This is our go-to hot, comforting, healing vegetable soup. This feel-good soup is loaded with healthy vegetables and spices and packs so much flavor that you don't even need vegetable broth.
Ingredients for Vegetable Soup
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Tomato Paste.
- Salt and Pepper to taste.
- Paprika.
- Ground Cumin.
- Ground Turmeric.
- Ground Coriander.
- Red Pepper Flakes. This adds heat and is optional.
- Large Onion.
- Garlic Cloves.
- Celery Stalks.
- Medium Carrots.
- Parsnip.
- Diced Tomatoes in a can.
- Small Sweet Potatoes.
- Small Butternut Squash.
- Zucchini.
- Large Yellow Squash.
- Chopped Fresh Cilantro.
How to Make Vegetable Soup
Making vegetable soup is cathartic and comforting. Start by getting all of the vegetables and herbs chopped, diced, and prepared. Then, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the tomato paste, salt, and spices and stir well. Cook this for a few minutes, allowing the tomato paste to darken and caramelize.
Next, add the onions, carrots, garlic, celery and parsnip. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often (if you notice that veggies are starting to burn, just add ¼ cup of water until the 5 minutes are up).
Once five minutes has past, add 6 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Then add the diced tomatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini and yellow squash. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the veggies are tender. Remove it from the heat and finish it off with chopped cilantro.
Tips on How to Make the Best Vegetable Soup
- Make a large pot of soup, so you can do the work once, and enjoy it throughout the week!
- Caramelizing tomato paste is the secret to starting a fabulous vegetable soup.
- Always start your soup with onions, carrots, and celery.
- Use fresh vegetables. It's totally worth the time it takes to peel and cut them. Frozen vegetables don't pack as much flavor.
- Use a wide variety of your favorite vegetables. The more veggies you add, the healthier the soup will be!
- Add spices for an extra punch of flavor. We used sweet paprika, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and black pepper for this vegetable soup.
- Add fresh herbs for a tastier soup. Cilantro, parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, and dill are great herbs to add to soup.
- Cook the hardest and crunchiest vegetables first, and add the remaining veggies later. Check out our recipe for instructions.
- Bring out the sweetness of the soup by adding sweet potatoes or butternut squash.
- Replace some of the water with diced or crushed tomatoes to obtain a more flavorful broth.
- Salt helps bring all the flavors together. You may add less than the amount we are adding, to suit your taste.
- If you are looking for a heartier soup, you can always add a handful of green, brown, or red lentils and another handful, of rice, pasta, quinoa, or bulgur wheat. Check out our Moroccan Harira soup for inspiration.
- A little bit of fresh lemon juice will brighten up the soup.
What vegetables to use in a homemade vegetable soup?
The possibilities are endless! What are your favorite veggies to add to soup? Let us know in the comments below. Here's a list of some of the vegetables we like to use.
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Celery root
- Potatoes
- Parsnips
- Butternut squash
- Sweet potatoes
- Green Beans
- Spinach
- Kale
- Leeks
- Zucchini
- Yellow Squash
- Corn
- Cabbage
If it were a minestrone (an Italian version of veggie soup), it would also have white beans like cannelloni so you know that's a good add. A few other variations solidify this soup as a minestrone 1) add a parmesan rind as it simmers, 2) serve it with parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top, 3) add a bay leaf as it simmers. You would traditionally use chicken broth as a base, but as vegans, we do not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make Vegetable Soup ahead of time?
Yes! Soups like this get better with age, so making it the day before you want to serve it is never a bad thing. Cool it completely and then keep it in the refrigerator. Thaw and reheat it in a saucepan or crockpot on the day it's what's for dinner. You could also put it in a dutch oven on the stovetop.
How to Store Leftover Vegetable Soup
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up five days.
Can I freeze Vegetable Soup?
Yes. Freeze it in airtight containers for up to six months in a deep freeze or three months in a side-by-side freezer. It can be reheated in a saucepan or microwave.
Other Healthy Vegetable Soup Recipes You May Like
- Moroccan Harira Soup
- Quinoa and Kale Soup
- Wheat Berry and Chickpea Soup
- Immune Booster Vegan Ramen Bowl
- Coconut Carrot Ginger Soup
- Zucchini Sweet Potato Soup
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Vegetable Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 20 cups 1x
Description
This is our go-to hot, comforting, healing vegetable soup, loaded with healthy vegetables and spices. It packs so much flavor that you don't even need vegetable broth.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tps-1 teaspoon salt ( we used 1 tsp)
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, more or less to taste (optional)
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper (optional)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated or minced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 medium parsnip, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1-28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 2 small sweet potatoes or one medium, peeled diced (about 2 cups)
- ½ small butternut squash, peeled and diced (about 2 cups) See Note 1
- 2 medium zucchini, diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 large yellow squash, diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the tomato paste, salt and spices and stir well. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the onions, carrots, garlic, celery and parsnip. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often (if you notice that veggies are starting to burn, just add ¼ cup of water until the 5 minutes are up)
- Add 6 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes
- Add the diced tomatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini and yellow squash. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 45minutes to 1 hour minutes, or until the veggies are tender (See Note 2)
- Add the chopped cilantro, turn off the heat and let it sit covered
Notes
- Peeled and cut butternut squash can be found in the produce section of most supermarkets or learn how to cut butternut squash in our popular how to cook butternut squash post
- If you have the time to simmer the soup for longer than an hour, it will yield a more flavorful soup
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 90
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 89
- Sugar: 6.1
- Sodium: 196
- Fat: 1.9
- Saturated Fat: .3
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 17.5
- Fiber: 4.2
- Protein: 2.4
- Cholesterol: 0
Raquel
I love a good, hearty vegetable soup in the winter time and this one is perfect!
Valerie
Has anyone made this recipe in a slow cooker?
Vicky and Ruth
We haven't, sorry!
Paula Z
I've been making vegetable soup like this one for quite a while now and love it. Your seasoning suggestions add new dimensions to the taste, turmeric/ginger (and more black pepper) are on my "toss it into the pot" list now. IMO, using frozen vegetables in part does not detract from the taste and consistency, and things liked frozen sliced okra (if you like it) or organic frozen sliced carrots saves you time and work, if not money as well. One suggestion: if you're using zucchini, add them half-way through your projected cooking time, they will hold up better.
Vicky and Ruth
Thank you for all your tips Paula!