Vegetable Soup is hearty and full of nourishing veggies like tomatoes, corn, green beans, celery, and potatoes, ready in under 45 minutes!
When it’s cold outside, warm up in the kitchen with all of your favorites like Ultimate Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Classic Beef Chili and Ultimate Sloppy Joes! These are some of the heartiest and easiest Main Courses you can make at home.
Vegetable Soup is the PERFECT healthy dish for a cold day, made with fresh vegetables like hearty potatoes and corn, green beans, celery, carrots, and onions in a seasoned chicken broth. Once you try this it will become one of your favorite soup recipes of all time. Serve this with toasted Garlic Bread, a side salad, and some cheddar or parmesan cheese on top.
This recipe is one of the oldest recipes in the world! From the dawning of fireproof and waterproof cooking vessels (probably made of thick earthenware), humankind has gathered the vegetables and herbs and put them into a liquid dish to cook. There’s a billion different ways to combine food for a nutritious and flavorful soup. This recipe is just one of the most common in the world!
You can make this on the stovetop because it’s pretty quick to throw together, but it does really well in both the slow cooker and the instant pot as well. Once you try this soup recipe, you will never look at the store-bought stuff the same way again.
How to Make Vegetable Soup
This vegetable soup recipe is really versatile. You can use whatever veggies that are in season, or this is a great recipe to use up leftover veggies from the night before. You could also make this using Italian seasoning blend, or oregano, parsley, and thyme with various different types of broths for variety and flavor. Check out our recipe here:
- Prepare – Gather, wash, and chop all the vegetables.
- Saute – In the pot or Dutch Oven, cook the celery, garlic, and onions together which helps add a wonderful earthy flavor to the soup.
- Combine – Once that’s ready, add the rest of the vegetables and seasonings to the pot.
- Liquidate – Add in the liquid (we’re using chicken broth and V8 juice in this recipe.) Note: For a thicker soup base, add 4-5 tablespoons of tomato puree.
- Simmer – Once it’s boiling, reduce to a simmer. Keep the lid on so all the liquid doesn’t evaporate. Then enjoy!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Vegetables should be chopped to about an inch long so they can easily fit onto a spoon. Smaller cuts also prevent choking hazards, especially for young children.
Yes. To save time, you can substitute a drained can of diced tomatoes for hand-diced tomatoes in this homemade vegetable soup recipe. Or if you prefer to use all canned vegetables or frozen veggies, like frozen corn, that makes for a super easy weeknight meal. You can add the water from the cans directly into the bowl, no need to drain.
Add any combination of your favorite vegetables including bell peppers, mixed frozen veggies, parsnips, chickpeas, kidney beans, zucchini, kale, spinach or shredded cabbage.
Crusty bread served with a healthy soup made with fresh herbs is one of the best comfort foods in the world. Skillet Cornbread is a great option to make!
If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, try adding a bit of salt and a scoop of real butter. If the soup is cooked with an unctuous piece of roast beef, it will lend a mouthwatering and rich flavor to your soup. Up the amount of garlic as well when cooking.
Adding and mixing herbs is almost a precision science. Fresh herbs add a lot of good flavor, while dried herbs are deeper in flavor which means you can add less. Italian herb blends will be perfect for this recipe. Additionally, add two or three dried Bay leaves to the soup to really give it that boost of flavor. Some say this is the secret ingredient, or at least the most important ingredient in their soup!
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Key Ingredients for Vegetable Soup
- Vegetables – This recipe uses a large variety of vegetables. When selecting vegetables, choose the freshest you can find in the market. Watch out for mold, decay, and other things you wouldn’t want to purposefully ingest.
- Soup Base – We’re using V8 juice and chicken broth as the soup base. V8 juice is packed with flavor and vitamins and adds character. Chicken broth adds an almost buttery addition without dairy. You can also change which broth you’re using depending on your flavor preference.
Alternative Cooking Methods
- Slow Cooker – Vegetable soup is REALLY easy to make in the slow cooker. Just put everything in, stir to mix together, and cook on low for eight hours or on high for four hours. You can refer to this Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup for a similar version (but with beef – which you can definitely leave out if you want).
- Instant Pot – This is the perfect recipe to use with your Instant Pot! Just place all of your ingredients in the instant pot. Lock the lid and seal the pressure valve. On manual mode, set the instant pot for 10 minutes on high. Let it release naturally.
