I really wanted to pen a witty post for you today in order to showcase my latest, greatest, and most importantly super simple Vegetable Bean Soup recipe.
However, I have a nine month old child. Yes, she’s days shy of being nine months. Can you believe it? I could go the cliche route and say how did this happen, but we all know the answer (cough, unprotected sex, cough). Anyway, time passes and we age; my child nine months and me nineteen years. Seems fair (snort).
Suffice to say, my minutes are limited these days so instead of wasting them with all the words and spouting the virtues of this bounteous and beautiful bowl of nutritional goodness (aside from this rather windy sentence that is), I’m giving you bullet points; the Cliff Notes version, if you will.
This Vegetable Bean Soup is good; it’s really good, like a full glass of wine in the bathtub, while your partner massages your feet, good. Yeah, it’s like that.
This soup is hearty and sustainable in a fiber filled way. I promise your colon will thank you.
Speaking of bursting, it’s packed with flavor, without a lot of salt, mainly because the baby can’t really have any and this mamma only makes one meal at a time.
Yes, it is tiny human approved. She tore through this soup like it was her job and considering eating, sleeping and you know whating make up the bulk of her daily activities, I’d say she’s knocking it out of the park.
Ave wasn’t the only one digging on this gratifying gulp of nature’s goodness either. It got multiple thumbs up from the Hubby and my mother-in-law.
Equally as interesting, it’s flexible, meaning it’s packed with whatever veggies and beans you find in your fridge and pantry. Don’t have carrots; no problem, use celery. No butter beans; go with black or kidney. You can mix and match to your heart’s content. Well except for the potatoes. Spuds are a deal breaker for me.
It’s vegan, gluten-free, healthy, clean and all those other fancy buzz words.
More importantly though, this vegetable bean soup is forgiving, like you can leave it on the counter overnight, and it’ll still be tasty and fresh the next day. You could even pull this same stunt two nights in a row.*
*Mommy brain is alive and well in my household.
- 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1/2 large Onion, diced (approximately 1/2 cup)
- 3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
- 2 large Carrots, peeled and chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- 1/2 Bell Pepper, chopped (approximately 3/4 cup)
- 4 cups Vegetable Stock
- 3 medium Potatoes, peeled and chopped small (approximately 2 cups)
- 1 15 oz. can Corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz. can Butter Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz. can Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Parsley
- 1/2 tsp. Basil
- 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Red Pepper flakes
- Add olive oil to a large soup pot over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add diced onion, garlic, carrots and bell pepper and cook for a few minutes, just long enough for the veggies to brown slightly.
- Add the stock and the rest of the ingredients from the potatoes through to the red pepper flakes. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through (easily pierced with a fork) and soup is desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the thicker it will become. If you're like me and you forget about it simmering away on the stove top, you can always add more stock to thin it.
- Feel free to use whatever veggies or beans you have on hand. Taste the soup often and add additional spice if necessary.
What are your favorite veggies to use in soup? What about beans?
I see why Ave had her fill of this – GAH – Now I want soup for breaky! Oh and LOVE that you included butter beans in this! Happy New Year to you and your brood!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan recently posted…Orange Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies
The butter beans were so good, although they weren’t my first choice; they just happened to be what was in the pantry at the time. It worked out really well.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
I make soup every week during the winter and I just added this recipe to my collection for next week. The best news is that I don’t even have to veganize it! I can’t wait to try it. I’m thinking I’ll even share a bowl (and the recipe) with my soup loving friend who loves homemade soup but insists that she can’t make it.
Hooray! I’m right there with you. I love soup this time of year. I can’t wait to hear what you think.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
Soup is a hug in a bowl (that could be on a t-shirt). It’s finally cold here so I plan to make this THIS week with leftover black eyed peas from New Years. Bless you for making it low sodium. This body cannot handle the balloonage.
Jamie@TheMomGene recently posted…Animals on Display
Well said; soup is a hug in a bowl; one of my favorite things this time of year.
Cooking for Ave has resulted in a drastic salt reduction in all my meals. It’s making me a little more creative with other spices.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
Well I can already attest to you #mad soup creating skills, so I have zero doubts this one will stand out above other veggie bean soups. I love your use of tomato sauce…. very smart.
I’ve never had a butter bean. What a fun name . Reminds me of Harry Potter. I think I’d hunt them down specially for this.
Cora recently posted…The Desire to Purge: The Costs of Being an Introvert and Super-Feeler
I was originally going to use canned diced tomatoes when lo and behold, I had none. Sauce won by default and I’m really happy it did because it was fantastic.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
this is great, you had me at easy. and baby approved. i’m making this for Lulu!!! thank you, i’m excited. i will be using my immersion blender though, she still needs more mush but we’re working on it.
danielle recently posted…WIR sleep less play more
If you cook the soup long enough, the veggies should be gummable enough for Lulu. They ended up being really soft so Ave had no trouble. I did make sure she had broken beans though as opposed to whole ones.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
“Speaking of bursting…” HA HA! You’re hilar. This soup looks great, my friend! I’ll grab the ingredients for it, along with some toilet paper, when I go to the store today.
Suzy recently posted…From Deep to Steep
I can’t wait to hear what you and your intestines think about it. 🙂
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
YAssss, this speaks to my soul. I would eat this entire thing, great as leftovers! I cannot believe your tiny human is 9mo!? WHERE DID TIME GO!?
