When I’m looking for a way to get my family to eat their veggies, I make a fresh and vibrant soup such as Olive Garden minestrone, cabbage soup, or this simple yet satisfying vegetable soup.
When I have a lot of odds and ends in the produce drawer, I mix everything together to make this hearty and delicious vegetable soup. Even my kids love this soup, and I love that they’re getting a healthy serving of veggies.
How do you make vegetable soup?
This recipe starts with carrots, onions and celery, which are sauteed in a little olive oil until tender. The next step is to add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, seasonings, vegetable broth and potatoes to the mix. The soup simmers until the potatoes are tender, then frozen carrots and green beans get added in. The final step is to add a sprinkling of fresh parsley, then serve and enjoy.
Tips for the perfect soup
Cut all your vegetables into similarly sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate. I use frozen corn and green beans for convenience sake, but you can use fresh if you prefer. No Russet potatoes on hand? Try Yukon Gold potatoes, red potatoes, or even sweet potatoes. The potatoes do add some carbs to this soup. If you’re looking to minimize your carb intake, you can omit the potatoes, or substitute cauliflower florets instead. This soup is written to be vegan, but if you’re not concerned about that, you can substitute in chicken broth or beef broth for a more complex flavor.
What can I add to vegetable soup?
There are SO many different ingredients you can add to this soup to customize it to your tastes.
Squash: Try adding butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash or kabocha squash. Greens: Stir in a few handfuls of spinach, kale, swiss chard or escarole. Beans: Add a can of rinsed and drained beans such as kidney beans, chickpeas or cannellini beans. Pasta: Stir in 1/2 cup of dry small pasta such as orzo or shells. Add 1 extra cup of broth to the soup. Simmer until pasta is tender. Grains: Mix in 1 cup of cooked grains such as barley, brown rice, farro or quinoa.
Is vegetable soup healthy?
This vegetable soup is very healthy, and is low in calories and fat, yet high in fiber. The soup contains plenty of vitamins and nutrients including potassium, Vitamin C, folate, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, beta carotene and antioxidants.
Slow cooker vegetable soup
This soup can easily be adapted for use in the slow cooker. Saute the carrots, onions and celery in olive oil, then place in the slow cooker along with the garlic, salt, pepper, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, vegetable broth and potatoes. Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the corn and green beans, then cook for 10 more minutes. Top with parsley, then serve.
I make vegetable soup constantly during the cooler weather months. Serve it as is for a light meal, or add a side dish as grilled cheese sandwiches, breadsticks or cornbread. You’re sure to get rave reviews!
More fabulous soup recipes
Chicken Enchilada Soup Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Tortellini Soup Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Vegetable Soup Video
