Fully Loaded Vegetable Soup

Cozy up with a bowl of fully loaded vegetable soup! With a flavorful tomato broth and fresh vegetables, it tastes way better than from a can, and keeps well in the fridge.

During the colder weather, I am drawn to classic comfort foods: casseroles, stews, and of course, soup! This hearty vegetable soup is a really great way to get your daily quotient of vegetables, even during the cold months.

With tons of veggies including carrots, celery, onions, garlic, cauliflower, zucchini and tomatoes, it's nutrient-rich, hydrating, and also happens to be delicious!

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Recipe video

Watch the video below for step by step instructions for cooking vegetable soup! You can find more recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Ingredient notes

• diced tomatoes- if you want to add new flavors to the soup, grab a flavored variation of diced tomatoes such as fire roasted, Rotel or herb and garlic.
• kidney beans- we add the beans for protein and a texture variation to the soup. Feel free to swap for your favorite bean; black beans, chickpeas or white beans would all work great.
• cauliflower- use fresh or frozen, though if you use frozen, they may be large for a soup
• vegetables- this soup recipe is really flexible, and you can really swap out almost any of the vegetables for ones you might need to use up in your fridge! More on this below.
• broth- keep it vegetarian with vegetable broth, or you can make your own homemade bone broth.

Step by step directions

Sauté onions- Heat olive oil in a 4 quart or larger pot. Add the onions, and sauté for 5-7 minutes, until they are soft and translucent.

Add garlic- Make a space in the middle of the onions, then add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, until it is fragrant and cooked through.

Simmer- Add the carrots, celery, cauliflower florets, zucchini, basil, oregano, salt, bay leaf, diced tomatoes and vegetable stock. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure nothing is stuck. Place the lid on the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer for 30 minutes. You want the carrots and celery to be soft.

Add kidney beans- Before serving, remove the bay leaf, and stir in the kidney beans. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

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Recipe FAQ + Tips

Prepping your vegetables

Before you start cooking, I recommend you have all your vegetables chopped up and ready to go. Make sure you cut them into small pieces (1 inch or smaller), because the soup will cook through quicker, and large vegetable chunks are not fun to eat in soup. You may use frozen vegetables, but keep in mind they are difficult to chop when frozen, so you may end up with larger vegetable chunks in your soup.

The flavor base

Taking the time to sauté the onions and garlic transforms them from pungent and intense to soft, mellow, and slightly sweet. This is the flavor base to the soup, which plays off the acidic tomatoes and dried herbs to create great flavor. Don't skip this step.

Other veggies you can add

You can use up almost anything you might have in your fridge including (but not limited to):

• broccoli
• green beans
• corn or peas (fresh or frozen) *
• parsnips
• kale or spinach *
• potatoes or sweet potatoes
• squash
• leeks

Keep in mind that changing the veggies may alter the cook time; use your best judgment to determine when the vegetables are soft enough to eat.

* Add greens and peas at the same time as the kidney beans.

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Storage + Reheating

This soup keeps well, and tastes even better on day 2! Here's how to safely store and reheat this recipe:

• fridge- cool completely, then cover the pot, or portion out into storage jars. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
• freezer- cool completely, then portion out into glass or plastic freezer jars. Leave ¼ of the jar empty to account for expansion, and leave lids ajar until the soup is fully frozen. Freeze for up to 3 months.
• thaw- overnight in the fridge (speed the process by leaving on the counter for a few hours, or by immersing the jar in water).
• reheat- heat individual portions in the microwave until steaming hot. Heat the whole pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 15-20 minutes, until warmed through.

Check out my favorite freezer containers!

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