Making Italian Vegetable Soup

I love making soup, especially when it's cold outside. It's warm and hearty, and best yet, it's an easy way to get a couple extra servings of veggies into your day.

I rarely follow a recipe when I make soup, I just start throwing vegetables in a pot, then spice it up in whatever flavor profile I'm aiming for. Sometimes I do a Mexican version, sometimes an Indian version, and sometimes it's more like a chili. But today, I'm using Italian flavors. You can learn more about my method in this previous blog post.

Watch Me Make It

Basic Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil

• 1/2 Onion

• 2 Stalks Celery

• 2 Carrots

• 3/4 Bell Pepper

• 1 Zucchini

• 1 tsp Salt & 1/4 tsp Pepper

• 2 tsp Italian Seasoning

• 1 cup Water

• Chopped/Diced Tomatoes (canned, frozen or fresh)

• 2 cloves Garlic

• 1 TBSP Pesto (or 1/2 cup fresh basil)

• 2 cups Spinach

• 1 cup V8

• 1 box (32 oz) Vegetable Broth

• 1 can Cannellini Beans

• Fresh Basil and Shredded Parmesan for garnish

Instructions

1. In a soup pot, add olive oil, onion, celery, and carrots. Stir to coat veggies with oil. Allow to gently sauté as you chop the additional veggies.

2. Chop bell pepper and zucchini, and add to pot.

3. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

4. Add water and allow veggies to steam until they begin to soften.

5. Add diced tomatoes, garlic, pesto, and spinach. Cover and cook until spinach is wilted.

6. Add V8 and broth. Heat through.

7. Rinse and add cannellini beans.

8. Serve with basil, parmesan, and a piece of good bread.

Other Ingredient Options

The great thing about soup is it allows you to use up what's in your fridge or to personalize it with the ingredients you like. There is a lot of flexibility with vegetable soups!

• Vegetables: I used the veggies I did because that is what I had. If I had any of these on hand, I could have used these too - scallions, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, yellow summer squash, potatoes, corn, and kale.

• Beans: If you don't have cannellini beans, any other bean would be good in this soup!

• Other additions: You could also add rice, pasta, gnocchi, or tortellini.

• Herbs and Spices: I used Italian Seasoning, Pesto, and Fresh Basil. However, you could use a variety of dried herbs such as Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, or Marjoram. You could also add fresh Parsley.

Try This Mexican Version

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