Twelve Tasty Vegetable Soup Recipes

Homemade vegetable soup is hard to beat.  It’s a great easy delicious way to get more vegetables into your diet.  I love to make a big pot of vegetable soup on Saturday or Sunday to enjoy during the week.

There are many great vegetable soup recipes from delicate to hearty.   Vegetable soup is extremely forgiving and adaptable so you can use whatever vegetables you have available.  If you have never made homemade vegetable soup it is helpful to follow the recipe exactly as written the first time you make it.  Then once you are comfortable with the recipe and basic process experiment away.  Cabbage, swiss chard, mushrooms, parsnips, turnips, leeks, fennel, and corn are delicious in vegetable soup.

Vegetable soup is a great make ahead dish too.  You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days so there is always something delicious and nutritious waiting for you when hunger strikes.

Here are two of my favorite vegetable soup recipes along with a collection of great vegetable soup recipes from around the Web.

Simple Vegetable Soup Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled, quartered, and sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Salt
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 cup string beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup firmly packed fresh spinach leaves, washed and cut into strips
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot placed over medium-low heat.  Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt; stir to combine.  Cover and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.

Add the broth, potatoes, and tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the zucchini and green beans and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the spinach and cook 1 minute more and then turn off the heat and stir in the peas.  Let the soup sit off the heat for 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Minestrone Soup Variation: Omit the potatoes.  Stir in one can (16 to 19 ounces) of white beans, rinsed, with the zucchini and green beans.  Serve garnished with grated parmesan and/or pesto.

Lentil Vegetable Soup Variation: Omit potatoes. Stir in 1 cup rinsed lentils with broth and tomatoes.

Makes 6 to 8 servings of vegetable soup

Emergency Vegetable Soup Recipe

This is a great soup when you need a super easy lunch or dinner.  It is quick, delicious, and satisfying served with warm bread and a simple salad.  Emergency vegetable soup is almost as easy as opening a can, but so much healthier and tastier.  The smaller you chop the vegetables, the quicker they will cook.

4 cups chicken broth
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 cup small shell pasta
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Bring the broth to boil in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat.  Add the carrot, celery, and onion and boil gently for 10 minutes.  Add the pasta and simmer until tender, 5 to 10 minutes more.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle with parmesan when served.

Variation: Add 1 zucchini, grated with the vegetables

Makes 6 to 8 servings of Emergency Vegetable Soup

Sources:
The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition

Lost Recipes: Meals to Share with Friends and Family

More Great Vegetable Soups from around the Web…

• Easy Hamburger Macaroni Vegetable Soup Recipe – a quick and easy soup using frozen mixed vegetables that has been one of my go-to recipes for several years
• Garden Vegetable Soup Recipe – from Alton Brown
• Italian Chicken and Vegetable Soup – from Paula Deen
• Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup – a hearty, delicious cold weather soup from Simply Recipes
• Martha Stewart’s Big Batch Vegetable Soup from Everyday Food
• Provencal Vegetable Soup from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa
• Quick and Easy Vegetable Soup that uses tomato soup and cooks in 30 minutes from Allrecipes
• The Lady and Sons Beef Vegetable Soup – a hearty vegetable beef soup from Paula Deen
• Tuscan Vegetable Soup – a quick and easy Italian soup from the Food Network’s Healthy Cooking Expert, Ellie Krieger
• Vegan Vegetable Soup Recipes – several great vegan vegetable soups from my favorite vegan cooking instructor, Sassy the The Vegan Coach