Vegetable Soup

At a glance

What stands out: Bursting with nutritious vegetables, hearty vegetable soup made from scratch is a hundred times better than vegetable soup from a can. Pretty much any vegetable can be used in this soup; use your favorites or whatever is in your fridge.

How long it takes: 20 minutes to prep, 50 minutes to simmer
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, cutting board, large pan
Servings: 10

Best Vegetable Soup

If the only vegetable soup you’ve tried has come out of can, just erase that recollection from your mind. No comparison can be made between canned soup and from-scratch vegetable soup! From-scratch soup is light years better and way more lighter.

Our grandma frequently made vegetable soup from scratch. She added a lot of beef to it (cubed chuck roast, we think) and veggies from her backyard garden, and cooked it all afternoon. It was thick, almost like a stew, especially since she threw in a bunch of rice, too.

Sorry, grandma, this is not your vegetable soup! She’d probably say, Where’s the beef?! We're sure she would love it, though. Even if she didn’t, she would say she did, because hey, she’s our grandma and she likes everything we make!

Hearty from-scratch Vegetable Soup

FULL of vegetables. There are seven different vegetables in this vegetable soup, plus fresh herbs. If you’re like us and looking to increase your vegetable intake every day, this flavorful vegetarian soup is the way to do it. There’s a medley of veggies in every spoonful: onion, celery, carrots, turnips, tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, and fresh parsley.

Fits into lots of specialized diets. It’s reliable for vegetarians, vegans, those of you who are looking for gluten-free and dairy-free recipes, or if you’re on a Whole30, paleo, or low-carb diet. It’s low in calories, just 77 calories for a one cup serving.

Isn’t fussy with time. The beauty of from-scratch vegetable soup is that you can have it on the table in about an hour, or if you prefer, you can let it simmer all afternoon. It’s up to you and depends on how your day is going.

Straightforward clean-up. Soup is a one pan meal so you won’t have a lot of dishes to wash. That’s a happy thought, isn’t it?

How it comes together

Sauté the vegetables. You’ll need a soup pan, Dutch oven, or large sauce pan. Begin by sautéing onions, carrots, celery, and turnips in a little olive oil.

Add liquids and simmer. Add vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, and fresh thyme, and let the soup simmer until the vegetables are nearly tender.

Stir in beans and cabbage. Add fresh green beans and shredded cabbage, and simmer for a little while longer. If you like them tender, you could add the green beans and cabbage when you add the broth. We like to add them a little later so they retain some crispness. It’s up to you.

Serve. Right before you serve the soup, throw in a handful of chopped parsley. Garnish the vegetable soup with curls of Parmesan cheese or from-scratch croutons.

Serving Ideas

Scoop out a steaming bowlful of hearty vegetable soup and enjoy it with a cornbread muffin, from-scratch bread, or crackers (maybe from-scratch Cheez-its!). We like to float a few lacy Parmesan crisps on top of the soup. The crisps look a little bit fancy and taste so wonderful! Our family loves a slice of lighter pumpkin bread (made with whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt) spread with vanilla bean whipped cream cheese.

Straightforward Recipe Variations

There are probably a hundred ways you could make this soup your own!

• Use whatever veggies you like or happen to have in the fridge or garden. Pretty much everything can go into vegetable soup, including greens. Bell peppers, corn, peas, potatoes, or sweet potatoes are all great choices.
• Add meat. Like our grandma, you can add beef (cubed chuck roast or ground beef), or chicken, or sausage, or bacon, or bison, or venison, or, we're sure you get the idea. Brown the meat in the pan before adding veggies. You may want to try hamburger soup, slow cooker chicken kale soup, or cabbage roll soup. They are straightforward recipes that include meat and plenty of vegetables, too.
• Add beans. Boost the protein with canned beans like cannellini, kidney, pinto, or whatever you have.
• Add grains or pasta. Throw in rice or barley for a thicker soup. Try alphabet pasta or another small pasta like ditalini.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Head start idea. Chop up the vegetables a day ahead and put them in the fridge overnight, ready to make into soup later.

Keep it warm in a crockpot. Keep in mind that the soup can simmer as long as you need it to. The vegetables will get a bit softer but other than that, it will be evenly fine. In fact, some folks prefer it that way.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate/freeze: This recipe makes ten cups of soup but don’t worry if that seems like a lot. Vegetable soup is just as good leftover and is reliable for lunch. Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it up to 3 months. Reheat on the stove top or microwave.

Free Meal Plans

Interested in weekly meal plans that include this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #15 or Meal Plan #66. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week!

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 10
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 50 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion ( 1 medium onion)
• 1 cup chopped carrots ( 2 medium carrots)
• 1 cup chopped celery ( 2 stalks)
• 3 cups cubed peeled turnips ( ¾ lb. or 2 medium sized turnips)
• 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup water
• 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, more to taste
• 2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 ounces)
• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• grated Parmesan cheese, optional (for topping)
• homemade croutons (for topping)

Method

1. Heat oil in large saucepan or stockpot over medium high heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and turnips and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, water, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover partially, and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Increase heat to high, and add green beans and cabbage. Return to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 minutes. If you're not ready to serve the soup, keep it on low heat until ready to serve.
4. To serve, taste the soup and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Stir in parsley. To garnish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese or homemade croutons.

Notes

If you prefer softer vegetables: Add the green beans and cabbage with the broth. Simmer 30 minutes or more, or until vegetables are desired consistency.

Variations: Add meat (bacon, sausage, ground beef, etc.); add or substitute other vegetables; add a can of beans such as cannellini, kidney, pinto; add ½ cup of uncooked rice or barley when you add the broth.

Storage: Vegetable soup is just as good leftover and is reliable for lunch. Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it up to 3 months. Reheat on the stove top or microwave.