Make this easy vegetable soup recipe with whatever veggies you have on hand! Nourishing and light, it's perfect for warming up on cold nights.
This vegetable soup recipe is cozy, healing, and warming. It’s just the thing for cold nights, days when you’re craving a healthy reset, or any time you’re feeling a bit 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 it again and again, with a different mix of veggies every time. No matter what produce I have on hand, this easy vegetable soup always comes out delicious.
Vegetable Soup Recipe Variations
I call for a lot of vegetables in this soup, but use whatever you have on hand and/or skip what you don’t have. 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.
- Skip the vinegar, and add a big squeeze of lemon juice in its place.
- Omit the chickpeas, or replace them with white beans or cooked French green lentils.
Let me know what variations you try!
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy the soup on its own, or pair it with a salad and crusty bread for a heartier meal. It also goes nicely with a grilled cheese sandwich.
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!
For longer storage, freeze the soup for up to 3 months.
More Easy Soup Recipes
If you love this easy veggie soup, try one of these vegetarian soup recipes next:
- Best Lentil Soup
- Cabbage Soup
- Tortellini Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Tomato Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Or any of these 35 Best Soup Recipes!
Vegetable Soup
Equipment
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven (I use my Staub Dutch oven for soup)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1 small sweet potato, diced
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped green beans
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1½ cups chopped kale
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and several grinds of pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Add the carrot and sweet potato, stir and cook 2 more minutes.
- 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.
- Stir in the cherry tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, chickpeas, and cover and cook 10 to 15 more minutes, until the green beans are tender.
- Stir in the vinegar and the kale and cook for 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted. Season to taste and serve.
Delicious! I added some leftover rotisserie chicken. Served it over rice. Definitely a keeper!
I didn’t add the white wine and added fresh oregano and rosemary. Didn’t add the cherry tomato. And also made penne pasta. Didn’t add it to the soup directly, instead poured the soup over the pasta. Absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Super forgiving and healthy recipe.
I omitted the white wine, swapped green peppers for the green beans (I loathe green beans), used kidney beans in place of the chickpeas, and used balsamic in place of the white wine vinegar; it turned out fantastic. Very filling for very few calories. When I calculated my soup version, it came out to 196 calories for a large bowl (6 servings in the recipe).
This soup was great! But how many calories does it have?
I love this recipe and many times it becomes my go to Monday recipe over the years, even on warmer days. Its incredibly versatile and really hard to mess up. I get a farm box every Tues so I try to clear out my perishables on Mondays. Today’s version included shallots, scallions, carrots, butternut squash, extra garlic, rainbow chard, red bell pepper, homemade veg broth, cannellini beans and lots of lemon. I didn’t have any white wine but instead 1Tb white wine vinegar to deglaze and give it bite. Previous versions have included yellow onions, sweet potatoes, kale, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, fresh thyme. Its healthy, nourishing, great way to use up veg and just smells fantastic. Thank you for such a winner!
Hi Nina, I’m so glad it’s been a great, flexible recipe for you!
I made this tonight essentially as written, with the only variation being that I added the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes just before the liquids. Very good! I don’t think I’d change anything. Packed with vegetables and really filling.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
Best homemade soup ever! I changed up ingredients a bit (used shallots in place of onion, rainbow carrots, rainbow Swiss chard, butternut squash, green beans, purple sweet potato, Napa cabbage and Pomi brand tomatoes). So easy to make and a great way to use any veggies in the house.
Thank you for this soup recipe. It was so good !
Definitely a keeper.
This soup is SO GOOD!! I’m sure I’ll make this several times over the winter months.
Was looking for a heartier vegetable soup and this one turned out great! Only substituted butternut squash in place of sweet potatoes because of preference, otherwise followed the recipe and it was a winner. Will definitely make again soon.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Amazing!!! First time making soup and this was absolutely delicious. I added/substituted peas, potato, and corn in mine and it came great. Thank you for the recipe will definitely be making again 🙂
OMG!! So easy, so quick (minus filming for socials) and is all my family has been chatting about for days now!
I made this and it was fabulous. I added peas and substituted butternut squash for sweet potato. I also used one can of cherry tomatoes because they are peeled.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Writing this review as I slurp down the first taste test…. Amazing! I didn’t have vinegar or chickpeas and I added the suggested mushrooms and yellow pepper and spinach. This is the best soup I have ever made and I have made a few 🙂 Great flavor!
Hi Judy, I’m so glad you loved it and that it was so flexible!
I am not exaggerating to say this is the best vegetable soup I have ever had. I made it without any changes. I have an egg intolerance (makes me extremely sick gut wise) so I make this soup and freeze large portions to have for breakfast. I have no idea why it is so much better than other vegetable soups, but it really is. But then I almost always love “Love and Lemons” recipes.
Aw, I’m so happy you love the soup and the other recipes too!
I cannot tolerate chickpeas or zucchini. I am thinking of adding other vegetables in season instead. I would like to add more mushroom and green beans. There is so much variety of vegetables around, all different colours which are good for our health and well-being, we would be stupid not to use them especially in soup and casseroles.
Hi Corrie, I think mushrooms and green beans would be wonderful here.
Can I slow cook this?
Hi Danielle, I don’t have a slow cooker, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Made it, we all loved it!
This soup is soo good and easy to make!! It’s one of those that will always come out great! You can really make it your ownHas become a staple in my home! The heartiest veggie soup!
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the soup!
This soup is so good!
I like my soup really hearty packed with more vegetables than maybe the average person. I added some other things I had on hand outside of the recipe. I added 2 cups of frozen riced cauliflower/broccoli/carrot mix, frozen green beans instead of chopped, 1/4 cup barley and some canned white potato’s and it turned out great! I omitted the cherry tomatoes as I’m not a fan. It cleared out my stock pile from the pandemic! It’s a keeper.
Hi Rachel, I’m so glad you loved the soup!