Vegetable soup doesn’t have to be bland and boring. This recipe is so hearty and delicious, you’ll hardly realize it’s vegetarian. It’s a comforting, feel-good soup that tastes much better than canned or store-bought.
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Easy Vegetable Soup Recipe
Whether you’re trying to watch your figure or sneakily slip more veggies into your kids’ diets, look no further than this homemade vegetable soup recipe. Get your deepest soup bowls ready, because you’re about to have your entire household wondering what that delicious aroma is wafting from the kitchen.
You’ll love this recipe for vegetable soup because it’s so simple to make and takes only 30 minutes of cooking time. This soup is savory, filling, and warming. The vegetables give so much flavor to the broth–my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Yum!
Ingredients for Vegetable Soup
To make the best vegetable soup even more flavorful and affordable, choose seasonal vegetables. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious meal.
- Fresh vegetables – onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans, frozen sweet corn, and frozen sweet peas – Chop each veggie to be bite-sized, if needed. See our list below for substitution ideas
- Broth – olive oil, canned diced tomatoes, low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- Spices – bay leaves, salt and pepper, green onions, and fresh parsley, or substitute 1/3 dried herbs for fresh herbs or add to taste.
Flavor Tip:
Fresh herbs are key for the best-tasting soup. You can use dried herbs as long as they haven’t been in your cupboard for longer than 3-4 years. Test for freshness by smelling them to see if they are still fragrant and add to taste since you typically need fewer dried herbs. Also, be sure to add salt to taste.
Vegetable Soup Variations
Consider this soup your ticket to using all those veggie odds and ends hanging out in your fridge or freezer. This recipe is so versatile, and you can change up the ingredients. Here are some of our favorite vegetable soup variations:
- Veggies: Broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, zucchini, beets, asparagus, bok choy, broccoli rabe, cabbage, and leeks are all great substitutes or additions.
- Broth: Feel free to swap out vegetable broth for Turkey Stock, Chicken Stock, or beef broth. This will make the soup taste that much heartier.
- Herbs & Spices: Add a couple of dashes of thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and/or red pepper flakes. You can also elevate the dish by adding fresh dill or basil. The sky’s the limit!
- Beans: Looking to add a little more fiber and protein? Add chickpeas or white beans. If you’d prefer some extra protein, try our Vegetable Beef Soup.
How to Make Vegetable Soup
What I love about this soup is that it comes together in one large pot and it’s super easy to make. With minimal mess and maximum flavor, you can’t get much better than that. Follow the simple steps below to be well on your way to a comforting bowl of veggie soup.
- Aromatics – Preheat your soup pot with olive oil. Saute onions and carrots until golden.
- Add Vegetables and Broth – Add celery, canned tomatoes, broth, potatoes, green beans, and bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 25 minutes.
- Finishing Touches – Add corn, sweet peas, green onion, and parsley. Simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes then serve.
Pro Tip:
For a spicy vegetable soup, add some red pepper flakes or a couple of dashes of your favorite hot sauce to spice things up. You can also add some fresh chopped jalapeños to the soup.
Can I Make Vegetable Soup in a Slow Cooker?
If you’re the set it and forget it type, sautee the veggies in a pan, then add the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours. In the last 20 minutes of cooking, add the corn, sweet peas, green onion, and parsley.
Is Vegetable Soup Healthy?
This soup gives you a generous serving of vegetables without much fat, so you’ll feel good about getting seconds. See the nutrition label below for calories per serving.
What to Serve with Vegetable Soup
This vegetarian soup is such a filling and satisfying meal. Even so, we like to serve bowls of soup alongside some soft Dinner Rolls, Crusty French Bread or Garlic Bread for dipping. If you’re feeling adventurous, try scooping the inside out of a small boule of Sourdough Bread and serving the soup inside like a bowl.
Make-Ahead
This easy vegetable soup keeps well in the refrigerator and freezer. Allow your pot to completely cool to room temperature before storage.
- To Refrigerate: store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: once cool, divide into portions in freezer-safe containers, so it’s easy to take out the portion you want to eat.
- To Reheat: thaw in the fridge overnight or reheat in a saucepan or pot until warmed through.
This is the best vegetable soup recipe with a flavorful broth and a hefty serving of good-for-you vegetables. It’s warm, satisfying, and takes under an hour to cook up, so try this soup tonight!
