This vegetable soup recipe is amazing, healing, and warming. It’s just the thing for cold nights, days when you’re craving a healthy reset, or any time you’re feeling a bit under the weather.

I first started making it years ago, when I was bouncing back from a cold and had a ton of random veggies in the fridge. Using the ingredients I had in my pantry—vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, dried herbs, and vinegar—I transformed this jumble of vegetables into an amazing soup!

Since then, I’ve made it again and again, with a different mix of veggies every time. No matter what produce I have on hand, this easy vegetable soup always comes out delicious.

Vegetable Soup Recipe Variations

I call for a lot of vegetables in this soup but use whatever you have on hand and/or skip what you don’t have. Here are a few easy ways to change it up:

1. Use all carrots or all sweet potato instead of both, or add butternut squash instead.

2. Toss in a few sliced cremini mushrooms when you add the carrot.

3. Swap bell pepper for the cherry tomatoes, zucchini, or green beans.

4. Use another leafy green, like spinach or chard, in place of the kale.

5. Garnish bowls with chopped fresh parsley or basil, a scoop of pesto, or a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese!

Ingredients

1 (14.5 ounces) can of diced tomatoes

1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth

1 (11.5 ounces) can tomato-vegetable juice cocktail

2 carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 large potato, diced

1 cup chopped fresh green beans

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

1 pinch Creole seasoning, or more to taste

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and several grinds of pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Add the carrot and sweet potato, stir, and cook for more minutes.

2. Add the canned tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

3. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, and chickpeas, and cover and cook 10 to 15 more minutes, until the green beans are tender.

4. Stir in the vinegar and the kale and cook for 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted. Season to taste and serve.