of soup as often as you can. Why not start with this courgette and carrot soup recipe for kids? Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 50g x butter (or margarine), 450g x courgettes, 225g x carrots, 2 x beef stock cubes, 1 x tbsp tomato purée 1 x bay leaf, 2 x tsp sugar, salt & pepper
Equipment: Large pot, blender, chopping board, knife

Wash the courgettes, cut off their tops and tails and slice thinly
Wash and peel the carrots and chop them into chunks
Place the butter in the pan and add the courgettes and carrots and cook gently for 5 minutes
Add 1 litre of water, the two stock cubes, sugar, tomato purée and bay leaf
Bring the soup to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove (and throw away) the bay leaf, leave the soup to cool and then blend until it’s nice and smooth

Get the Kids Involved: Looking out the ingredients and equipment, measuring out the ingredients, carefully peeling and chopping the veg, stirring it all together

Kitchen Monster Tip: You can serve this soup hot or cold and if you want to make it look a little fancier then add some chopped parsley to the top before you serve it
Difficulty:

This bright green easy pea soup recipe for kids is probably the best coloured soup you’ll ever come across!  Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 1 x onion, 450g x frozen peas, 1 x litre stock (made up from a stock cube)
Special Equipment: Large soup pan, chopping board, knife, measuring jug, blender

Place the oil in the pan and begin to heat on the hob
Carefully chop the onion, add to the pan and cook for 3 or 4 minutes until they soften
Make up the stock and add to the pan
Pour in your frozen peas
Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes
Leave to cool then blend well until smooth
Heat thoroughly before serving and enjoy!

Get the Kids Involved: Looking out the ingredients, peeling and chopping the onion (supervised?), Measuring out the water for the stock, weighing out the peas, stirring the soup

Kitchen Monster Tip:  Never add any salt and pepper until you’ve tasted to see if it needs it – stock cubes can be salty enough on their own
Difficulty:

Looking for something different in a soup?  Try our Carrot, Ginger and Honey recipe for kids.  Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 1 x tbs olive oil, 1 x small chopped onion, 10 x medium sized carrots (grated), a small piece of fresh root ginger peeled and grated (about 1teaspoonful), 1 x tbs of runny honey, 600 ml x vegetable stock made with 2 stock cubes
Special Equipment: Soup pan (or large sauce pan), chopping board, knife, grater, peeler

Heat the olive oil in the pan and gently cook the onion for about 5 minutes until soft
Place in the grated ginger and cook for 2 more minutes
Add in the carrots, honey and vegetable stock and bring it all to the boil
Reduce the heat and simmer it all for about 20 minutes
Leave to cool then blend until very smooth
If necessary add salt and pepper to taste and serve with some whole meal bread

Kitchen Monster Tip:  Some herbs sprinkled on the top or a spoonful of natural yogurt just add a finishing touch

Difficulty:

Soups are one of the3 best things to cook in winter when the cold has set in and our Butternut Squash Soup recipe for kids is dead easy to make.  Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 1 x butternut squash, 1 x large potato, 1 x onion, olive oil, 1 litre x vegetable stock
Special Equipment: Soup pot or large soup pan, chopping board, knife, peeler, blender

Peel and chop the onion and heat in the pan with a little oil for about 5 minutes
Peel the butternut squash – be careful the skin can be quite tough – and the potato and chop them both into small pieces
Add to the pan and pour in the stock
Simmer gently for about half an hour then blend until smooth
Serve and enjoy!

Kitchen Monster Tip:  Serve with your favourite accompaniment – bread, oatcakes or maybe croutons?
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If you’re ill, cold or sad then our chicken soup recipe for kids could cheer you up.    Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 2 x chicken breasts, 1 x large potato, 1 x clove garlic, 1 x leek, 1 x onion, 2 pints x chicken stock, a little oil
Special Equipment: large saucepan, chopping board, knife, blender

Chop up the onion, leek, and garlic and add to the saucepan with the oil
Heat gently for about 5 minutes to soften them
Chop up the chicken into small pieces
Add the stock and the chicken to the pot with the veg and boil gently for 40 minutes
Blend until smooth, serve and enjoy!

Kitchen Monster Tip:  Because there’s meat in the soup, f you save any for later then make sure you bring it back up to the boil before serving
Difficulty:

A deliciously warming winter soup, don’t let the odd combination put you off.  This creamy apple and parsnip soup recipe for kids is great for those cold, dark nights.  Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 1 tbsp x oil, 1 x onion, 1 x clove garlic, 450g x parsnips, 1 x large bramley apple, 1/2 tsp x ground coriander, 1.2 litres x vegetable stock, 70ml x single cream
Special Equipment: Large soup pot, chopping board, knife, peeler, blender

Heat the oil in the pan
Chop the onion and the garlic and add, heating gently for about 5 minutes
Peel and chop the parsnips and apple into small cubes (about an inch thick)
Add the stock and the ground coriander and simmer gently for about 20 minutes
Blend until smooth then stir in the cream
Serve and enjoy!

