How to Make Vegetable Soup

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Who doesn't love a nice warm bowl of vegetable soup? No matter the occasion, vegetable soup is a healthy and satisfying dish. This recipe will go over the basics of making vegetable soup, but it can be made with any vegetable, so the recipe is completely customizable. As long as you have about a pound of vegetables you like the flavor of, you’re ready to make vegetable soup.^{[1]
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Research source} This soup can be expected to feed four people.

Ingredients

4-6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
2 sliced carrots
1 can (11.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 large diced potato
2 stalks diced celery
1 cup chopped green beans
1 cup corn kernels (frozen or canned will work)
Any other vegetable you like the taste of and want to include.
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Preparing the Ingredients

1
Wash the vegetables. Use cold water to rinse all the vegetables you will be using.^{[2]
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Research source} For vegetables with thick skin like potatoes and carrots, use a vegetable brush to scrub them. Place the vegetables on a towel to dry.
2
Dice the potatoes and celery. Use a sharp standard chef knife for dicing, chopping, and slicing.^{[3]
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Research source} Place the potatoes and celery on a stable cutting board, then cut them into cubed shapes. To do this, make slices all the way across the vegetable that are about ¾ of an inch apart; then, turn the slices and repeat.
- This will create square dices.
- The dices do not have to be perfect, but they should all be roughly the same size.
- The smaller the dices are, the faster the potatoes and celery will cook.
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3
Chop the green beans. The ends of green beans have a small string you should remove with a knife or kitchen scissors.^{[4]
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Research source} Then, chop them into smaller pieces that are about 1 inch (3 cm). Use a measuring cup to make sure there is at least 1 cup of chopped green beans. Snap peas or thin asparagus stalks are good substitutes for green beans.
4
Slice the carrots. You can peel the carrots if you want before slicing, but this is not necessary. Cut off both ends of the carrot.^{[5]
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Research source} Now, you can slice the carrots into half lengthwise (down the center).^{[6]
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Research source} After this is complete, dice the carrot crosswise into small pieces no more than ½ an inch thick.
- You can try heirloom carrots instead of regular orange ones. They are easy to find and add a colorful burst of flavor to vegetable soup.
- Buy baby carrots if want to spend less time chopping. You can throw baby carrots in the soup whole.
- Winter squashes like pumpkin can be substituted for carrots, since they have the same texture when cooked.
5
Mince the garlic. If you’re using fresh garlic, you will need to peel 2-3 cloves to mince. Remove every layer of skin from the cloves, then crush the cloves with the side of your knife.^{[7]
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Research source} This will make the cloves flat and easier to chop. Roughly chop the garlic, then gather the garlic into a pile, and chop once again.
- Continue chopping the garlic until it is entirely in small pieces.
- Many people like their food with lots of garlic, so you can use more than three cloves.
- Garlic is also sold already minced.
6
Measure out 1 cup of corn kernels. Use a measuring cup to set aside 1 cup of corn kernels. Frozen or canned corn kernels will work for this soup. Substitute peas for corn if you wish.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Cooking the Vegetable Soup

1
Simmer all the vegetables in 4-6 cups of water. For a vegetable soup that does not use broth, add 4-6 cups of water into a large pan, and simmer all the ingredients for 45 minutes to 1 hour, using a very low heat.^{[8]
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Research source} Add all the vegetables, garlic, and spices at the same time.
- The pan needs to be large enough to include the 4 cups of vegetable stock, so choose a heavy-bottomed stockpot.
- Do not boil the water; this may cause the vegetables to burn.
- Stir the soup occasionally.
- When all of the vegetables are soft, the soup is ready to be served.
2
Heat the olive oil in a large pan.^{[9]
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Research source} For a quicker vegetable soup, you will need to sauté the vegetables and use broth. Heat the olive oil until it begins to slightly bubble.
- Lower heat will make the process go very slowly, and higher heat will cause the oil to burn.
- If you don't have olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, avocado oil, or butter is also acceptable.
3
Add the minced garlic, carrots, potatoes, and celery. Continue to cook these for about 8 minutes over low heat. They will begin to simmer and will become fragrant. Stir them occasionally, about once every minute.
4
Add all other vegetables. This includes the green beans, celery, corn, and any other vegetables you will include in the soup. Sauté the vegetables over low heat for another 5 minutes. You will know the vegetables are well-cooked when they become soft and fragrant; you never want the vegetables to turn dark brown.
- Stir the vegetables occasionally with a long wooden or metal stirring stick. Twice every minute should suffice.
- If your vegetables start to get very hot and sizzle constantly, this means they are frying. Turn the heat down if this happens.
- Turn the heat up if the vegetables are not sizzling at all.
5
Add the diced tomatoes. Stir the pot to make sure the ingredients are all mixing together.
6
Add 4-6 cups of chicken, beef, or vegetable stock. Then, increase the heat to high. This will cause the vegetables to simmer. If the soup begins to boil, lower the heat a little bit. You will need to watch the soup and make sure it doesn’t go beyond a simmer
- Turn down the heat to medium or low if it boils.
- You want the soup to bubble slightly but not to be at a rolling boil.
7
Cook the soup to cook for 25 to 30 minutes.^{[10]
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Research source} If you had turned down the heat of the soup, it may be appropriate to turn it up again to medium or high so the soup returns to a simmer.
8
Check that the potatoes and carrots are cooked. After 25-30 minutes, the potatoes and carrots should be soft. If a fork can pass easily through an entire chunk of potato or carrot without stopping at any hard spots, your soup is done.
9
Add salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you desire. After you add a bit of each seasoning, stir thoroughly to mix the spice into the entire soup. Taste test to see if the amount of spices is to your liking. In general, start with just 1 tablespoon (14.8 ml) of each spice, including salt and pepper. Then, add more if you want a stronger flavor.
- Be careful because it's a lot easier to add spices to a soup than it is to take them out.
- If you would like to season the soup further, you can add more spices or seasonings, such as dry or fresh oregano, thyme, or parsley.
- Dried Italian seasoning blends or poultry seasoning are good additions as well.
- Spices like cayenne and red pepper flakes will make the soup spicy.
10
Serve and enjoy your delicious vegetable soup. Carefully ladle the soup into bowls—remember, the soup will be very hot.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I add water?

Community Answer

Yes, you start the soup with boiling water in a pan (enough to cover the vegetables). Use a little salt, and adjust as needed. Next,cut and cook your vegetables, then blend them (if you'd like). Finally, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, adjust the water if the soup is to thick, check the salt, let the soup boil for a couple of minutes, and bon appétit!