Easy Vegetable Soup (A Dieter’s Best Friend)
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Overflowing with the vegetables of your choice in a delicious ranch and tomato-flavored broth, this easy vegetable soup recipe is certainly a dieter’s best friend.
This homemade vegetable soup recipe is one my mother and I have used for over 30 years and we still love it. Many diets have “free” vegetables, which are basically vegetables that are allowed without restriction. What this soup does is combine those vegetables with a richly flavored broth. A bowl of this vegetable soup is the perfect anytime dish to fight off the munchies, a quick and easy lunch, or a filling side dish with your evening main meal.
Back in the day, cabbage, okra, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and celery were all considered “free” or vegetables that could be eaten without limitation. I liked to walk on the wild side and toss in some corn too. I live dangerously that way. I’m not sure if these vegetables are considered evil today, I guess you’d have to check outside and see which way the wind is blowing. But common sense refuses to allow me to consider this soup anything but healthy and delicious! The great thing though is that you can omit, substitute, and exchange the veggies in this easy vegetable soup to fit whatever eating plan you are following so it’s a win/win across the board.
Most often, when I am dieting my problem is not so much hunger as a desire to munch. Reaching for this soup rather than pretzels, chips, or any number of higher carb and calorie snacks is definitely a step in the right direction to a healthier you! I make a huge pot and keep it in the fridge, heating it up whenever I need it for up to five days. I always look forward to a delicious bowl of this flavorful and filling soup. Did I mention it’s also ridiculously easy to make? Just pop all the ingredients in a pot and let them simmer until the vegetables are your desired tenderness. That’s all there is to it. Alright, let’s make some homemade vegetable soup.
Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients aren’t exact. You mainly need to go with the veggies that you personally enjoy. I’m using:
- Okra
- Green beans
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Onion
- Crushed tomatoes (I prefer crushed over diced tomatoes for a thicker, more filling broth).
- Ranch dressing mix
How to Make Easy Vegetable Soup
Wash, peel, and chop any of your veggies that need it, and put all ingredients into a large pot.
I add about 6 cups of water to this but you may prefer more or less, depending on how much liquid you like.
Stir that up and place it over medium-high heat.
Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes or so, until the veggies are to your desired tenderness.
It will be rather thick but as the vegetables cook up, they’ll create a lot more liquid.
This is how it will look about half an hour after it starts simmering.
You only need to cook it until the vegetables are as tender as you like. I like mine to be tender but not mushy.
Voila!
I love having this vegetable soup on hand to eat anytime cravings or munchies strike.
This lets me indulge my taste buds while giving my body lots of great veggies.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This is a great meal prep option as you can simply reheat leftovers in the microwave.
- You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- I prefer to use frozen vegetables over canned vegetables. Of course, nothing beats fresh vegetables anytime but when those aren’t available to me, frozen wins out.
- Please know I am referring ONLY to dry ranch dressing mix here, not bottled ranch dressing.
- Want to give this vegetable soup a boost? Keep it veggie-friendly and add canned beans. White beans like cannellini beans always work, as well as chickpeas, kidney beans, or black beans.
- You can also easily turn this into vegetable pasta soup by adding cooked pasta about 10 minutes before the soup finishes cooking. You can use any type of pasta, but tortellini soup is always a winner.
- Does it need a little kick? Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
- For more tomato flavor, add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste.
- Speaking of… if you want to add more flavor in the form of dried herbs and spices, go right ahead! Some complimentary flavors include Italian seasoning, a bay leaf or two while simmering, and a teaspoon of garlic powder and/or onion powder.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve homemade vegetable soup?
There are lots of ways to serve this vegetable soup:
- Enjoy it for lunch throughout the week.
- Serve it as a side dish with a simple main meal like grilled chicken, roast chicken, or crockpot turkey breast.
- Serve it as a main dish with cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, crusty bread, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
- Add a garnish of freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley.
What other vegetables are good in vegetable soup?
