Eat less, feel more: Fasting soups are the perfect companion for anyone who wants to give their body a break. They warm, relieve stress, and re-energize – all without any frills. In this article, we'll show you how versatile fasting soups can be: from classic recipes to Buchinger variations to Hildegard's herbal cuisine . 🌿
🥣 Fasting soup – a soothing companion through Lent
Fasting doesn't simply mean abstaining from food. It's more of a short break for body and soul – a moment to pause, a moment to rest. Especially during such periods, something warming and light is especially beneficial. This is where fasting soup comes in.
A good Lenten soup is like a hug from within. It's light yet nourishing, warming the belly and giving the body everything it needs during this time – without overtaxing it. Instead of heavy food, there are clear vegetable broths, gently cooked roots, and perhaps a fewherbs that offer their own healing properties.
Whether you're fasting for several days, want to consciously de-stress, or simply want to give your body a break – fasting soups are uncomplicated, versatile, and easy to incorporate into your daily routine. And you can even prepare them or buy them ready-made if you're in a hurry.
In this article, we'll take you into the world of Lenten soups: We'll show you simple recipes, introduce you to the classic Buchinger soup, and take a look at the soothing ideas of Hildegard von Bingen. Perhaps you'll find the perfect soup to accompany you through your next Lenten period ✨.
What exactly is a fasting soup?
When people think of fasting, many initially think of strict abstinence—empty plates and rumbling stomachs. But fasting can be quite different: gentle, soothing, and even enjoyable. A fasting soup offers a wonderful middle ground. It's easy to digest, provides warmth, and provides the body with exactly what it needs during this time—not too much, but also not too little.
In its simplest form, a fasting soup consists of fresh vegetables, water, and a little time. Carrots, celery, leeks, fennel, or parsnips often form the base. These ingredients are cooked slowly so their flavors and nutrients can fully develop. Cream, butter, animal broths, and ready-made powders are consistently avoided—after all, the point of fasting is to relieve the body's stress and minimize irritation.
What makes Lenten soup so special is its versatility: It can be completely clear, like a broth, or slightly thicker if the cooked vegetables are pureed. Spices like turmeric, ginger, or cumin can add subtle flavors, as can fresh herbs like parsley or lovage. The important thing is that the soup remains digestible and doesn't weigh down the stomach.
Many who fast regularly describe Lenten soup as a small daily ritual. A moment in which you can relax, eat mindfully, and experience how comforting simplicity can be. Especially during the cold season, a warm soup comforts not only the body but also the soul 🕯️.
Whether as preparation for fasting, as a gentle introduction, or as dinner during a week of detox – fasting soups are uncomplicated, soothing, and can be wonderfully adapted to one's own taste. And sometimes it's precisely this simplicity that touches us most deeply.
Cook your own fasting soup – simple and nourishing
The beauty of a Lenten soup? It requires very little – and gives so much in return. You don't need any fancy ingredients or complicated preparation steps. Quite the opposite: the simpler, the better. A homemade Lenten soup is not only fresher and more individual than a ready-made product, it also allows you to consciously immerse yourself in the cooking process.
Here are a few basic ingredients you can use to prepare a classic fasting soup:
🥕 Typical ingredients for a fasting soup:
- Root vegetables: carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley root – they give the soup depth and sweetness
- Alliums: Leek, onion or a small clove of garlic for more flavor
- Herbs : fresh parsley, lovage or a little thyme – feel free to add at the end
- Spices : Turmeric, caraway, bay leaf or ginger – anything that is light and good for the stomach
- Water or clear vegetable broth: the base on which everything is built (homemade is ideal)
🔥 Here's how it works – in just a few steps:
- Wash vegetables thoroughly and chop roughly (peeling is usually not necessary – many nutrients are found under the skin)
- Put everything in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil slowly
- Add spices and herbs, then simmer gently for about 30–45 minutes
- Strain to taste (for a clear broth) or puree (for a little more saturation)
- After cooking, garnish with some fresh parsley or a squeeze of lemon juice 🍋
Depending on whether you are eating a purely liquid diet or want something to chew on in between meals, you can strain the soup completely or eat the cooked vegetables in small portions.
