What Vegetables Should I Add to Vegetable Soup?

You can put whatever vegetables you like in this soup, from seasonal fresh veggies to frozen. Here’s a list of what I used;

• carrots
• celery
• tomatoes
• potatoes
• green beans
• corn
• peas
• yellow onion and garlic

How to Make Vegetable Soup – Watch the Video!

This soup is jam-packed with veggies and making it a healthy dinner choice.

I had two bowls then came back before bed for a third because I liked it so much. I love that it uses half-fresh veggies and half-frozen so you still get all that freshness but have the ease of pre-cut frozen veggies too.

During the summer when you have all the fresh veggies on hand definitely feel free to use all fresh instead.

Can I Make This Soup in a Crockpot?

Yes. To make it in a crockpot saute onions, carrots, garlic for a few minutes, add garlic sauce 1 minute longer. Add to slow cooker along with potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, herbs, broth, salt, and pepper. Cook until veggies are tender on high heat for about 3 hours or low heat for about 6 – 7 hours. Add peas and corn for the last 30 minutes.

Can I Freeze Vegetable Soup?

Yes. This vegetable soup freezes really well and reheats well.

Adding Extra Flavor – Herbs And Spices To Add

This soup has a mild seasoning blend to it which I prefer (because it lets the flavor of the vegetable shine) but you can definitely add more herb flavor or spices to taste. Here are a few ideas of what you could add:

• Fresh or dried herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano or marjoram.
• Dried herb blends such as Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence.
• Red pepper flakes will add a spicy kick.
• Paprika or a curry powder.
• Add a parmesan rind and simmer.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
• 2 cups peeled and chopped carrots (about 5)
• 1 1/4 cups chopped celery (about 3)
• 4 cloves garlic , minced
• 4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 3 cups peeled and 1/2-inch thick diced potatoes (from about 3 medium)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, or 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chopped frozen or fresh green beans
• 1 1/4 cups frozen or fresh corn
• 1 cup frozen or fresh peas

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. 
• Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute 4 minutes then add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
• Add in broth, tomatoes, potatoes, parsley, bay leaves, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.*
• Bring to a boil, then add green beans. 
• Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until potatoes are almost fully tender, about 20 – 30 minutes.

Notes

Boosting Flavor

• For more flavor add in more dried herbs (or even triple the amount of dried thyme). Other good herbs to add include basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, or Italian seasoning.
• Another option to add more flavor is to use a homemade chicken stock or vegetable broth.
• You can also add a corn cob (that corn kernels have been cut from) in step 3 if using fresh corn.
• It’s also delicious to simmer a parmesan rind in with the soup, then remove at the end when removing bay leaves.
• Optionally you can finish servings with grated parmesan and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

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