Try This Savory Vegetable Soup Recipe for a Healthy Meal
With its mix of great flavor, vegetables and legumes, this hearty and healthy clean soup is satisfying and easy go-to comfort food with plenty of iron and protein too.
Don't think of it as a vegetable soup recipe, think of this 10-vegetable extravaganza as an incredibly delicious garden family reunion. Vegetables like squash and zucchini grow up together, then life takes them in different directions—one may join a casserole; one may marry into a bread. You know how it is: Life gets busy and sometimes we lose touch with those who knew us when we were seedlings.
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Jenny Levison, aka Souper Jenny, is an Atlanta restauranteur who hosts a soup-apalooza every day in her Atlanta neighborhood café. She created this recipe "to get all my servings of veggies in one shot," she says. "A filling, satisfying vegetable soup cooked slowly reminds me of the time I spent in France, and how Europeans sit down and really enjoy a meal."
Whether you use parsnips instead of potatoes or add fresh fennel in place of rosemary, the key to any great vegetable soup is shop in your garden first then fill in with supermarket staples. "This is one of my most popular soups because it's clean, healthy eating at its best," Levison says. "The Parmesan rind adds flavor without calories and beans or lentils will give it an extra protein boost."
Jenny’s 10-Vegetable Soup
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 leeks trimmed and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup sweet potato, peeled & chopped
- 1 cup broccolini, chopped
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach, cleaned
- 1 cup zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup squash, chopped
- 1 28-ounce can pumpkin, unsweetened
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh or frozen lima beans or peas
- 5 quarts low sodium vegetable stock
- Rind of Parmesan cheese wedge
Heat heavy duty stock pot and add oil. Sauté leeks, garlic and rosemary until soft. Add everything else and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer for 1 hour. Remove Parmesan rind and serve.