Variations on Vegetable Soup
- Meat Lovers – Add browned beef, turkey, sausage, or cubed extra firm tofu to this recipe for a higher protein option. You can also use leftover Rotisserie Chicken.
- Tex-Mex – Make your own Homemade Taco Seasoning and cook with ground beef for a Tex-Mex veggie soup. Serve your soup with sour cream and crunchy tortilla chips.
- Pure Vegan Soup – Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make this soup vegan friendly. If you’re going to add leafy greens to the soup, like kale or spinach, add them about 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve.
- Vegetarian Soup – This recipe is dairy free as-is, but you can change the chicken broth to veggie broth, add ¾ cup of half and half just before serving to make this soup vegetarian friendly.
- Noodle Soup – Add a half cup of al dente pasta right before serving to add some filling carbs to this vegetable soup recipe.
- Spicy Soup – Add a dash of cayenne pepper, diced jalapeño, or red pepper flakes to add some spicy seasoning to this soup.
- Winter Soup – For a fun winter soup, you can add sweet potatoes and canned white beans to the recipe for a hearty soup. If the beans are dry, let the soak overnight or get boiled for 15 mins before being added to the soup base. For every half cup of par-cooked beans, add a cup of broth or water.
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How to Store Vegetable Soup
- Serve: Vegetable Soup can be left at room temperature for up to two hours, or kept warm in a crock pot for up to 4 hours once it’s finished cooking.
- Store: Vegetable soup will last wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for about 4 days. Reheat your soup over medium-low heat on the stove, stirring occasionally until warm.
- Freeze: Vegetable soup is perfect for making ahead and freezing. Let the soup cool down completely, then seal it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 5-6 months. If you make a double batch when you make this, you can freeze some for a quick dinner another night.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 2 stalks celery , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 large potato , peeled and diced
- 2 carrots , sliced
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup peas
- 1 cup green beans , chopped
- 2 vine tomatoes , diced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups V-8 juice
Instructions
- In a large stock pot add the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions, celery and garlic for 4-5 minutes until translucent.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and bringing to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
Super good! I doubled the recipe and made some minor changes: Used veg broth, canned tomatoes, no oil and added some ditalini pasta. Fantastic dinner! Hubby enjoyed his over some broken sprouted bread. Thanks for sharing.?
So good! I use veggie broth instead of chicken and no oil. I also ass the chick peas, as recommended. My go-to veggie soup! I make it a few times a month!
This soup is so delicious and very comforting. I cooked it and took a catnap while it cooled. Just woke up to put it away for lunch/dinner tomorrow. I just ate two bowls. It is sooo delicious. Home made soup from now on for me!
So glad you enjoyed it, Brooke.
Just trying this recipe, reading all the comments I don’t make soup often so hopefully this turns out good pretty much followed the recipe step by step. Just hoping it all cooks the same!! Nervous when making soup
Enjoy!
This is the second time I’ve made this soup and it is still so good! I am a new vegan (no animal products or bi-products, or oils) for recent medical reasons, so I sautéed my onions, garlic and celery in a little veggie stock. I doubled the recipe and I used organic canned diced tomatoes, 1 potato, 1 sweet potato, some Herbs de Provence and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. The last 8 minutes I added sliced and quartered zucchini and cannellini beans. It’s so easy and so delicious. I always suffer from a burned mouth for hours afterwards because I can’t wait for it to cool before eating!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I follow a similar diet and I love this recipe as well! I need to try some of the added veggies you use. I always add garbanzo beans to mine now! Mmmm
This was delicious! I followed the recipe exactly just added cubed beef. Thanks for sharing.
would it be ok to leave out the chicken broth and use vegetable broth instead and use the v-8 juice as well?
Yes
Wow! This soup was so good!! I have no idea why I have never made homemade vegetable soup before. I modified just a little bit because of the things that I already had in my pantry and fridge. I added leeks in with the onions and garlic. I did not have green beans but I did have fresh mushrooms, so I added mushrooms. I used bone broth chicken broth, and I only used 3 cups instead of 4. I didn’t realize that the potato would actually cook in such a short time, so I regret that I did not add very much fresh potato even though I had it. The next time I will add the whole potato. Rookie vegetable soup maker!!
Sorry, I forgot to say I put Chickpeas or Red Beans too?