The options are basically endless, but here are some other veggie suggestions. Remember, you can use frozen or fresh vegetables:
- Zucchini
- Celery
- Butternut squash
- Frozen peas
- Broccoli
- Summer squash
- Green beans
- Corn
- Potato
- Sweet potato
- Bell pepper
- Mushrooms
- Leafy vegetables like kale or spinach (stir in towards the end).
Can I make vegetable soup in the slow cooker?
Absolutely! For crockpot vegetable soup, add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours (or until the veggies are as tender as you’d like).
Can I make easy vegetable soup in the Instant Pot?
You can also make this veggie soup in the Instant Pot. You’ll want to place all ingredients in the Instant Pot and cook for 7 minutes, then let the pressure release manually for 10 minutes.
I think you’d also like these easy soup recipes:
Creamy Vegetable Soup (Low-Carb Version)
French Onion Soup, Restaurant-Style
Senate Bean Soup (With a Shortcut)
Cauliflower Soup Recipe With Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 ounces frozen green beans
- 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
- 4-6 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 16 ounces frozen okra
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.16 ounces frozen green beans, 1/2 head cabbage, chopped, 4-6 large carrots, peeled and chopped, 16 ounces frozen okra, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix, 6 cups water
- Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are desired tenderness.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Nutrition
This recipe was featured on Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck.
A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.
~Frank Morgan
I Loved the soup. I have made vegetable soup for years. But I loved the Ranch mix in it, it added so much flavor. My husband actually said it was the best he had ever had. That made my heart happy :). He actually likes my cooking. I’m so glad I didn’t just overlook this one. I love your site.
I have an “el cheapo” tip… Sam’s has cafeteria size cans of whole peeled tomatoes for under $3. Throw it in the blender and use for soup, “homemade” salsa, chili, spaghetti sauce, etc… it’s so cheap when fresh is not available, which is always better.
I really hesitate to call my salsa homemade because all I do is add an envelope of salsa mix (found in the canning section) to this! It’s great for soups and for cooking chicken in the crockpot also.
Christy, I make a Hearty Vegetable soup similar to your “free soup”. I found the recipe in a magazine a few years ago. It calls for 2 bags of baby spinach and 4-5 zucchini (split in half and cut in 1″ chunks) added near the end so as not to over cook. Sometimes I add a can of red kidney beans for a little protein. I made a pot of it a couple of weeks ago and froze several containers of it for later. It is supposed to have only 45 calories per cup. I love receiving all your recipes and reading your blogs and I especially love your morning cheerfulness on Facebook.
When I was growing up, I remember my mother always had a pot of soup on the stove to feed people who just “dropped by” (Back then Mothers stayed home to raise the children, so someone was always home for people to visit, I think it’s called Southern Hospitality LOL. She would always put leftovers from meals in the pot to keep it replenished. It seemed that pot was magical and never emptied, and I grew up loving soup. Mother was an angel and magical, she seemed to make a meal out of nothing and often had to, because my father worked for a union and was often out of work, no food stamps at that time! She made absolutely delicious shrimp gumbo from shrimp bought fresh from the shrimp boats (when Daddy was working), cush cush, tomato soup cake, pizza from scratch, (Pizza was not well known in the 50’s and 60’s), bean cake, lemon meringue pie, and frozen buttermilk sherbet. I have been looking for a recipe for frozen buttermilk sherbet for about 40 years now like she used to make, but no luck. No recipes written down either, she kept them in her head. My mother was a true Southern Cook and never had a bad word to say about anybody. People came from miles around to eat her cooking, as I’m sure they do to yours. Thank you for your kind attention to my note about my wonderful mother. I wish you all the best.
I have this going on the stove right now. I cannot wait for it to be done.Our family loves this so I made a double batch. Thank you Christy!
I keep a freezer bag in the freezer and add any little bits of vegetables that are leftover from dinners to the bag. When the bag is full, I add canned tomatoes, beef bouillon, and sometimes beef (stew meat or cooked ground beef). Voila! I have soup.
This is just about the same as the old ‘cabbage soup diet’ soup of many years ago. I have made something similar for years and love it. I never thought of adding ranch dressing. I’ll have to do that next time. Sounds good.