Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (2024)

Vegetable Soup is a brothy and nourishing soup that's full of fresh vegetables and white beans. Try my top tips for adding lots of flavor!

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (1)

I don’t mean to be dramatic but if I see one more snowflake I’ll be on the first overpriced flight to Key West. If the forecast is correct, I should be touching down in south Florida in roughly 36 hours.

Save me a margarita! ;)

That is to say, like many parts of the country we’re currently buried under several feet of snow. I’m coping by simmering lots of soups and stews, and my latest creation is a brothy, nourishing Vegetable Soup recipe that’s not only chock full of fresh veggies, but creamy white beans too.

A big, satisfying bowl will warm you up like sunshine on a cold, blustery day (I mean not as much as the Gulf of Mexico, but I’ll take what I can get!)

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (2)

Easy Vegetable Soup

My homemade vegetable soup recipe is the definition of “feel good food”. With over 7 types of vegetables plus hearty white beans, it’s the perfect thing to make for a cozy, healthy dinner, or reheat all week long for easy lunches.

The recipe feeds an army though it reheats and freezes really well. That said, if you’re cooking for a smaller crew, feel free to cut the soup recipe in half.

Ingredients Needed

Get out your cutting board and knife because it’s true, there’s a bit of chopping involved to make this healthy vegetable soup. Take some time to slow down, turn on some tunes, then get to work!

  • Vegetables: carrots, celery, onion or shallot, garlic, potatoes, roasted red peppers, sweet corn, and kale cover the vegetable portion of the program. If you’re hesitant to use kale, don’t be! It adds an awesome, hearty texture to each bite. You can use chopped baby spinach instead, though kale holds up better to reheating.
  • Dried herbs and seasonings: homemade seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and dried bay leaves lend flavor to the soup.
  • Stock: I much prefer chicken stock over vegetable stock in terms of flavor, though if you want to keep this soup vegetarian, feel free to use vegetable broth or stock instead.
  • White beans: Great Northern beans are super creamy and hearty. Feel free to swap in Cannellini beans, which are a touch bigger, or chickpeas which would be fabulous too!
  • Extra virgin olive oil: for sauting the vegetables.
  • Flavorings: this soup benefits from the addition of both a parmesan cheese rind and squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end to make it more flavorful. More on that in a minute.

How to Store and Reheat

Like I said, this recipe makes a HUGE batch of gluten-free soup but it reheats really well and leftovers can be frozen. Cool the soup down to room temperature then scoop it into an airtight storage container and place it in the fridge.

  • To reheat: warm individual servings in a bowl in the microwave, or place the cold soup in a soup pot over medium heat then warm through.
  • To freeze: cool the soup completely then scoop into gallon-size freezer Ziplock bags, seal, and freeze flat, OR scoop into Souper Cubes and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (3)

How to Add Lots of Flavor to Vegetable Soup

If you Google the term “vegetable soup”, the first few questions that pop up are:

“What makes vegetable soup taste better?”

“What gives vegetable soup that depth of flavor?”

“Why does my vegetable soup have no flavor?”

Clearly veggie soup has a reputation for lacking in the flavor department, and so I point you (us) to take a lesson from Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. In her book she says four basic factors determine how good your food will taste:

  1. Salt: enhances flavor.
  2. Fat: amplifies flavor.
  3. Acid: brightens and balances.
  4. Heat: determines the texture of the food.

When I think of vegetable soup, I think of a thin, flat-tasting soup with no fat — aka, no flavor! Here’s how we fix that in this Vegetable Soup recipe:

  • Adding a parmesan cheese rind to the simmering soup infuses it with salty, umami flavor. This is SUCH an easy way to add tons of flavor to soup. Look for parmesan cheese rinds at the cheese counter in your grocery store. If you want to keep the soup vegan, leave this out.
  • Fresh lemon juice squeezed into the soup at the very end wakens up the broth. The soup won’t taste lemony, just brightened and lively.
  • Fresh herbs and fat from a dollop of prepared pesto stirred into each bowl before serving is a real treat. I like my Vegan Pesto recipe, or Gotham Greens vegan pesto.
  • If you’re not vegetarian or vegan, I recommend using chicken stock vs vegetable stock for this recipe. It seems like an odd choice, but veggie stock skews too sweet and thin in my opinion. I do opt for chicken stock over chicken broth because it has even more flavor.

What to Serve with Vegetable Soup

I can never resist an opportunity to gently nudge you with my Gluten Free Focaccia recipe, which just so happens to be a DREAM pairing with a hot bowl of vegetable soup.