Hi Sabrina! I was just thinking about making my Vegetable Soup because it’s healthy and yummy and I make mine Red too, I use most of your ingredients but I MUST have Cabbage in it !! It gives it such a good flavor and Cabbage is good for ya ? Yours looks delicious but try the Cabbage in it next time you make it, I know you’ll love it ? Thanks ?
I made this soup for my book club! I doubled the recipe and followed your instructions exactly as written. They absolutely loved it and devoured almost all of it. I served it with crusty bread and a spring mix salad. Without a doubt this is the best vegetable soup I have ever made. I have made it three times since with the same reaction! YUM! Thank you for this amazing soup recipe. I also really like all your notes, very helpful!
Thanks so much for coming back to let me know, Lesley.
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious! I added a can of Rotel in place of fresh tomatoes, added chopped cabbage at the end, and also added about a cup and a half of cooked quinoa that I had leftover from last night’s dinner. The quinoa added protein and made the soup thicker and more hearty- so good! My husband is not a big soup fan, and always complains when I make soup. Well he just finished his second bowl, and said “this soup is a 10!” Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Yay! Glad you were able to make a soup fan out of him.
What can you substitute for V8? I forgot it at the store, is there a substitute?
You can add spices to just regular tomato juice or if you have a bloody mary cocktail mix (just the mix without the alcohol), that’ll work too. Otherwise, I would look for a recipe online for a copycat version of v8 juice using chopped tomatoes, celery, onion, carrots, garlic, and other spices.
Awesome! I used vegetable broth & added more veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini), plain couscous & barley. Love it!
Sounds delicious, Judy!
This vegetable soup is top notch. I have made it many times and it never fails to please the family. And it freezes very well. Your right…we will never eat a canned soup again! Next time I would like to add barley. Many many thanks for sharing.
I loved this recipe! I swapped out a few of the veggies for different ones that I had on hand and added a can of white beans, ground turkey and little noodles so I could have lots of leftovers. it was delicious and very filling. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Katie.
Made this last night. Used low sodium chicken broth. Had tomato juice on hand so substituted for the V8 but added Tabasco sauce to spice it up. Threw in some shredded chicken I had in the freezer. So good, easy, and fast! Yum!
So glad you enjoyed it, Darren. Thanks for the 5 stars.
Just so you know, the metric conversion of 2 c. of V8 in this recipe is way off for some reason. It should be 500 ml, not 6.94 kg.
Thanks for the correction.
Making it tonight!!!
I love this soup! So easy to make but full of flavour, thank you for the recipe
You’re welcome.
I went ahead and removed the potato pieces. The soup is great without it!
Glad you enjoyed and it worked out!
If I do this in a crock pot, do I need to cook the meat first or just literally throw everything in? What about the sautee step at the beginning with the onions, celery and garlic? Do I need to do that first too if I throw in a crock pot?
I would sear the meat first. It gives it so much flavor. The veggies too – no need to cook all the way through for either, just give it some flavor.
What meat? I don’t see that in recipe.
The original recipe doesn’t call for meat but if you’d like to add one, you definitely can. I hope you enjoy it.
I am not seeing any meat in this recipe?
There isn’t meat but if you want to add a meat, you definitely can. Enjoy!
This recipe is delicious. I was skeptical about not adding any additional seasonings but it turned out to be great and very easy to make. I did cook it longer- about an hour & a half.
Glad you gave it a chance and you liked it!
Can you freeze this soup?
Absolutely!
Can I double this? I plan to use instant pot.
Yes, absolutely.
I prepared this soup last night and the aroma was amazing! I followed the recipe exactly except I used beef stew meat. I was a little hesitant on the bay leaf but I’m glad I used it. The secret weapon is surely the better than bouillon! LOL I let it cook on low for 8 hours in my slow cooker. My husband had it for breakfast and said the soup is “DELICIOUS!” This is a keeper and I will make again! Got a french baguette and this will be our dinner after church today! Thank you for sharing this awesome soup recipe!
Hooray!! I am so glad you enjoyed it, this is literally one of my favorite recipes on the site. When I am craving something that screams comfort food I reach for this recipe.
This soup is very tasty and so easy to make! Thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked it! It is SO easy! 🙂
For spice I used Hot and Spicy V8….. was yummy
This soup was pretty good but a bit too salty for me. Would recommend not adding salt and letting guests season their own bowls with salt & pepper. I also added a couple tbsp of tomato paste for a more tomatoey flavour. Nice!
