Mindblowingly Simple Ways To Reinvent Soup

So you've been good this week, but having that pumpkin soup for the fifth night in a row is getting a little old. Don't send it down the gurgler just yet though, because that soup is about to save you some serious time for some easy, lip-smacking dinners. You'll be winning at your health goals too because that soup is essentially adding an extra dose of veggies (and apparently we're supposed to be getting at least five serves!). Here are 8 super simple ways to reinvent everything from mushroom soup to tomato soup and beyond.

For a sip's worth of soup

Down to the last cup? Here are a few quick and genius ways to reinvent that leftover soup.

Bake scones or muffins and feel righteous

This super-fast bake-up will supply you with brekkie on the go while you get some veggies into you. For scones: Simply add half the volume of soup you have in olive oil, and then stir in self-raising flour until you get a soft, wet dough that's borderline batter. For muffins, add about the same volume of sugar as you did oil (if you're going the sweet route), and some salt. If you're going the savoury route, some grated cheese will make these even yummier. Spoon rounds onto a greased baking tray or into greased muffin tins, and bake at 200C until they spring back when prodded. Extra genius tip: Add a touch of lemon juice or vinegar to the soup before mixing to help them rise if your soup has no acidic element to it.BEST FOR: Pureed veggie soups

Swap out tomato paste and eat pizza with pride

Who said pureed tomatoes had to have all the fun? Spread the love by spreading out your soup and then top with whatever else needs using in the fridge. Complete with a sprinkling of cheese.BEST FOR: Pureed veggie soups, or thick n chunky soups

Dress up your veg for success

Add a hit of citrus or your vinegar of choice, olive oil, plus a little extra salt if needed, and you have yourself a mighty fine dressing.BEST FOR: Pureed veggie soups

If you have a food processor or stick blender, you can also:

Go from near quitter to blitzed fritter

When you've got leftover soup and leftover bread, make fritters. This works especially well with bread that's dried out - blitz into breadcrumbs, then crack in an egg (roughly one egg to every cup of breadcrumbs). If you've got any other sad looking leafy veg or herbs, now's the time to add 'em and blitz 'em too. Once you've done this, add soup by the tablespoon until you get a cake batter-like consistency. Cook in oil until golden brown on both sides on medium heat in a frypan. Again, grated cheese is your friend.BEST FOR: Pureed veggie soups or thick and chunky soups

Put the hum in hummus

Want to take it up a notch? Blend a can of chickpeas, add tahini (or another nut butter), lemon juice (or vinegar), and any other spices that would work with your soup (we love cumin, paprika, coriander etc.). A little olive oil will also make it that much creamier and richer.BEST FOR: Vegetable soups (without pasta)

For a soupload

Enlighten your risotto (or ris-oat-o) with your soup

Simply swap out your stock with water and soup, and you've automatically added veges with no extra chopping required. Or make a savoury oat risotto.BEST FOR: Almost any soup, except soups with dumplings/pasta/noodles in.

Give pasta the saucy treatment

Use your soup as a pasta sauce. Add other veg, cooked pasta, and add crushed nuts on top for a little crunch and texture. Or replace the nuts with cheese and turn it into a pasta bake.BEST FOR: Almost any soup, except soups with dumplings/pasta/noodles already in.

Soup to curry in a hurry

In a saucepan, get some spices or spice paste sizzling in butter or ghee (coconut oil is also great). Add red lentils and twice their volume in water (plus potatoes if using), and simmer for about 15 minutes until soft and disintegrated. Add any other chunky, sturdy veg in the last 10 or 5 minutes (depending on their size). Then add your soup (plus tender leafy veg like spinach) and bring up to a simmer. Ding. Dinner done.BEST FOR: Pretty much any soup.

Turn soup into nachos

Holy nachomole, soup can do that? Oh yes it can. Soften some onions and cumin (or your fave spices) in some oil or butter in a frying pan. To distract yourself from drooling, dice up some other veg to put in your nacho mix, and chuck'em in the pan. Once they're all nice and soft, add the soup and bring to a simmer. While it's heating up, drain a can of beans (red kidney or black beans are the best), and smush up the beans a little with a fork, then add these to the pan. Top with grated cheese, sour cream, and/or avo. For extra deliciousness you can chuck the pan under the grill after you've topped with cheese.BEST FOR: Almost any soup, except soups with dumplings/pasta/noodles already in.

Pro tip: keep your initial base soup plain and you'll have better flexibility to reinvent throughout the week.Check out more ideas for upcycling your leftovers!Image credits: Pixabay, Little Blue Hen, Zo Zhou, Nikki To, Stone Soup, Living a life in Colour, Kevin Phillips, High Carb Hannah.