Hairstyle visionary turned kitchen curator, Chaz Dean is stepping away from salons and wellness walls this season to serve up vegan fall vibes in soup form. Celebrated for launching his landmark hair-and-body brand Wen in 1993 and building it into a coast-to-coast phenomenon via his flagship salons in Los Angeles, New York, and on QVC, Dean has spent decades championing holistic beauty and clean ingredients.
Dean is just as passionate about what goes into his recipes as what goes into his products. “I definitely connect the two as I’m vegan,” he told Athleisure Mag, noting that his shift away from animal products was rooted in his love for animals and the planet. That ethic is baked into Wen’s evolution. “Wen has always been cruelty-free, no animal byproducts, no animal testing since I launched my products,” Dean said.
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From his Los Angeles compound, where he tends a garden bursting with herbs, citrus, and seasonal produce, Dean has become a lifestyle tastemaker. Now, the hair guru is sharing that plant-first point of view with cozy, vegan Thanksgiving dishes, including two pumpkin soup recipes ready for a starring role on your holiday table. Consider it a hair guru-approved starting point for a cozy plant-based holiday spread, one that begins with vegan soup and easily invites seconds.
One is his Apple Pumpkin Harvest Soup, crafted in three pots and blended into a velvety autumn harvest; the other is his Roasted Potato Pumpkin Soup, made from roasted pumpkins, squash, potatoes, and warm aromatics, slow-cooked and blended into a richly flavored soup. These two dishes, rooted in fresh garden ingredients and seasonal scents, offer a vegan inspiration for the holiday meal from a creator who has long viewed beauty as skin-deep to plant-deep. Enjoy the full recipes below.
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Apple Pumpkin Harvest Soup
A velvety autumn soup layered with savory vegetables, fragrant squash, and warmly spiced apples and pears, this makes for the perfect Thanksgiving starter.
Serves 10 to 12
What you need:
For the savory vegetable base:
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 to 16 carrots, chopped
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
6 to 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 bunch chives, chopped
1 small bunch green onions, finely chopped
8 to 10 medium Red Rosa potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 cups water
For the pumpkin-squash base:
3 to 4 medium pumpkins, peeled, cleaned, and chopped into 2-inch chunks
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2-inch chunks
2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 cups water
Zest of 3 to 4 Valencia oranges
Juice of 6 Valencia oranges
For the apple-pear base:
6 to 8 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
6 to 8 pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
2 cups water
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
What you do:
1. For the pumpkin-squash base, in a large pot, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots and sauté 15 minutes.
2. Add onions, garlic, and ginger, and cook until softened. Stir in chives and green onions.
3. Reduce heat to very low and simmer 25 to 30 minutes. Add potatoes and water and simmer 30 to 45 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
4. For the pumpkin-squash base, in a second large pot, add all ingredients. Simmer on medium heat 45 to 60 minutes, until squash is soft and fragrant.
5. For the apple-pear base, in a third large pot, combine all ingredients. Simmer on low heat 30 to 45 minutes, until fruit is very soft.
6. Working in batches, transfer equal parts from each pot to a blender. Keep blender lid vented and blend on low or pulse 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth.
7. Pour blended batches into a large pot, stir, and adjust thickness with water as needed.
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Roasted Potato Pumpkin Soup
Garlic, ginger, figs, and red peppers join caramelized vegetables in this well-rounded, hearty soup.
Serves 8 to 12
What you need:
For roasting:
3 to 4 medium pumpkins, peeled, cleaned, and chopped into 2- to 3-inch pieces
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cleaned, and chopped into 2- to 3-inch pieces
8 to 10 Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned and cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces
2 yellow onions, chopped
10 to 12 carrots, chopped
2 celery bunches, chopped
6 fresh figs, halved
6 to 8 garlic cloves, halved
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
4 red peppers, quartered
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Himalayan pink salt, to taste
Mixed peppercorns (white, green, red, black), to taste
Crushed red pepper, to taste
For the stovetop base:
6 cups vegetable broth
1 small bunch green onions, chopped
1 small bunch chives, chopped
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
⅛ teaspoon cumin seeds
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
⅛ teaspoon mixed peppercorns
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Optional garnishes:
Fresh cilantro
Fresh parsley
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Shaved or grated Parmesan cheese
A drizzle of cream or olive oil
What you do:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread pumpkins, squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, figs, garlic, ginger, and red peppers onto a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, mixed peppercorns, and crushed red pepper.
2. Roast 60 to 90 minutes, until vegetables are deeply softened and caramelized.
3. Transfer roasted vegetables to a large soup pot. Add broth, green onions, chives, parsley, cumin seeds, nutmeg, salt, peppercorns, and crushed red pepper.
4. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to very low heat and simmer 1 hour to meld flavors.
5. Working in batches, add roasted vegetables to a blender with a small amount of cooking liquid to control thickness. Keep blender lid vented and blend on low or pulse 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth and creamy.
6. Return blended soup to pot and adjust consistency as desired.
For more plant-based stories like this, read:
Dining and Cooking