So glad you liked it! You can definitely hold back and let guests season to their taste if it is too salty for you 🙂
This soup is so easy and delicious! A keeper. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Pretty awesome. I added canned tomatoes, cabbage & lentils. Delicious.
Sounds yummy!
This is was delicious. I added cabbage and a little half and it was so good. My family loves it as well. Definitely a new winter favorite.
Sounds delicious with the cabbage and half and half. yum!
Can we use something other than V8?
The easiest would be to substitute with a bloody mary cocktail mix (just the mix, not the alcohol) otherwise, you can find recipes online to make a copycat version using chopped tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and spices. Hope this helps.
Do you use frozen vegetables or canned vegetables? Going to try to make this tomorrow.
I use fresh but you can use frozen. 🙂 Let me know how it turns out!
I had an old friend, who used to always add a can of V8 to his soups and stews. This does make a difference. Just a little zest?
I agree! It has a unique flavor hard to recreate but makes all the difference in this soup!
This is not vegetable soup. Chicken stock?
It’s a vegetable soup however I don’t list it as vegetarian. You can adjust to make vegetarian by using vegetable stock 🙂 I have other tips to adjust to make it fit your dietary or taste preferences in the post.
This is an amazingly tasty soup and the V 8 adds just the right about of zest. Our family loves it and there is never a drop of siup left. Freezes well.Thank you!
I’m so glad you all love it!
I love this versatile soup recipe. I have made it twice and doubled the recipe both times. I always add cabbage and the last time I added taco seasoning and black beans to half the batch and that was great as well. I will make this often.
Sounds delicious!
Amazing recipe! I changed the celery to zucchini instead and kept everything else as is. Great for lunch at work thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Annabelle.
This soup is delicious cooked it all day in a slow cooker
Best vegetable soup recipe I’ve ever tried!
Thanks so much, Meghan!
This was absolutely delicious!!!! I did not use olive oil and instead sauteed the veggies in vegetable broth. Used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes too and that gave it some spice. Loved this so much and will be adding this to my meal rotation.
That sounds amazing, Shannon!
Great recipe; I added more veggies though and a bay leaf…. sometimes since I add more veggies I add a can of tomato sauce ….. it’s fabulous with the addition of chopped cabbage at the end…. doesn’t take long for it to cook so definitely a last minute add in… in fact you can through it in turn off heat, lid on and let it cook as soup cools for twenty minutes
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the 5 stars.
This was soooooooo good. I used beef broth and added kidney beans. Ate it w warm ciabatta bread mmmmmmn
Sounds amazing!
Hi Sabrina,
Can you please tell me how long to cook your veg. soup in Crock Pot ?
HI or LOW ? How long ?
Mira C.
I would recommend cooking it on low for 6 hours. Enjoy!
This soup is delicious and great for a cold, wet Sunday evening. Served with toasted, buttered sourdough. One thing I noticed though is that the peas are not in the recipe list but appear in the photo. I happened to have half a bag of frozen peas to throw in. Thanks for a classic, repeat recipe!
Thanks for catching that! Just added it! So glad you love it.
I want to try this but do not have V8 on hand. How can I modify the recipe?
Although V8 has many other vegetables in it, you can always mix equal parts tomato sauce and water as a substitute.
This was yummy! I did it in the instant pot which took forever to heat up and cook (maybe 45 minutes including saute time), I tried to do a natural release but had to quick release after 10 minutes to feed the family before bed time! Definitely will make again. The veggies cooked beautifully in the instant pot.
Thanks for the feedback using the instant pot!
It’s chilly here in Texas so I am all about soup!
Definitely helps to warm you up!
This soup was so yummy and full of flavor! Great recipe. I like all the ingredients in it. This is perfect for me. thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Chrissie!
I love how rich and hearty this vegetable soup is! So perfect for the cold season!
Thanks, Catalina!
Hi Sabrina! I just wanted to let you know, Iv’e been having a great time Pinning & posting all the wonderful food you have here 🙂 It ALL LOOKS GOOD! Hope you & those you love have a very Happy New Year!
Thanks so much, Robin! Happy new year!
I know what I’m making for dinner! This looks amazing and so fulfilling! Thank you for sharing!
Enjoy!
Vegetable soup sounds like a great addition to our dinner menu this week with all the chilly days ahead.
The perfect way to warm up!