The best part? You can adapt the recipe and add pasta, beans, or toppings like pesto and parmesan. Vegetable soup is rustic comfort food ready in about 30 minutes in one pot. It is excellent for weeknight dinners and meal prep alike. A medley of seasonal vegetables simmers in a broth enriched with herbs, beans, and, optionally, a small pasta like orzo or risoni. Like in our kale soup and Tuscan soup we add white beans to make the dish more filling and nutritious. If you prefer lentils, check out our lentil vegetable soup. What’s essential when making a tasty vegetable soup is starting with a flavor base of onion, celery, carrots, and herbs sautéed in extra virgin olive oil. Then, add your favorite veggies, canned tomatoes, and vegetable broth, and simmer until tender. You’ll love this vegetable soup recipe because it’s so easy to make, infinitely tasty, deeply satisfying, and perfect for meal prep as it keeps in the fridge for several days. You can top it with shaved parmesan, basil pesto, and a grating of lemon zest. Take this recipe as a guideline, and substitute your favorite fresh or frozen vegetables. FLAVOR BASE
Extra virgin olive oil: substitute any other vegetable oil. Onion: substitute shallots or leek. Carrot: can’t substitute carrots. Celery: you can omit celery. Garlic: best if fresh garlic. Bay leaves: substitute an Italian herb mix. Rosemary: substitute thyme.
VEGGIES
Cauliflower florets (fresh or frozen): substitute broccoli, cabbage, or kale. Green beans (fresh or frozen): substitute peas, snap peas, edamame beans, or frozen corn. Potatoes (fresh or frozen): substitute sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, or kabocha squash. Crushed tomatoes (canned): substitute diced tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato puree, or halved cherry tomatoes. White beans: You can use canned or dried white beans you previously soaked and cooked. Here’s our guide on how to cook white beans. You can use cannellini, great Northern, lima, and navy beans. Substitute pinto beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas for white beans. Vegetable broth: we use reduced-sodium vegetable broth.
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
Parmesan rind: You can add parmesan rind to the soup to infuse the broth with more flavor. Avoid this if vegan. Orzo pasta: Orzo, risoni, and ditalini are excellent in soups (see pasta and fagioli or chickpea pasta). Feel free to add some to make the meal more complete and fulfilling. You can even add tortellini. Fresh basil: Excellent as a topping. Basil pesto: Another excellent topping. Vegan pesto works well, too.
Add grated garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and sauté one more minute. Now, add vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, cauliflower florets, diced potatoes, drained and rinsed white beans, salt, and black pepper. Season with salt and pepper, stir, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil on high heat. Then crack the top open and simmer for 15 minutes on medium-low heat. Add the green beans and the orzo/risoni pasta and cook for 8 to 10 more minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Add more broth or water if necessary. The pasta will soak up some liquid. Tip: If you want to add leafy greens, do so 5 minutes before the soup is ready so that they have time to wilt without overcooking.
Serving suggestions
Taste and adjust for salt before serving it in a bowl with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil leaves, and a slice of crusty bread rubbed with garlic. Basil pesto and grated or shaved parmesan are optional. You can also add some grated lemon zest or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Or serve it with focaccia, croutons, crostini, or bruschetta. Refrigerator: Let the veggie soup cool to room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freezer: Let the soup cool completely, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw: defrost the veggie soup in the refrigerator over several hours or in the microwave. Reheat: reheat in the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes or in a pot on the stovetop with additional water. Reheat the portions you will eat only; try not to reheat them multiple times. CREAMY SOUPS: butternut squash soup, potato leek soup, broccoli soup, asparagus soup, cauliflower soup, Turkish lentil soup, carrot ginger soup, kabocha squash soup. For more soup ideas, check out our compilation with 30+ healthy soup recipes.
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