Wayne Gisslen

Vegetarian Soups and Low-Fat Soups

Appears in
Professional Cooking: 10th Edition
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2025

  • About

Many varieties of vegetable-based soups are suitable for vegetarian menus. To plan vegetarian menus, review the categories of vegetarianism. Vegetable soups for vegans must contain no meat or any other animal product and must be made with water or vegetable stock. To bind thick soups, use a starch slurry or a roux made with oil rather than butter. Lacto-vegetarians, on the other hand, accept soups containing butter, milk, or cream.

Because the appeal of vegetarian vegetable soups depends entirely on the freshness and the quality of the vegetables and not on the richness of meat stocks, be especially careful to use high-quality ingredients and to avoid overcooking.