Hearty Vegetable Soup
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Serves: 6-8
Hearty Vegetable Soup is filled with good-for-you vegetables. Using fresh, not frozen, vegetables will give you a better-tasting soup. There is a bit of prepping your vegetables, but it is well worth it. Adding homemade Vegetable Stock instead of purchased stock brings even more flavor to your bowl, and you can control the salt content more easily. Serve this up with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side or garlic bread, and you have dinner in under an hour. Enjoying this with regular saltine crackers is so good, too!
This is a great soup if you are feeling “under the weather.“ Lots of veggies and homemade stock provide vitamins and antioxidants to help boost your immune system.
Fresh or frozen peas work well in this soup. You can use canned peas, but I would drain and rinse them. Frozen peas do not need to be thawed; you can add them frozen right into your soup.
Green cabbage or Napa cabbage would be great in this recipe. I would not use purple cabbage as it will alter the color of your soup.
Leafy greens options are bountiful if you can find them in your area. Kale, spinach, Swiss chard leaves, and beet greens are wonderful, just to name a few.
Leeks are grown in sandy soil, so they must be cleaned before adding to your soup. Once you’ve sliced them, add them to a bowl of clean water and separate the layers with your fingers. Allow the dirt to fall to the bottom of the bowl. Skim the clean leeks from the water and add them to the soup. Trust me, you don’t want to skip this step.
I know this goes without saying, but I’m going to be a mom and say it anyway… always wash your vegetables prior to cutting into them. Hardy vegetables like zucchini can handle a soap and water rub down (then rinsed, of course), and leafy vegetables need a good swishing or two in clean water.
Good news! All these vegetables can be adjusted to your liking. Add more of the ones you love and less of those you’re not so fond of.
Enjoy!
Hearty Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 3 celery ribs, sliced
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 cup zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup yellow squash, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups green beans, fresh or frozen, cut into 1 1/2"
- 2 cups cabbage, sliced or chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1 leek, white parts, sliced and washed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 quarts vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 cups leafy greens, chopped
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is shimmering, add the onion, celery, carrots, potato, zucchini and squash. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until slightly softened.
- Add the garlic, green beans, cabbage, peas, and leek. Sauté vegetables for another three minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and stir gently to combine.
- Add the stock, parsley, bay leaves, and leafy greens and stir.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low.
- Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until the potato is tender.
- Taste the soup for seasoning. Remove and discard the bay leaves and add salt and pepper as desired.
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