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October 31, 2023

Vegetable Soup

A classic vegetable soup recipe, to carry you through fall and keep you cozy and warm well into the chill of winter. Start with our recipe, and then riff with your favorite veggies forever after!

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a pot of homemade vegetable soup topped with fresh basil and shaved parmesan

More Vegetarian Soup Inspiration

Entering Hearty Vegetable Soup Mode

We make a big batch of this easy vegetable soup at least once every couple of weeks in the cooler months. Once there's a batch of homemade vegetable soup in the fridge, we’re pretty much guaranteed to feel better about life. We’ll eat a bowl for lunch most days, or serve it as a simple, healthy dinner–just pair this vegetarian vegetable soup with some Sourdough Bread and you’re good to go!

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ingredients for vegetable soup in bowls including whole canned tomatoes, onions, celery, spices, green beans, basil & spices.

Ingredients You’ll Need For Homemade Vegetable Soup

  • Olive oil

  • Celery and onion. Give them at least a full five minutes on the heat at the beginning—that’s your first layer of flavor and it’s essential for making a really flavorful vegetable soup.

  • Vegetables – We use green beans and zucchini, a classic Italian vegetable soup combo. However, once you get the hang of this soup, you can play around with the veggies and try swapping in other favorites.

  • Herbs and spices – garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, basil

  • Stock – vegetable stock, or chicken stock if you don’t need the soup to be vegetarian.

  • Canned tomatoes – A can of whole tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce.

  • Salt – Salt the finished soup to taste, and if you choose to garnish the soup with Parmigiano cheese—something we highly recommend—that’s even more salty goodness.

chopped onions, celery and garlic cooking in olive oil in a large pot
chopped onions, celery, garlic, zucchini and green beans being cooked in a large pot for vegetable soup
thyme, brown sugar, chili powder, salt, basil, vegetable stock, canned tomatoes added to cooked vegetables in a pot.
homemade vegetable soup in a large pot

How to Make Our Easy Vegetable Soup Recipe

  1. Cook onion and celery. In a big stockpot, Sauté onions and celery until fragrant and translucent. Take your time—remember, this is where your real flavor begins.

  2. Cook the garlic and veg. Add the garlic, zucchini and green beans and give them a little sauté, too. This step will deepen their flavor before you add the liquids.

  3. Raise the temperature. Pour in everything else and bring the pot of soup to a boil.

  4. Simmer. Turn it to a low simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for about half an hour, until the vegetables are super tender and it looks like vegetable soup you’d like to eat!

  5. Eat! We like to serve it topped with lots of freshly grated Parmigiano and fresh basil.

a pot of homemade vegetable soup topped with fresh basil and shaved parmesan

How to Store Leftover Soup + Tips

  • Vegetable soup is ideal for freezing. You may even want to double this recipe and plan to freeze some for later. Cool the soup and then store it in freezer safe containers for up to three months. Our Vegetarian Chili freezes wonderfully as well.

  • It’s also great for meal trains—it’s a fun alternative to casseroles, and something light but comforting is often welcome.

  • Don’t buy crushed tomatoes! Make sure you get cannedwhole tomatoes and crush them by hand in a bowl for delicious tomato chunks.

a bowl of homemade vegetable soup topped with fresh basil and parmesan cheese next to fresh bread

More Great Soup Recipes From The Modern Proper

The Best Vegetable Soup, On Repeat

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Vegetable Soup

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  40 min
  • Calories: 119

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 4 celery ribs, chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups diced zucchini
  • 6 ounces fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 1 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed
  • 1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, zucchini, and green beans and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 more minutes.

  2. Stir in the salt, thyme, chili powder, basil, brown sugar, vegetable stock, tomatoes and their juice, tomato sauce, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the zucchini and green beans are tender, about 30 minutes.

  3. Divide soup among 6 bowls. Garnish with basil and parmesan if using.


Note: Don’t buy crushed tomatoes! Make sure you get whole tomatoes and crush them by hand in a bowl for delicious tomato chunks.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories119
  • Protein3 g
  • Carbohydrates15 g
  • Total Fat6 g
  • Dietary Fiber4 g
  • Cholesterol0 mg
  • sodium324 mg
  • Total Sugars8 g

Vegetable Soup

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Heidy

    Can this sit in a slow cooker to warm up and serve?

    sure!

  • Milca

    DELICIOUS!!!

    Thank you Milca!

  • Alicia

    I loved the crushed tomatos and sauce. It made a tasty bass. This recipe had too much thyme for my liking. 1/4tsp would have been perfect. But if they say it’s a matter of taste.

  • Latosha

    Can we put sweep potatoes in this dish?

    You sure could try it! Sounds delicious.

  • Alissa

    This veggie soup is deeply full of flavor & turned out so good (don’t skip the parm!) I get 100% of my recipes from the MP team.

    Wow, that is so amazing how many of our recipes you cook! Thanks Alissa! So happy you loved it!

  • Amar

    I made this soup with little expectations, OMG this was amazing.... Very Flavorful and Amazing aroma.... The only thing I did different was added less whole tomatoes and did not add any extra water and I will be definitely be making more of this soup with other vegies...

    Wonderful Recipe...

    Thanks Amar! So happy you loved it!

  • Shari

    Made the soup as written and thought it was very good, a little heavy on the tomato flavor, but very good. Makes a lovely meal with a salad. My husband added brown rice to his bowl, which made the soup more substantial. I froze a batch for my daughter to have for lunches at work. I will keep this soup in the rotation.

    Thank you Shari! We are so glad you hear you like and love to hear when a recipe makes rotation! YAY!

  • Kathy

    Make this soup. It’s delicious. Great for a cold day. I added 1/2 t dried red pepper, one potato, and fresh baby spinach. I chose regular paprika, alittle nervous about the other choices. Makes loads to freeze. The consistency is not watery - a true comfort food.

    Thanks so much Kathy, we are so glad you love this soup!

  • Barb

    Delicious! The flavor was amazing. I added some red lentils. Will omit green beans and use corn and cabbage along with zucchini and yellow squash next time. As noted in the instructions, any vegetable combination would work. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.

    You're so welcome! Thanks for trying it Barb. Glad you liked it!