Kitchen Monster Tip:  Thinly slice a little apple to use as a garnish on top
Difficulty:

If you’re going to get a pumpkin for Halloween then it makes sense to use as much of it as you can.  Thie easy recipe for Pumpkin Soup will let you make a lantern AND make a soup!  Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 2 x onions, 1 x medium sized pumpkin, 700ml x vegetable stock, 150ml x single cream
Special Equipment: Large soup pan, chopping board, sharp knife, spoon or ice cream scoop, measuring jug, blender

Carefully cut the top off the pumpkin
Scoop out the stringy insides and seeds
Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin( being careful of not piercing the skin if you’re using it as a lantern)
Peel and chop the onions and place in the large pan with the olive oil for about 5 minutes
Add the pumpkin flesh and leave to soften for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
Pour in the stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes and the pumpkin flesh is soft
Add the cream before blending
Serve and enjoy!

Kitchen Monster Tip: Make sure you keep the seeds from the pumpkin.  You can roast them and eat them, use them to make a musical shaker or how about keeping them and planting them to grow your very own pumpkin for Halloween next year?  (They should be planted around May for this)
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Not only is this a great tasting, easy to make soup, it’s packed full of goodness including watercress, one of nature’s ‘Super Foods’.  It’s a delicious way to get one of your five a day.  Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 1 x tbsp olive oil, 5 x cloves of garlic, 1 x bunch of spring (or salad) onions, 1 x bunch (or bag) of watercress, 1 x pear, half a tsp of ground ginger, 1 x medium sized potato, 750ml of vegetable stock
Special Equipment: Large pot, Blender

Chop the tops and bottoms of the spring onions off
Peel the skin off the garlic cloves and either crush them or chop them up
Peel the potato and chop it into quarters
Pour the oil into the pan and put in the spring onion, garlic and potato
After 5 minutes add the stock and the ginger and boil for 20 mins
Peel and chop the pear, turn off the heat and add the watercress and pear to the soup
Blend it all together until smooth
Serve and enjoy!

Kitchen Monster Tip: For an added treat and to make it look very fancy pour a swirl of cream before serving
Difficulty:

Like this recipe? Why not share it with your friends using one of the links below or leave a us a comment about how you got on!

This hearty lentil soup uses lemon juice instead of oil so makes it even healthier. Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 400g x lentils, 1 x onion, 1 x leek, 2 x garlic cloves, 5 x carrots, 2 x peppers, 1 x clove, 2 x stock cubes, juice of 1 x lemon
Special Equipment: Soup pan (or large sauce pan), blender

Chop the onion, leek, garlic and carrots and add to the pan with the lemon juice
Heat for about 10 minutes until the onions have started to soften
Chop the peppers and remove their seeds and add to the pan along with 4 pints of water, stock cubes, the lentils and the clove
Bring the soup to the boil and simmer gently for 40 minutes
Remove the clove, allow the soup to cool slightly then blend until smooth
Serve and enjoy!

Kitchen Monster Top Tip: Chopping a garlic can be tricky, try using a garlic press or just give it a bash – you’re going to be blending it all up anyway
Difficulty:

Like this recipe?  Why not share it with your friends using one of the links below or leave a us a comment about how you got on!

Soups are such a great way of getting more vegetables you should try and make a pot of soup as often as you can.  Why not start with this courgette and carrot soup?  Remember to always follow the Kitchen Monsters Code when you’re in the kitchen!

Ingredients: 50g x butter (or margarine), 450g x courgettes, 225g x carrots, 2 x beef stock cubes, 1 x tbsp tomato purée 1 x bay leaf, 2 x tsp sugar, salt & pepper
Special Equipment: Soup pan or large saucepan, blender or liquidiser

Wash the courgettes, cut off their tops and tails and slice thinly
Wash and peel the carrots and chop them into chunks
Place the butter in the pan and add the courgettes and carrots and cook gently for 5 minutes
Add 1 litre of water, the two stock cubes, sugar, tomato purée and bay leaf
Bring the soup to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove (and throw away) the bay leaf, leave the soup to cool and then blend until it’s nice and smooth

Kitchen Monster Top Tip: You can serve this soup hot or cold and if you want to make it look fancy then add some chopped parsley to the top before you serve it
Difficulty: