Quick, easy and packed full of goodness – this Easy Peasy Vegetable Soup is ready in just 30 minutes and a real crowdpleaser. A great way to sneak lots of veggies into fussy eaters… It’s also vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, gluten free and budget friendly too!
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Easy Peasy Vegetable Soup
I have been on a quest for the perfect homemade vegetable soup… In one sense making vegetable soup is easy, just throw a bunch of veggies into a saucepan and boil until soft… then blitz with a hand blender.
Generally this method achieves perfectly OK results… but I wanted something better than that! So I got busy in my kitchen trying out different combinations of vegetables, stock and other additions in a quest to find the best homemade vegetable soup recipe… and I am very proud of my final version.
It’s a really lovely combination of onions, leeks, carrots, celery, parsnips and potato – all lovely vegetables on their own… but put them together in this combination and they produce something a little bit magical. Or at least they do for me – I honestly can’t get enough of this soup (and, even better, my kids love it too!)
Better still, this Easy Peasy Vegetable Soup is SOUPER easy to make. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!) Simply fry the onions and leeks gently in a little olive oil, then add in the rest of the veggies, plus vegetable stock, salt and pepper and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Finally blitz with a hand blender and serve.
Blender or Hand blender?
You can use either in this easy vegetable soup recipe, but my preference is to use a stick blender*… it gives you greater control and allows you to leave in a few chunky bits, so the soup has that rustic homemade style to it… but you can absolutely use a regular blender if you prefer a smoother, more uniform texture.
If you don’t own any kind of blender, you can just use a potato masher instead… it will be even more ‘rustic’ in texture, but it will still taste delicious.
This is quite a thick soup, so if you prefer a thinner kind of soup, then by all means add a little boiling water from the kettle after you’ve blended the soup, until you reach your preferred consistency.
What to serve with vegetable soup
This Easy Peasy Vegetable Soup is wonderfully filling and you can eat it all by itself if you like! But I like to serve this soup (and indeed any soup) with soda bread! To me, you just can’t beat that awesome combo of homemade soup and warm homemade soda bread straight from the oven.
At the moment I am really loving these Easy Peasy Soda Bread Rolls… which are not only easy peasy to make and utterly delicious… they are also super quick to make. In fact, if you work fast, you can make them in the time it takes to cook this homemade vegetable soup! Just remember to preheat your oven before you start making this soup. Then, when the soup is bubbling away, you can crack on and make the soda bread rolls. By the time you’ve ladled the soup into bowls, the bread should be just about ready to come out of the oven.
What to drink with vegetable soup
Vegetable soup goes surprisingly well with white wine. There are lots of great options, but my favourite would be a subtly oaked Chardonnay… especially white Burgundy! Other good options are Pinot Grigio, Semillion, white Bordeaux and Chenin Blanc.
Vegetable soup variations to try
While I have worked hard to bring you a recipe for vegetable soup that is just the perfect combination of veggies, this soup is, of course, very easy to adapt to what you have in your kitchen and to your own personal preferences.
You can use any combination of veggies you like – for example, why not try swede, butternut squash, sweet potato, celeriac or (bell) peppers.
You could also swap the vegetable stock for chicken stock, if you don’t need this to be veggie/vegan.
Another option is to add a little milk or cream if you want this to be creamier (and don’t mind the extra calories!)
And of course you can add any herbs or spices you like to the mix. I think a little thyme or a touch of ginger and chilli would work well here. And garlic would also be a nice addition.
Another option, if you want to add more substance and protein, would be to add in some lentils or beans to this soup.
What to do with leftover vegetable soup
Vegetable soup tastes just as good the next day, if not better. Simply place any leftover vegetable soup in a plastic lidded container and pop it into the fridge, where it will keep for 3-4 days.
To reheat, simply tip the soup into a saucepan and bring it to the boil. Ensure the soup is piping hot all the way through before serving. Alternatively, you can reheat this soup in the microwave.
Can you freeze vegetable soup?
Vegetable soup freezes brilliantly! In fact, I recommend you always cook double the quantity… eat one quantity freshly made and put the rest in the freezer for another day. Simply put the soup you want to freeze in a plastic lidded container and place in the freezer where it will keep for up to 3 months. Alternatively, freeze the soup in individual portions, so you can defrost as much or as little as you need each time.
Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Peasy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 leek sliced thinly
- 3 carrots sliced (no need to peel!)
- 2 sticks celery sliced
- 1 small parsnip peeled and sliced
- 1 medium potato peeled and chopped into 1cm / ½inch cubes
- 500 ml vegetable stock (made with a cube is fine, I use 1 Kallo Organic vegetable stock cube)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the olive oil, onion and leek in a wide, deep saucepan. Cook on a low heat with the lid on for 5 minutes until softened. Stir occasionally.
- Add the prepared carrot, celery, parsnip and potato, and stir.
- Add all the stock, plus some salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil and then simmer on a low heat, with the lid on, for 15 minutes - or until all the vegetables are completely soft.
- Use a hand blender to blitz the soup to a smooth puree and then add a little extra boiling water from the kettle if you think the soup is too thick. Taste the soup and add more salt and or pepper if you think it needs it.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with some crusty soda bread and a glass of chilled white wine.
Video
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Disclosure
*This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Sarah James says
Your soup looks delicious, I love parsnip & celery. Thanks for sharing x
Eb Gargano says
Thank you, Sarah. Me too, though in fact I love pretty much all vegetables! x
Only Crumbs Remain / Angela says
This looks and sounds delicious, perfect for the colder months
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Thank you, Angela. Yes, it is definitely a good one for warming you up on a chilly evening!
Kate says
Oh yum, this is exactly the kind of soup I make on a Saturday lunchtime in these chilly winter months. Really creamy and delicious, perfect with crusty bread!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kate! Eb 🙂
Choclette says
You have so put me in the mood for soup now Eb. It’s just the weather for it. I eat a lot of vegetable soup and this combination sounds delicious.
Eb Gargano says
Oh you are so right. It’s been so cold recently – perfect soup weather! Eb 🙂
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This is one of my favourite kinds of soup, I make something very similar regularly depending on what veg we have left over, so I know how yummy this is!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kat! It’s a great combination, isn’t it? Eb 🙂
Karen Booth says
WE are ALL soup dragons here at Chez Lavender & Lovage (aka soup lovers) and this looks so comforting.
Thanks so much for linking up to #CookBlogShare week 6 – Karen
Eb Gargano says
Aw, ‘soup dragons’ – I love that! I am definitely a soup dragon too 😀
Engelie says
I made your soup for a staff meeting and loved how delicious and easy it was. Thank you for taking the ‘think’ out of my day.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, yay – I am so glad you enjoyed my soup and it made your life easier! Eb 🙂
Helen says
Hi, I’m not supposed to have white potatoes. Would this recipe (and the carrot & coriander soup also) work with just extra of the other veg in the recipe to make up for the lack of potato?
Thanks
Eb Gargano says
Hi Helen, yes this recipe works just fine with just veg and no potato! Let me know how you get on 😀
Marina Broadley says
Can I replace white potatoes for sweet potatoes?
Eb Gargano says
Absolutely!
Mel says
I had to change the parsnip for half a sweet potato and the vegetable stock for chicken stock.
Amazing recipe
Eb Gargano says
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for this lovely review 😀
Penrhyn says
Made this recipe, but did tweak it a little. Added some garlic (because I like garlic) and an extra Potato as I do like my soups a little thicker. Really lovely flavours.
Eb Gargano says
Great to hear you liked it so much! 😀