Easy Veggie Soup
Comforting, filling, and nutritious, this Easy Veggie Soup is a staple in my home during the winter months. Nourish your body with cozy vegetable soup that’s easy to make and customizable based on whatever veggies are in your fridge! Bonus: it freezes great!
Nut Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Soy Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free
Once the weather cools, I immediately have a pot of this Easy Veggie Soup on the stove. I’m not even a “soup person,” but this soup is cozy, comforting, filling, satisfying, and ohhhh so good!
And the best part is that this soup recipe is SO hard to mess up! You can customize the recipe with whatever veggies you have on hand (it’s a great recipe to have for those veggies that are almost going bad).
This Easy Veggie Soup is…
- Loaded with veggies
- Easy to make with mostly hands-off cook time
- Filling
- Satisfying
- A great way to eat veggies in colder months
- Perfect to food prep
- Customizable based on the veggies you have on hand
This Easy Veggie Soup is a great way to meet your veggie needs in the winter!
It can be so hard to meet your daily veggie recommendations in the winter. Especially if you live in a cold climate, it’s much harder to crave a raw, crunchy, cold salad.
This soup is a great choice if you’re working on boosting your vegetable intake. One pot of this easy veggie soup is packed with over 15 cups of veggies. That’s a whooole lotta veggies and perfect for food prep.
Ingredients to Make Easy Veggie Soup
The ingredient list for the recipe looks LONG… BUT I promise it’s really not that bad! The list is so long because there are so many veggies in this soup. You can cut down the list and double up or use any vegetables you have on hand.
You’ll need a few categories of ingredients…
- Vegetables! See the ones I chose in the recipe below, but you can really add ANY vegetables you want.
- Spices – I kept this recipe super basic with just oregano, salt and pepper, but you can get as creative as you’d like. This Immune-Boosting Veggie Soup adds a lot of spices too.
- Beans – I used white cannelini beans in this recipe, but use any beans you want.
- Tomatoes – Canned tomatoes actually contain MORE lycopene (a heart-healthy antioxidant) than fresh, plus they’re super convenient!
- Broth – I opted for vegetable broth and chose low sodium so I could add the amount of sodium I prefer.
Kitchen Tools You’ll Need to Make Easy Veggie Soup
How to Meal Prep this Easy Veggie Soup
There’s nothing I love more than making weekday meals easier. Especially with being home more than ever I love NOT having to think about what’s for lunch… or dinner… or lunch… or dinner again!
I usually make a big post of this Easy Veggie Soup on Saturday or Sunday and then let it cool in the fridge in the stock pot. For the first couple of days I’ll reheat right in the pot if both my husband and I are eating it. Then, I transfer it to a smaller pot to easily reheat.
You could also microwave a bowl – that works in a pinch too!
The soup may thicken over a few days in the fridge (the starch in the beans help it thicken up!), so you can add more broth to thin it out when you re-heat it, if you’d like.
How to Balance Your Plate with Veggie Soup
Veggie soup is a great way to add more veggies to your plate… but this bowl alone is not completely a well-balanced meal.
As a reminder, a balanced meal contains:
- Veggies
- Protein
- Carbs
- Fat
Yes, all of these components are present in the soup, but not in large enough quantities to really be satisfying as a full meal… without some tweaks that is!
Here are some tips…
Become a balanced eater in this step-by-step guide
Add more protein to stay full for hours
I typically suggest at least 20 grams of protein at meals, so here are a few ways to boost the protein in this soup:
- Add an extra can (or two) of beans for an extra protein boost. Your average 15 oz can of beans contains ~21 grams of protein, so you need more beans for a significant source of protein.
- Shred some rotisserie chicken and add it in! Such an easy way to boost the protein – no extra cooking required!
- Brown some ground turkey on the side and add it in before serving. I did this the other day (along with some spaghetti squash) and it was so good!
Bump up the fiber with frozen peas!
This soup actually has TONS of fiber from all of the veggies, but if you want to stay full even longer, add another source of fiber, like a starchy vegetable.
A few of my favorite ideas are frozen peas, extra beans, or potatoes. If you’re adding potatoes, be sure to cut them into very small pieces.
If you’re looking to learn more about balancing your plate to boost your energy and cut cravings, download the FREE The Ultimate Guide to Balance Your Plate.
Customize this Easy Veggie Soup
Whether you don’t have cabbage or can’t stand mushrooms, you can customize this recipe based on what you DO have on hand.
You can use nearly ANY sturdy vegetables in this recipe, but here are some tips:
- Make sure vegetables have somewhat similar cooking times… or cut into smaller pieces for similar cooking times. For example, potatoes do take longer to cook, so cut them much smaller than the bell peppers, for example.
- Add any leafy green or herb at the end, once the broth is added.
- Use any type of beans or lentils instead of white cannelloni beans. You can even use frozen edamame!
Easy Veggie Soup
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 70 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 zucchinis, chopped
- ½ cup chopped green beans
- ¼–½ cup chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 15 oz can cannelloni (white) beans, drained and rinsed (more if using as your primary protein)
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes or 2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 4–6 cups of spinach, kale, your favorite greens
- 2 bay leaves
- Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots and celery. Saute until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, green beans, and parsley along with the dried oregano, salt and pepper. Saute until soft to fork.
- Add the beans, diced tomatoes, broth, leafy greens, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes.
- Before serving, remove the bay leaves. Top with parmesan cheese before serving, if desired. Enjoy!
If not serving immediately, refrigerate. Reheat on the stove prior to serving.
How’s that for a good looking pot of soup?!
Now seriously…make your list {check it twice} and go make this SOUP!
Don’t Forget to PIN this Easy Veggie Soup…
XO
I’m excited to try this! Which Mrs. Dash seasoning is in this? The original no-salt?
The original…but I’m sure ANY would be delicious!