You made the most delicious soup, but it looks a bit boring. I got you with this 8 Ways to Decorate your Cream Soups to Impress. Maybe you want to impress your guests or to convince your children to eat soups or you simply want it to enjoy the soup for yourself on a rainy afternoon. You’ll find this tips useful.
Treat your cream soup like your smoothie bowl. You wouldn’t let your smoothie bowl without toppings, right? So it’s time to add something on top of your soup.
There is obviously no right or wrong way. Your creativity has no limits. But I am here to show you 8 ways to decorate your cream soups to impress.
What ingredients you should use
You can use any ingredient you like, but I’ll give you a list of aesthetic ingredients you can use as toppings:
- vegan cooking cream
- seeds and nuts ( flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts and many others)
- fresh basil
- infused cold pressed oils
- microgreens
- greens
- jalapenos
- radishes
- freshly ground pepper
- chili flakes
- red cabbage
- pickled onion
1. Create a circle
I think this type of styling it’s the most common. And this works for any cream soup. You focus to add all the toppings in a circle. The center and the borders remains undecorated. It doesn’t have to be perfect at all and this will make your bowl unique and interesting. Pour the cooking cream circular and then add seeds and fresh herbs in the circle, you’ve created. This will totally transform your boring soup bowl into an eye catching meal.
Recipe: Stovetop Tomato Soup
2. Everything on the side
Treat your cream soup like your smoothie bowl. How do you place your toppings on your smoothie bowl, if you want to leave some space to see the color of your smoothie? On the side.
Consider adding some radishes on top. It will create a beautiful bowl.
3. Get creative with cooking cream
You can literally draw anything with cooking cream. I use a rice based vegan cooking cream. It has to be a bit runny, but most of the brands in the supermarkets are like this. Depending on how talented you are, you can really create a piece of art in your bowl. From drawing a smiley face or a heart to tree or landscape, the possibilities are endless. This way, you will easily convince your kids to eat your veggie cream soup.
You can play with oil as well. Make sure it’s a cold pressed infused oil. They will enrich the soup flavor and they have a lot of good fats. There are so many options of this kinds of oils, I personally prefer an infused basil olive oil.
Recipe: Roasted Tomato Soup
4. Create a straight line
This is a simple and elegant way to decorate your cream soup. You have to place the topping in a straight line on the soup. The line doesn’t necessary have to be in the middle. Consider adding ingredients that create contrast with the soup color. Also add a lot of seeds and even spices.
5. Focus on the middle
Okay you are having a soup, but what do you think about a mini salad on top? This is probably the simplest and easiest way of styling, but it can become very complex depending on the toppings you are using. You’ll have to think about what combination works best with your soup flavor. Focus on the colors too. Some fresh greens and some nuts or seeds will go well with anything. But also consider salads like glazed carrots or pickled onion.
Recipe: Roasted Pepper Cream Soup
6. Messy throw everything
I can’t explain the science behind this, but sometimes messy throwing your ingredients on the soup will make it look 100 times better than carefully placing everything. So you have to basically don’t overthink it that much and just do it. The result is incredible.
7. Go crazy with seeds and nuts
Sometimes you may run out of some fresh veggies or herbs, but you’ll always have different kind of seeds or nuts. If you don’t them, it’s time to go out shopping and fill your pantry. Choose from flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts and many others. Add as many as you can in your bowl. Not only they will make your bowl look good, but they are also high in minerals and a good source of omega-3 for vegans.
Recipe: Pea Creamy Soup
8. Keep it simple
Cream soups are often bright colored and why not use this as an advantage. Sometimes less is more. Stick to just one ingredient for your decoration. You don’t always need a lot to make your bowl look pretty. I would recommend you to choose the vegan cooking cream as your only ingredient. It will create a nice contrast and also will put the soup color in a spotlight. To recreate this look, simply pour the cooking cream in a spiral and then mix the soup gently using a spoon. Your only ingredient doesn’t necessary have to be cooking cream. It can be any ingredient that creates a strong impact and a contrast. Like some red cabbage on a green soup or some greens on an orange soup.