Hearty Vegetable Soup

4.64 from 11 votes

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This hearty vegetable soup ticks all the boxes. It’s easy, ready in 30 minutes and is packed with broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and tomatoes. These vegetables are big and turn out tender-crisp. Make this vegan soup for dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch.

You can add it to your regular fall-winter rotation along with minestrone soup and tomato carrot lentil soup.

Vegetable soup with broccoli, greens beans and cauliflower in a bowl.

Everyone needs a great veggie soup recipe. One that actually celebrates the vegetables, meaning they shouldn’t be chopped up into teeny tiny pieces. Keep them big. They should be sized to take advantage of the full diameter of a generous spoon.

No matter if I am roasting, simmering or whatever the cooking method, I like my vegetables to still have some bite and not lose their texture. And when they are floating around in bubbling broth for a while, this can happen. So watch your vegetables and try them as the soup cooks. It’s always better to stay on the side of being al dente than too soft—yes, I am borrowing that term from pasta.

Why You Need This Recipe

I know there are lots of easy vegetable soup recipes out there, but this one is special because:

  • The spices: The tomato-based broth is seasoned in a mix of dried spices including cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. They add flavor and a slight kick. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the soup is really spicy, but you will have a tingle, almost a buzz, in your mouth.
  • The vegetables: As mentioned, I like to cut the vegetables bigger. Of course, I keep in mind fitting them on a soup spoon and eating them neatly, but I don’t chop them so small that they end up simmering into mush before the taste of the broth has a chance to develop. The recipe includes broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and tomatoes.
  • It’s easy.  Ready in about 30 minutes, this vegan vegetable soup is a super simple way to get a big serving of veggies. Also, soup is always good for leftovers that you can warm up for a quick healthy meal.

The Ingredients

Ingredients including broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices, olive oil and broth.

This what you need:

  • Broccoli, cauliflower and green beans are really just a starting point. Feel free to substitute with carrots, sweet potatoes or butternut squash You just want to make sure you have about 4 cups total of cut veggies. For carrots, slice them into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Cut sweet potatoes and butternut squash into 1/4 – 1/2 inch cubes. You don’t want them to be too big or they won’t be cooked in the same amount of time as the rest of the vegetables.
  • Tomatoes: A big can of diced tomatoes not only adds more veggies to the soup, but also the juices are the base to the tomatoey broth.
  • Onions: Like most soups, the recipe begins with sautéing onions in olive oil to start the aromatic base.
  • Garlic along with the seasonings are responsible for the wonderful flavor of the soup.
  • Dried spices: I used a blend of cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. If you want the soup more spicy, you can add more red pepper flakes.
  • Vegetable broth: Use low-sodium broth, so you can control the seasonings. If you aren’t concerned with the soup being vegan, you can use chicken broth instead.
  • Parsley: I like to garnish soup with chopped fresh herbs. Grated Parmesan cheese would be another tasty final touch.

How To Make Hearty Vegetable Soup

1. Heat the oil in a big pot and sauté the chopped onions over medium heat. They will become soft after about 4 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. The onions will quickly turn very fragrant.

Saute the onions in a saucepan. Then stir the garlic and spices into the onions.

3. Stir in the broccoli, cauliflower and green beans. You want them to be well mixed in with the onions and spices. Sauté them for a couple minutes.

4. Pour in the tomatoes, broth and water.

Stir the broccoli, cauliflower and green beans into the onions in the saucepan. Then pour in the tomatoes, vegetable broth and water.

5. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and gently simmer. After about 15-20 minutes the vegetables will be tender. Be careful not to overcook them.

6. Divide the soup into bowls and top with chopped parsley.

Simmer the soup. Then when it is ready, divide it into bowls and top with chopped parsley.

What To Serve with Vegetable Soup

On its own, this is a filling soup, but you can pair it with something extra:

Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Rewarm them in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove.

To keep the soup longer, up to 1 month, you can put it in the freezer. Thaw it before warming it up. The vegetables will soften more from being frozen and then thawed.

Vegetable soup with tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli in a bowl.

FAQs

What can you add to vegetable soup to give it more flavor?

There is so much you can do with dried spices. Don’t count on salt and pepper alone to give you flavor. Use a combination of minced garlic along with seasonings such as cumin, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes. Other great soup spices include oregano, thyme and rosemary.

Can you add leafy greens this soup?

Yes! When the soup is almost ready. Stir in baby spinach or chopped kale. The heat will wilt the greens. Kale will retain more of its bite because it is sturdier than spinach.

Can you use frozen vegetables?

No. I do not recommend using frozen vegetables in soup because they have higher water content than fresh ones, and they will be mushy.

More Soup Recipes

Chickpea Soup
Slow Cooker Moroccan Stew with Chickpeas
Roasted Tomato Soup
Spicy Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup
Lentil Wild Rice Soup
Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder
Cauliflower Soup with White Beans
Roasted Eggplant Stew
Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Did you make a big batch of this warm and cozy soup? Please leave a comment and a rating below. Thanks!

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Hearty Vegetable Soup

4.64 from 11 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
With broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and tomatoes, this hearty vegetable soup is seasoned with cumin, red pepper flakes & smoked paprika.

Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small white onion roughly chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1-1/2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1-1/2 cups cauliflower florets
  • 1 cup trimmed green beans cut 1-inch long
  • 1-28 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 cup water
  • Chopped parsley for serving

Instructions 

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 4 minutes until they start to soften and turn translucent.
  • Stir in the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Add the broccoli, cauliflower and green beans and sauté for 2 minutes.
  • Pour in the tomatoes, vegetable broth and water.  Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender, but still have bite and the soup has reduced slightly.
  • Divide into bowls and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Notes

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Warm in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
To keep the soup longer, up to 1 month, freeze it. Thaw before rewarming. The vegetables will soften more from being frozen and then thawed.
The recipe has about 4 cups of cut vegetables. You can substitute and include carrots, butternut squash or sweet potatoes. Cut the carrots into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cut the squash and sweet potatoes into 1/4 to 1/2-inch dice.

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 897mg | Potassium: 718mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 742IU | Vitamin C: 73mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mediterranean
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Hi, I'm Paige.

Welcome to Last Ingredient where you will find simple seasonal recipes with plenty of fruits and vegetables, all for the home cook.

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5 Comments

  1. Hi Paige,

    I’ve been looking for a good recipe to make after overindulging, and I think this will be just the ticket. I can’t wait to try it this weekend. Thanks so much for sharing it!

  2. 5 stars
    I’ve been having a cold for the past 2 days. Today I was able to get up and decided to make this soup. So delicious, soothing and it warmed my body!