Easy Vegan Caldo Verde Recipe

Inspired by my grandma’s recipe, this easy vegan caldo verde – green soup in Portuguese – is a deeply comforting and nourishing soup ready in 45 minutes, made from curly kale and waxy Yukon gold potatoes.

If you’re looking for a budget friendly, simple and nourishing meal, this humble Portuguese green soup recipe is IT. You only need a few basic ingredients to make it, like kale, Yukon gold potatoes and a metric ton of onion and garlic (just kidding…but kind of not!) 

I mean, there is nothing better than soup, AKA the original one pot dinner, to lift your spirits and fill your belly. It doesn’t matter how bad your day was, or how miserable the weather, a good soup will fix you up, at least temporarily. 

I grew up eating caldo verde, or Portuguese green soup, with a piece of crusty bread on the side, so it is something I crave deeply. And yep, I was probably destined to become a dietitian because I’ve been eating leafy greens since childhood! 

I’ve included a veganized Portuguese recipe in each of my cookbooks to honour my grandmother because it was in her kitchen and garden that I fell in love with food…and this recipe is from my newest book, Plant Magic, which is out NOW (this is not a drill! Grab your copy!)

My mother’s family immigrated from Portugal in 1959 and so my childhood menu was a 50:50 mix of traditional Portuguese dishes such as caldo verde and feijao assado (baked kidney beans) and well, Shake ‘n Bake. Many of the traditional meals I grew up eating were essentially plant-based recipes, as the foundation of my grandparents’ diet was always the food they grew in their garden. 

Every family has a different way of making these traditional dishes, but this one is as close as it gets to my grandmother’s original recipe…my mom agrees!! When you’re making soup from simple ingredients, there are a few things you need to know: one, DON’T skimp on the olive oil and salt; two, give everything a little more time to cook so it brings out the best in each ingredient. 

First, let’s talk ingredients

Because you’re essentially making this vegan caldo verde from four vegetables – kale, onion, garlic and potato – and a couple of helpers, each one contributes a lot to the flavour and texture of the soup! 

• Greens: Caldo verde is traditionally made with couve galega, a kale variety that is somewhere between kale and collards…my grandpa used to grow it with seeds he brought with him when he immigrated to Canada! I’ve seen a lot of North American recipes that recommend you use collard greens here but I found that supermarket collard greens are a bit too bitter for this soup. Curly kale works better in my opinion. 
• Yukon Gold potatoes: my grandmother always used waxy yellow potatoes for the soup, which don’t break down as much as Russet potatoes because you still want those nice chunks of potato. However, she used to cook her soup a bit longer, which helped the starches break down a bit more to create that cloudy broth. I cheat a bit here and use an immersion blender to blend just a bit of it so you can have it ready in 45 minutes. She always peeled potatoes but I never do…they have a thin skin, and it’s packed with fibre!
• Olive Oil: I don’t want to say that extra virgin olive oil is non-negotiable, but it has a lot of flavour so A) if you use less, the soup will be less flavourful and B) if you use a different oil, the soup will also be less flavourful. Which is fine…but you might want to bump up this next ingredient below.
• Better than Bouillon: my grandma made her soup from water, not broth, but she often cooked a bit of sausage in the pot first to give it some flavour…since this is a vegan version, I found that adding just a bit of Better than Bouillon chicken flavoured concentrate helped it taste just like hers. If you’re gluten free, you can use gluten free veggie bouillon cubes instead!

How to make this easy vegan caldo verde recipe, step by step

Before we get started, hot tip: make sure you cut everything small enough!

You want the kale, onion and potatoes to fit on your spoon nicely. My grandmother used to gather up the huge bunch of greens in her hand (NOT on a cutting board) and chip them into tiny pieces directly into the pot with a paring knife. I haven’t yet earned my grandma cooking badge, so instead, I slice my kale leaves into 1-2 inch (2.5 – 5 cm) strips and then finely chop those strips.

Step One: saute the onions in olive oil until translucent and glossy, then add the potatoes and garlic and salt liberally. Don’t skimp on the oil (or salt!) here. It’s necessary for body and flavour: you’re making a soup out of 4 vegetables!

Step Two: Add the water, salt, bay leaf and bouillon concentrate. Bring to a boil and then let the potatoes simmer until tender, about 8-12 minutes.

Step Three: remove the bay leaf and then puree about ⅓ – ½ of the broth with an immersion blender. You’re not trying to make a thick stew, so don’t overdo it: puree just enough so the broth looks silky and cloudy but it’s still soup-like.

Step Four: add the kale and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve!

PS…if you want to serve with vegan sausage, just slice and fry it up as the soup cooks. It’s meant to be a garnish, but if you want to up the protein here, go ahead and use a lot.

More delicious vegan soup recipes:

• Vegan Green Cabbage Soup with Potato
• Hearty Mushroom and Barley Soup
• Veggie-packed Navy Bean Soup
• Vegan Carrot, Lentil and Ginger Soup