This easy vegetable soup recipe is a healthy, warming meal for cold days. It’s flavorful and flexible—make it with whatever veggies you have on hand!
This vegetable soup recipe is nourishing, warming, and flavorful. It’s a perfect cozy meal for cold nights, days when you’re craving a healthy reset, or any time you’re feeling under the weather.
I first started making it years ago, when I was bouncing back from a cold and had a ton of random veggies in the fridge. Using the ingredients I had in my pantry—vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, dried herbs, and vinegar—I transformed this jumble of vegetables into an amazing soup!
Since then, I’ve made this recipe again and again, each time with a different mix of veggies. I add sturdier vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes near the start of the cooking process and tender green veggies near the end. Using this simple formula, this easy vegetable soup always comes out delicious.
How to Make Vegetable Soup
This recipe comes together in 4 simple steps:
- Sauté an onion to create the soup’s flavorful base.
- Simmer the tough veggies and seasonings. Add sturdy veggies like sweet potato and carrot to the pot with the onion, along with the broth, canned tomatoes, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the tender veggies and continue simmering. After 20 minutes, I toss in tender veggies like zucchini and green beans and cook until they soften, about another 10 minutes. I add chickpeas for protein at this point too.
- Stir in the leafy greens and vinegar. I finish the soup with white wine vinegar for bright flavor and a big handful of kale. Just cook until it wilts, season to taste, and serve!
Even if you use slightly different vegetables than the recipe calls for, this simple 4-step method will work!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Vegetable Soup Recipe Variations
I call for specific vegetables in the recipe below, but I’m serious when I tell you that it’s flexible! Please use whatever you have on hand. Here are a few easy ways to change it up:
- Use all carrot or all sweet potato instead of both, or add butternut squash instead.
- Toss in a few sliced cremini mushrooms when you add the carrot.
- Swap bell pepper for the cherry tomatoes, zucchini, or green beans.
- Use another leafy green, like spinach or chard, in place of the kale.
- Garnish bowls with chopped fresh parsley or basil, a scoop of pesto, or sprinkle of Parmesan cheese!
The veggies aren’t the only flexible part of this recipe! Feel free to vary the other ingredients as well. Here are a few ideas:
- Add a tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning in place of the oregano.
- Replace the vinegar with fresh lemon juice.
- Omit the chickpeas, or replace them with white beans or cooked lentils.
Let me know what variations you try!
How to Store Vegetable Soup
I like to make a big pot of this vegetable soup and eat it the next day and the day after that. It keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days—the flavor improves as it sits in the fridge!
Can you freeze vegetable soup?
Yes! This vegetable soup recipe freezes well. Allow the soup to cool to room temperature, then transfer it to airtight containers or jars. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tip: When freezing soup, leave an inch of empty space at the top of each container. The soup will expand when it freezes!
More Easy Soup Recipes
If you love this easy vegetable soup, try one of these veggie soup recipes next:
Vegetable Soup
Serves 6
This vegetable soup recipe is a healthy, homemade meal that’s great for cold days. It’s flexible and easy to make with simple pantry ingredients and whatever vegetables you have on hand.
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Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and several grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until softened. Add the carrot and sweet potato, stir, and cook for 2 more minutes.
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Add the canned tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
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Stir in the cherry tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, and chickpeas. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 more minutes, or until the green beans are tender.
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Stir in the vinegar and the kale and cook for 5 minutes, or until the kale is wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
