This vegetable soup recipe is easy and versatile. It's a great way to use up vegetables and feed your family a simple, nourishing meal.

A bowl of vegetable soup with cornbread on the side

Everyone needs a simple vegetable soup recipe. I make this soup when I want to feel cozy, or when I want something that I can warm up and eat all weekend, or when I have a bunch of veggies on the verge of going bad.

Use Your Veggies

This week, there was a big red beet staring back at me every time I opened the refrigerator. With every passing day, the beet was a little less big and little more shriveled until I knew I had to deal with it. So into a soup pot it went.

When you make this simple vegetable soup, start with the vegetables you already have in your kitchen, before buying more. Vegetables that work well include:

rutabaga or turnip
potatoes
carrots
zucchini
corn
cabbage
greens (beet greens, kale, collards, spinach)

Add More

Adding beans, grains or pasta is optional, but a good option if you want the soup to be more filling. The easiest way to add grains and pasta is to cook them separately, then add the cooked grain or pasta to the soup at the very end of the soup's cooking time.

Canned white, garbanzo or pinto beans (or make your own Instant Pot white beans or pinto beans)
Farro
Barley
Pasta (like orzo, macaroni or ditalini)

Use Water or Stock

One of the things I love about this vegetable soup recipe is that it can be made with water instead of vegetable stock. I appreciate being free from the task of finding tasty store-bought vegetable stock and free from the guilt of not making my own vegetable stock.

You can certainly use vegetable stock if you like (and sometimes, I do) but water is perfectly fine and turns into a flavorful broth.

P.S. Cornbread is a yummy side for vegetable soup. These rich and buttery corn muffins look delicious!

More Cozy Soup Recipes

Simple Vegetable Soup

Author: Jenny Meier | Kitchen Skip blog
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

This simple vegetable soup is easy and versatile. It's a great way to use up vegetables and feed your family a simple, nourishing meal.

Ingredients

Scale

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, sliced into ½-inch rounds or half moons
2 celery stalks, sliced into ½-inch half moons
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with your hand
1 14-ounce can diced/chopped tomatoes
2 ½ quarts/10 cups water or vegetable broth
2 to 4 cups vegetables chopped into ½-inch pieces (beets, turnips, rutabagas, potatoes, squash, zucchini)
1 bay leaf
Several sprigs of herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano)
1 15-ounce can of beans, drained (I like Navy beans or garbanzo)
2 handfuls torn greens (kale or Swiss chard), or shredded cabbage, or baby or frozen spinach or kale
Salt and pepper
Optional: A few inches of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind (for added flavor)

Optional Add-ins:

Cooked grains (farro, barley, quinoa)
Cooked pasta (macaroni, orzo, ditalini)
More veggies, such as green beans, fresh or frozen corn, or mixed frozen veggies

Instructions

Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven with a lid.
Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt.
Add garlic cloves and the can of tomatoes and their juice. Simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are thick. If needed, lower the heat to make sure tomato doesn't stick to the pot. Season again with 1 teaspoon salt.
Add the water or broth, vegetables, bay leaf, herbs and cheese rind (if using). If you're using water instead of salted broth, then add another ½ teaspoon of salt.
Bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat down to low or medium-low. Cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, try a few vegetables to make sure you like the texture - if the veggies are too firm for you liking, simmer the soup longer.
Add the can of beans and any additional, quick-cooking vegetables (like greens, cabbage, corn, or green beans.) Simmer another 10 minutes without a lid.
Try the soup, adding salt and pepper as needed. It's very likely that you'll need to add more salt. Don't be stingy with salt! You can also add a teaspoon or more of apple cider vinegar to perk up the flavor.
This soup is often more flavorful on the 2nd or 3rd day. It stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and freezes well for future meals.

Notes

When chopping the vegetables, aim for a size that's around ½-inch. Smaller chunks will cook faster, if you like softer veggies in your soup. Just make sure to cut all the veggies about the same size, so they cook evenly.

Adding salt at different stages in the cooking process helps build flavor. Instead of just adding salt to the broth, I season the veggies as they're added to the soup.

This soup can be changed depending on what you like and what you have on hand. Choose whatever types of veggies you like best, add pre-cooked pasta or grains if you like, or add more beans.

I like to freeze a big portion of this soup in a gallon Ziploc bag, or smaller portions that can be defrosted for lunch throughout the month.

Category: soup
Method: boil
Cuisine: American

Keywords: soup, vegetable soup, vegetables