Tip: Prepare a larger pot right away—this way you'll have enough for one or two days and can sit back and relax. This is also part of fasting: less effort, more mindfulness.
Hildegard's Lenten Soup – Fasting according to ancient monastic tradition
When it comes to holistic health and natural nutrition, it's hard to ignore Hildegard von Bingen. The 12th-century Benedictine nun was an impressive woman: a mystic, healer, and herbalist—and one of the first to view body, mind, and soul as an inseparable unity.
Hildegard also had a very special approach to fasting. For her, abstinence was not a compulsion, but a path to inner purification and spiritual clarity. Her Lenten soups reflect precisely this attitude: simple ingredients, carefully selected – with an eye for their effect, not just taste.
Typical of Hildegard's cuisine is the use of spelt as a central grain. It can be added to her Lenten soups as finely ground or flakes to gently fill and warm the stomach. Selected vegetables such as fennel, carrots, or celery are also used—all ingredients that Hildegard considers "useful and healing."
Her herbal recommendations are particularly distinctive. Galangal, for example, a spicy root spice said to strengthen the circulation. Or melissa, which she valued as a "universal remedy." These spices not only add flavor to the soup, but also a special energetic quality, if you follow her philosophy 🌿.
A Hildegard Lenten soup often tastes a bit more bitter, more authentic—it demands a little more attention, but that's precisely what makes it so special. It's not a dish to be eaten casually, but rather a small, quiet companion on the journey inward.
If you are interested in a fasting cure according to Hildegard or are simply curious about her herbal teachings, her fasting soup can be a wonderful introduction – simple, natural and deeply rooted in a centuries-old tradition.
Fasting soup in everyday life – buy ready-made or make it yourself?
Not everyone has the time or inclination to cook a fresh soup every day—especially if their daily routine is busy or they're fasting during a work week. Fortunately, there are now ready-made fasting soups that can serve as a practical alternative. But how good are they really?
The answer: It depends. Ready-made soups can certainly be a good option – especially if the list of ingredients is short and understandable. Look for organic quality, no additives, and as little salt as possible. You can tell good products by the fact that they taste almost like homemade – just in a bottle or jar.
A few well-known brands that offer Lenten soups include dm , Rossmann , and smaller manufacturers like Little Lunch . Clear vegetable broths or spelt-based soups are particularly popular—sometimes even inspired by Hildegard von Bingen.
If you want to play it safe, it's still worth cooking it yourself. It's cheaper, you know exactly what's in it—and maybe making soup will even become a little fasting ritual.
Here is a brief comparison of the two variants:
🫕 Cook yourself
- fresh, individual, cost-effective
- you determine the taste and ingredients
- requires some time and planning
🥣 Buy ready-made
- ideal for on the go or stressful days
- ready for immediate use
- Quality varies – it’s worth taking a closer look
Whether you choose homemade or ready-made, it's your path, your Lenten season. What matters is that you feel good—and that the soup is good for you. Sometimes it's okay to keep it simple. And sometimes that's exactly what makes it so much more beneficial.
Conclusion: Less is more – how fasting soup strengthens body and mind
Lenten soup is much more than a simple meal. It's a symbol of clarity, reduction, and mindfulness—a small anchor in times when we often want too much, live too fast, and pause too rarely.
Whether as an introduction to a fasting cure, as a conscious break in between, or as a daily ritual during a phase of rethinking – a clear, lovingly prepared soup can remind us that it often doesn't take much to feel good.
Sometimes a spoonful of warmth, a moment of peace, a plate full of simplicity is enough.
Fasting soups combine ancient wisdom with modern needs. They give the body space to regulate itself – and help the mind find peace. Whether you choose a classic Buchinger recipe, try Hildegard's herbal cuisine, or create your own soup entirely freely: It's not about perfection. It's about feeling, about reducing, about getting back to the essentials 🌿.
Maybe your next soup will be the first step towards more lightness – in your body and in your life.