Vegetable Soup

This is the best vegetable soup! It’s loaded with fresh veggies and seasoned with plenty of spices and herbs for amazing flavor. Plus, it’s dairy-free and vegan.

Do you feel like it’s harder to get vegetables in during the winter?

If you’re like me, you crave smoothies and salads in the summer, but as soon as the weather turns, you just want warm, comforting food. Sound familiar?

The good news is, you can still pack in a ton of vegetables and nutrients in comfort food! This vegetable soup is a perfect example of that.

For this vegetable soup recipe, we’re using eight different fresh vegetables plus canned tomatoes and a variety of seasonings. It’s the perfect “clean out the fridge” soup that uses up veggies you might already have in your kitchen.

Plus, it makes about six to eight servings which means you can make one pot of this soup and eat veggie-packed meals for a couple of days. And, I have to tell you… the soup tastes even better on day two!

Ingredients Needed

• vegetables – onion, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, potatoes, zucchini, green beans and frozen corn.
• canned diced tomatoes – adds more liquid and flavor to the soup. I like to use plain diced tomatoes or fire-roasted tomatoes for more flavor!
• vegetable broth – this is the base of the soup along with the juices from the diced tomatoes. I like to use low-sodium broth so I can add salt as needed.
• olive oil or avocado oil – to sauté the vegetables.
• lemon juice – a touch of acidity to balance out the flavors. I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor.
• seasonings and spices – bay leaves, curry powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt and pepper.
• fresh thyme and parsley – optional, but I love adding fresh herbs to my dishes when serving!

Substitutions and Variations

The options are truly endless with this soup!

• Vegetables – Don’t love one of the veggies I’ve included or have another veggie in your fridge that needs to be used up? Toss that in! The addition of peas, cauliflower or bell pepper would be tasty.
• Potatoes – I used red skinned potatoes, but any potatoes will do! You can even swap in sweet potatoes or butternut squash for white potatoes if you want.
• Greens – Give the soup a boost of nutrients by adding in a handful of chopped greens (like kale or spinach) with 5 minutes of cook time left.
• Protein – Add a 15-ounce can of chickpeas or white beans to the soup. Simply drain and rinse the beans and add them to the soup when you add the broth.
• Cheese – This soup is delicious served with freshly grated parmesan on top if you’re okay with dairy.
• Spice – I like to add a little crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to give the soup a little kick!
• Broth – Feel free to use a mix of water and vegetable broth if you prefer. If you don’t need this soup to be vegan you can also use chicken broth or bone broth.

How to Make Vegetable Soup

Sauté vegetables – Start by heating a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat on the stovetop. Add olive oil or avocado oil and once warm, add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and fragrant.

Add seasoning – Uncover the pot and stir in the curry powder, bay leaves and Italian seasoning. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add in the tomatoes, broth, potatoes, zucchini, green beans and corn.

Simmer – Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Final touches – Remove from the heat, remove the bay leaves and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

How to Serve Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soup can totally be a light meal on its own, but I love serving it with a salad and some crusty bread (like sourdough) or crackers. Here are some ideas:

• Serve with a slice of crusty bread like homemade sourdough, or try vegan cornbread or pumpkin cornbread muffins.
• Some salads that would go well with this soup: Fuji apple salad or this delicious pear salad.
• For the crackers, you can make my almond flour crackers or use your favorite store-bought cracker. I’ve been hooked on Simple Mills crackers because they have minimal, clean ingredients and taste delicious!

How to Store Vegetable Soup

In general, soup is amazing for meal prep because of how well it stores! I love making one big batch and eating leftovers throughout the week. It tastes even better after sitting in the fridge for a day or two!

For storage, let the soup cool before placing in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week or store in the freezer for up to one month. I recommend reheating on the stovetop rather than the microwave so you get an even heat without microwave splatters and hot/cold spots!

More Veggie Soup Recipes to Try

• Tomato Basil Soup
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Garlic Lentil Soup
• Carrot Parsnip Soup
• Cabbage Lentil Soup
• Sweet Potato Soup
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Easy Black Bean Soup
• Quinoa Vegetable Soup
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Cabbage Soup
• Vegan Split Pea Soup

Be sure to check out my full collection of soup recipes here on EBF!

Vegetable Soup

4 from 148 votes

This is the best vegetable soup! It’s loaded with fresh veggies and seasoned with plenty of spices and herbs for amazing flavor. Plus, it’s dairy-free and vegetarian.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive or avocado oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped into ½-inch chunks
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 2 small red potatoes or Yukon Gold, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½-inch chunks
• 12 oz fresh green beans, chopped
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½-1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Fresh thyme and parsley, chopped, for topping
• Bread or crackers, for serving

Instructions

 

• Heat a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat on the stovetop. Add oil. Once warm, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
  
• Uncover and stir in curry powder, Italian seasoning and lay leaves. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add in tomatoes, broth, potatoes, zucchini, green beans and corn. No need to defrost the corn, just throw it in frozen.
  
• Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat.
  
• Remove bay leaves and stir in lemon juice. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed
  
• Serve warm with fresh thyme and parsley for topping. Serve with crusty bread and crackers.
  

Video

Equipment

• Dutch oven

Notes

• Optional add-ins or toppings: grated Parmesan, chopped kale or spinach (see note above), 15 oz can of chickpeas or white beans, crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of recipe Calories: 205kcal Carbohydrates: 34g Protein: 6g Fat: 6g Saturated Fat: 1g Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g Sodium: 899mg Fiber: 6g Sugar: 12g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: vegetable soup

Web Story: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/web-stories/vegetable-soup-2/

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