More Easy Soup Recipes
If you love soups like our family does, try these fan-favorite soup recipes after our easy vegetable soup:
- Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Taco Soup Recipe
- Corn Chowder
- Easy Tomato Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Cabbage Beef Soup
- Zuppa Toscana Soup
Easy Vegetable Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots , chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 60 oz vegetable broth, low-sodium
- 3 medium potatoes, diced
- 1 cup green beans, chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste*
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup frozen sweet corn
- 1 cup frozen sweet peas
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add chopped onions and carrots and saute for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden.
- Add celery, canned tomatoes (with juice), broth, potatoes, green beans, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are tender, add corn, sweet peas, green onion, and parsley. Season with salt to taste and simmer for another 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and serve warm.
Followed the recipe, only subbing chicken stock for the vegetable stock. Very tasty soup! Wonderful way to consume a variety of vegetables. Will become a mainstay of my dinner rotation. Great with roasted garlic or cheese bread on the side. Highly recommend!
I am using frozen green beans. Should I add them when I add the frozen corn and frozen peas?
That should work! I hope you love it!
Great simple veggie soup! I add a whole bunch of fresh herbs – rosemary thyme basil – plus garlic and squash and mushrooms, and at the end some elbow macaroni. Sooo good, my toddler eats it up and gets all the veggie goodness!
This recipe is fabulous. My favorite vegetable soup!
Thank you. (Only thing I did different was use chicken broth and cut way back on the black pepper.) Delicious.
I’m so glad you love this recipe, Lori!
delicious soup for summer or winter. My family loves it
Thank you for such a great recipe! I followed the directions exactly and it was perfect. I made it for a large group and both kids and adults loved it. No need to change anything because it’s perfect as is 😊
Looks amazing haven’t made it yet but love the simplicity of it thankyou love your recipes and your cute and sweet way you present yourself .I was a girl mommy so definitely enjoy your positive energy .
Delicious! I added a little fresh garlic and tomato paste. Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re welcome, Holly! Good to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
This was very good and very fresh. I used Bonafide Provisions brand veggie stock: 1 carton salt free and 1 carton with sodium. Peeled fresh tomatoes not canned (grocery store had a big sale so I couldn’t resist); Yukon Gold potatoes. Did not add 2 tsp salt, instead seasoned with Trader Joe’s umami seasoning (mushroom based seasoning salt) to taste. I put raw kale in the bottom of my bowl, ladled the soup over and let it sit a few minutes to soften the kale. Delicious!
Natasha is my go-to chef I cook all her meals even have the book sad part is I ordered the book before I found out she was having a signing my bad anyway I make this soup all the time I’m going to make it tomorrow I love the taste love the recipe thanks Natasha you’ve been in my kitchen for 3 years now LOL thank you
Thank you so much, Henry! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
I need to triple this recipe for a crowd. You’re telling me I’m actually using 180 oz of broth for that? 🥴
That’s correct. You’ll increase all the ingredients by 3.
About how much would he 1 serving? I see that this recipe is for 8 servings so each serving would have to be over a cup. At least 2 cups or more.
Hi Kayla, it’s approximately like that. You can divide the whole recipe to the serving size to get the accurate per serving size.
I used crushed fire roasted tomatoes and swapped some of the salt for Vegeta, used some brown rice pasta for potatoes. Really this is great because you can ‘swap out’ for whatever you have and it’s a great base recipe. Little of this, little of that, but overall it’s perfect as is. Thank you!
That’s great, Gabrielle! Thank you for sharing.
Excellent recipe. I swapped out sweet potatoes for the potatoes and add a handful of garbanzos or black beans when I’m ready to dig in. Delish!
Great to hear that you enjoyed it!
Need to use a good vegetable broth, as it a key ingredient. My broth was very salty and overpowering (without the added salt from the recipe). Will try again with a better one. I had to add crushed tomatoes to cut the salt, and added Italian seasoning for balance. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing, Joann!
How can I convert this to make in an instapot or crockpot? Is there a difference between fresh vegetables and frozen?
Hi Heather! See my note in the common questions sections above for instruction on making in a slow cooker. I have not tested it in an instant pot to provide those instructions.
Frozen vegetables don’t need to cook for as long as fresh. They also aren’t as crisp when cooked.
I hope you love the recipe.
I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was fabulous!
Thank you for this delish veggie soup. I added zucchini and a sweet potato instead of white potato otherwise followed recipe exactly. Great in a cold New England day!
Sounds delicious, Mary! Thank you for sharing.