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.
This looks amazing – I was wondering if there is anything different you would do before freezing (like leaving out tomatoes, kale, etc to add in when reheating).
Thank you!
Hi Mary, nope! I would make the recipe as written before freezing. I hope you enjoy!
I’d like to use curry in this soup. Wondering if you could give some tips on how to include it
Hi Ellen, I would skip the oregano and bay leaf, and add 1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder, to taste. I’d probably also do 2 cans of coconut milk and reduce the broth amount to 2 cups. I’d do lemon or juice instead of the vinegar. Hope that helps, I haven’t made it this way, but that’s the direction I would go!
Thank you so much for this advice. Much appreciated!! I made it today with the adjustments you recommended and it turned out really nice. Thanks again, Ellen
I’m making it right now and it looks hearty. I subbed no garlic and red pepper for cayenne and white pepper, also a touch of paprika, added navy beans as had no cherry tomato. The garlic would’ve made it so savory, but the 3 sick girls I’m trying to warm up don’t do garlic (or mom doesn’t antways so that’s the way its gonna be). Thanks, and cheers!
I’m so glad you loved it!
The best vegetable soup I’ve ever had! I was expecting to make a typical bland veggie soup just to be healthy for the week, but this far exceeded my expectations.
I’m so glad it was such a hit!
Yummm! Just made this soup while my husband is gone to deer camp. It’s so good & I know he would love it! Is it possible to freeze leftovers?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This beautifully hearty soup was a smash with my family and it certainly ticked all the boxes for me! I swapped out the sweet potato with diced Yukon Gold and the chickpeas with kidney beans (these are what I had on hand.) In addition, I added zucchini. Delicious served with whole wheat crusty bread and parmesan cheese. This soup will make it into our winter main course rotation.
Hi Cee, I’m so glad it was such a hit!
I have some eggplant in my fridge I need to use. Would eggplant taste good in this soup? I’d so, would you do anything special to the eggplant before adding it to the soup?
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious and packed full of flavor. I didn’t have any cherry tomatoes or chickpeas so I substituted yellow summer squash and great northern beans. Delicious and healthy.
Hi Eve, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Wow. This is amazing. Easy , quick and Absolutely delicious. This will be a regular for us . Thank you for sharing this recipe
Hi Maggie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I have made a lot of vegetable soups in my life, and this one is truly a keeper! I have no idea what made it stand out so much, but it did. The flavor/seasonings were perfect. I added the kale to it. I didn’t have fire-roasted tomatoes so I used regular diced tomatoes, but next time, I will definitely use fire-roasted for even more flavor. We got a foot of snow in Colorado yesterday (Oct. 29) so it was the perfect dinner for a cold night.
Ha, we had early snow too! I’m so glad this hit the spot.
This soup looks amazing! Is there a way you can start including nutrition information? Especially sodium and potassium? I need to follow a specific diet and so many of your recipes look great, but I am concerned about the numbers. Thank you!
Long time follower and cookbook owner, first time reviewer. This is literally one of the best soups I’ve ever made! It should be included with every CSA delivery. I’ve made it 3 times in a month and served so many people who’ve all had rave reviews. ?? Plus I make my own veggie stock with veggie scraps so I only have to buy fire roasted tomatoes and chickpeas, so easy!! I would give this 10 stars if I could!
Outrageously delicious. Didn’t have all ingredients so ad-libbed. Used frozen okra & fresh thyme & dried oregano from my garden. Added mushrooms at end. Thank you for the proper steps to add veggies, acid. Makes a big difference. Bon Appetit!
Hi Che, I’m so glad you loved the soup! Your additions sound delicious.
Made in the instant pot. Threw it all in set the timer to soup mode. Came out perfect. Thank you for such a great recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Oh my goodness!!! This soup is so delicious, I love ❤️ vegetables and this has many I followed the recipe and it was great will make it again, thank you
I’m so glad you loved it!
Is there a substitute for the wine?
Hi Anna, you can just leave it out.
You could add a squeeze of lemon juice instead of the white wine vinegar!
Super tasty can choose what ever vegetables you prefer. Is the perfect base
Delicious soup and so easy. My entire family loved it.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
OK so it’s hard to rave about soup but I am going to give this a 5 star rating. I started with vegetable broth homemade using the Gaz Oakley broth recipe and then I followed this recipe exactly and wow is all I can say! So delicious. my non-vegan family members absolutely loved this as well. The flavor combinations are spot on and honestly I didn’t have high hopes. I was nervous about the white wine vinegar and a couple of the other ingredients but seriously this is the best soup I’ve ever tasted. Thank you for sharing your magic!
I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Delicious, Best soup I ever had the pleasure of eating. Will make many more times.
Hi Floyd, so glad you loved it!
I’ve made this recipe 10+ times and it never gets old! One of my favorite meals.
I’m so happy to hear how much you’ve enjoyed it!