Brittany recently posted…The Last Post
I know. 9 months It’s insanity.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
I’m on it too! Looks warm, good, and cold friendly, and I’m talking about the cold in my nose kinda cold, tho it’s not exactly warm outside either. Right now it’s 12 degrees, and I see no reason to leave my house to shop when I’ve a great recipe right here that uses everything I’ve got on hand!
Tell Ms. Ave thanks for the critique! I trust her taste implicitly.
Ms. Ave says you are most welcome and she hopes you feel better soon.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
Just what I need to battle the crud! Looking forward to trying this soup! Corn and potatoes will obvs be included. I love using sweet potatoes too. And Italian beans. Never liked butter beans/lima beans.
Sweet potatoes and Italian beans will be fantastic too. That’s one of my favorite things about veggie soup; it’s whatever happens to be in the pantry. and fridge.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
Chunky soup is the only way to do soup for me! You got a 9 month old to eat it too – rockstar!
Michele @ paleorunningmomma recently posted…My Whole30 versus Yours, Haircut, and Trip Photos!
Ave is all about solids. I can’t eat anything in front of her without her wanting to try it too. She loves potatoes, beans, avocado, pancakes and oatmeal. The jury is still out on fruit though. .
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
Potatoes will always and forever be my answer to the veggie question, whether in soups on on their own. I even liked them as a crazy picky 5 year old, so you know they gotta be good. The bean question is a little moe complicated, though. Butter beans in soups, but then kidney beans on their own. Is that weird? I always feel like a black sheep in the blog world since I don’t really care for chickpeas, and they’re like the be-all-end-all. Now I’m craving soup…
Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…so here’s the thing… (ToL#216)
No chickpeas here. This soup is almost Spoon friendly. You could certainly play with the veggies to make your own special blend.
Meghan recently posted…The Easiest Vegetable Bean Soup Recipe
Yum! Vegetable soup is just the thing I want when the weather gets cold. Plus, random fact: canned butter beans are low-FODMAP if you keep the portions low. Which means this is a bean soup I can enjoy.
Frankly, I think I ought to try both the wine-in-the-bathtub-with-foot-massage plus the soup, just to test your hypothesis that they’re equally good. Don’t you think that would be a good idea?
Joyce @ The Hungry Caterpillar recently posted…Top 5 Low-FODMAP Recipes of 2016
I think that would be a fantastic idea. I can’t wait to hear the results.
Yes. This is all I could ask for in a soup, and all I want! I’ll even keep it as potatoes…. Ok maybe I might switch it to sweet pots 😛
One for the winter recipe bookmark!
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape recently posted…Week In Review – All the festivities!
Sweet potatoes are totally acceptable. I’m good just so long as some spuds make it to the party.
I’m always so impressed with your ability to cook and share recipes while raising a baby! 9 months is serious stuff! I can’t believe in a few months she will be a year old!
meredith @ cookie chrunicles recently posted…Friday Favorites – January 2017
Thanks sweets. It’s a lot of work and I definitely don’t post as often as I’d like but I’ll take what I can get. Ave started crawling this week. 🙂 🙂
There’s nothing I won’t do for a full glass of wine in the bathtub whilst receiving a foot massage. So… I probably need this soup.
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted…Tattoos, Snowboarding, and Our Anniversary Dinner [WIAW]
You definitely need this soup. Ask Vegas to spoon feed it to you.
Meghan recently posted…Week in Review (#65)
Mmmh mmmh good. I can see why Ave liked this. It’s the kind of soup that mums cook best and that just feel like a hug from within.
Regarding beans: a meal without legumes isn’t really a meal in this house. The vegetable question is much harder to answer because I want them all. But parsnips are really nice. Their soft texture and amazing flavour – aah.
“.. and all those other fancy buzzwords”: we feel the same way here. Sometimes I want food to be just food again.
Miss Polkadot recently posted…Good good links #176
I want food just to be food again too. Well said! In fact, I think there’s a blog post in there somewhere.
Meghan recently posted…Week in Review (#65)
Oh gosh this looks so comforting! And I love that it’s foolproof and forgiving when you forget it 🙂 At the moment we bulk cook and store the huge pot on the balcony in the snow. Works for the moment.
You are the only one I know who can take beautyful pictures with square plates or bowls. Very very pretty!
Juli@1000lovelythings recently posted…Week in Review – The Excited Edition
Aw shucks, I’m glad you like the square bowl. I really like using them in photos for some odd reason. In this case, I had to use white to contract the color of the soup and the square bowl was the only white one I had.
Who wouldn’t want easy and delicious soup recipes?! My family will love it!
I hope you and your family tried the soup. My hubby is already clamoring for another batch over here.
Oh that looks tasty and warm. Potato is always my favorite veggie. This will be on the list my recipe next week, I’m sure my little child will love it
Mary@Swimming Pool recently posted…Best Pool Water Test Kits Reviews – How to Test Pool Water
Potatoes are my favorite too. I hope you enjoy it.
This recipe is great on a chilly evening. Pair it with some crusty bread and wine and you’ve got yourself a good night. I also like to make extra and pack it with a half sandwich for lunch. Hearty and healthy!
Mmm you had me at crusty bread and wine. 🙂
I can’t wait to try the soup over the weekend Meghan. It will be a nice change from all the junk that I have been eating lately due to long working hours. It will be fun trying the Ave approved soup.