🥕🥦 Hearty Homemade Vegetable Soup

A cozy, flavorful classic vegetable soup packed with carrots, potatoes, celery, green beans, peas, corn, and tomatoes in a delicious herb-seasoned broth. This style of soup is easy to customize and works beautifully for meal prep.

🥣 Servings

6–8 servings

⏱️ Time

  • Prep: 15–20 minutes
  • Cook: 35–45 minutes
  • Total: About 50–60 minutes

🛒 Ingredients

Vegetables

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3–4 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, sliced
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
  • 1½ cups green beans, chopped
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 2–3 cloves garlic, minced

Tomato & Broth

  • 2 cans (14–15 oz each) diced tomatoes, with juice
  • 6–8 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional, but gives the broth a richer flavor)

Seasoning

  • 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½–1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

👩‍🍳 How to Make It

1. Prepare the vegetables

Wash and chop all the vegetables before you start cooking.

Cut the potatoes and carrots into relatively similar-sized pieces so they cook evenly.

2. Sauté the base

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add:

  • Onion
  • Carrots
  • Celery

Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.

3. Add garlic

Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30–60 seconds.

Be careful not to burn the garlic.

4. Add tomato paste

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute.

This little step gives the soup a deeper, richer tomato flavor.

5. Add tomatoes and broth

Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juice.

Add 6–8 cups vegetable broth and stir everything together.

6. Add potatoes and seasonings

Add:

  • Potatoes
  • Italian seasoning
  • Thyme
  • Bay leaves
  • Paprika
  • Black pepper
  • Salt
  • Red pepper flakes, if using

Bring the soup to a gentle boil.

7. Simmer

Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

The potatoes and carrots should be starting to become tender. Similar vegetable soups commonly cook the potatoes and firm vegetables first before adding quicker-cooking vegetables.

8. Add green beans

Add the chopped green beans.

Continue simmering for 8–10 minutes, or until the potatoes and green beans are tender.

9. Add peas and corn

Stir in the frozen peas and corn.

Cook for another 5 minutes. There’s no need to cook them for a long time—they only need to heat through.

10. Finish the soup

Remove the bay leaves.

Taste the broth and adjust the salt and pepper.

Turn off the heat and stir in:

  • Fresh parsley
  • 1–2 tablespoons lemon juice

The lemon juice adds a little brightness and keeps the soup from tasting flat.

🌿 Optional Add-Ins

You can easily change this recipe depending on what you have:

  • Zucchini: Add 1–2 chopped zucchini during the last 10 minutes.
  • Spinach: Stir in 2 cups during the final 2–3 minutes.
  • Cabbage: Add 2–3 cups chopped cabbage with the potatoes.
  • Beans: Add 1 can drained kidney, cannellini, or chickpeas for extra protein.
  • Mushrooms: Sauté sliced mushrooms with the onion.
  • Chicken: Add cooked shredded chicken for a heartier soup.
  • Pasta: Add small pasta during the final cooking stage, adjusting broth as needed.

⭐ Tips for the Best Vegetable Soup

  • Don’t overcook the vegetables. You want them tender but still holding their shape.
  • Cut vegetables evenly so they finish cooking around the same time.
  • Use low-sodium broth so you can control the salt.
  • For a thicker soup, mash a few potato pieces against the side of the pot.
  • For a richer flavor, let the soup simmer gently for a little longer.
  • Fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon right before serving make a big difference.

🧊 Storage

Let the soup cool and transfer it to airtight containers.

Refrigerator: Keep for about 4 days.