In addition, we love adding the aforementioned prepared pesto to each bowl (you only need 1/2 — 1 teaspoon), plus a dusting of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

So, SO good — let’s dive into a bowl of this deliciousness!

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (4)

Try This Veggie-Packed Soup

How to Make Vegetable Soup

Step 1: Saute the vegetables.

Start by heating extra virgin olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add thinly sliced carrots, finely chopped celery, and a chopped shallot or onion. Season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper then saute until the vegetables are tender, 10-12 minutes.

Add minced garlic then saute until very fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (5)

Step 2: Add more veggies, seasonings, and stock.

To the pot add frozen sweet corn, diced gold potatoes, chopped roasted red peppers from a jar, Great Northern beans, dried bay leaves, Italian seasoning, and a parmesan cheese rind.

Add lots of stock — again, chicken or vegetable — then turn the heat to high to bring the soup to a simmer.

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (6)

Step 3: Simmer the soup.

Turn the heat back down to medium then simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Add thinly slicedlacinato kale then simmer until the kale is tender, 5 minutes.

Lacinato kale also goes by the name “dinosaur kale” — look for it next to classic curly kale at the grocery store. If you can’t find lacinato, go ahead and use a small bunch of curly kale chopped into small pieces.

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (7)

Step 4: Add a squeeze of lemon juice.

The last step is to add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the pot. Again, you don’t need a ton and the soup shouldn’t taste lemony — just brightened and more flavorful. I literally add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon for the entire giant pot. You an always add more!

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (8)

Scoop the soup into bowls then top with a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese and/or a small dollop of fresh pesto. SO beautiful and just as much fun to eat as it is to look at.

Enjoy every last healthy and satisfying drop!

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (9)

More Healthy Soup Recipes

  • Black Bean Soup
  • Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Senegalese Soup
  • Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
  • Chickpea Stew
  • Creamy Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

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Vegetable Soup

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Description

Vegetable Soup is a brothy and nourishing soup that's full of fresh vegetables and white beans. Try my top tips for adding lots of flavor!

Ingredients

serves 6-8

  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup shredded carrots or thinly sliced carrots (~2 medium carrots)
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped small
  • 1 onion or large shallot, chopped
  • homemade seasoned salt and pepper (see notes)
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 8 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
  • 2 cans great northern beans, drained then rinsed
  • 2 medium-sized Gold potatoes (~8oz), chopped into 1/2" cubes
  • 7-8oz jar roasted red peppers, drained then chopped
  • 1 cup frozen sweet corn
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 parmesan cheese rind, optional
  • 1 small bunch lacinato kale, ribs remove then sliced into thin ribbons
  • 1/4 lemon
  • For serving:
    • freshly grated parmesan cheese
    • prepared pesto

Directions

  1. Heat the ​​extra virgin olive oil in a very large soup pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat then add the carrots, celery, and onion or shallot. Season with seasoned salt and pepper to taste then saute until the vegetables are tender, 10-12 minutes. If the vegetables are taking too long to soften, add a glug of stock or a few Tablespoons water to the pot then place the lid on top and steam for a few minutes. Add the garlic then saute until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add the chicken or vegetable stock, beans, potatoes, peppers, corn, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and parmesan cheese rind, if using, then turn the heat up to high to bring the soup to a simmer. Turn the heat back down to medium then simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the kale then simmer until tender, 5 minutes. Squeeze in a bit of fresh lemon juice — the soup shouldn’t taste lemony, just brightened — plus more seasoned salt and pepper if desired.
  4. Remove the bay leaves (you can leave the parmesan cheese rind in the soup to continue to flavor it) then scoop the soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese and/or 1/2 — 1 teaspoon pesto per bowl.
  5. To freeze: cool the soup completely then scoop into gallon-size freezer Ziplock bags, seal, and freeze flat, OR scoop into Souper Cubes and freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (10)

Photos by Ashley McLaughlin

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor (2024)

FAQs

Vegetable Soup | Top Tips to Give it Depth of Flavor? ›

The first is to caramelize the vegetables, either in your soup pot or in the oven, to sweeten them and condense their juices. Next, add plenty of aromatics to the pot — herbs, spices, garlic, onions and the like — and let everything simmer for a long time to blend the flavors.

How do you deepen vegetable soup flavor? ›

Dried herbs and seasonings: homemade seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and dried bay leaves lend flavor to the soup. Stock: I much prefer chicken stock over vegetable stock in terms of flavor, though if you want to keep this soup vegetarian, feel free to use vegetable broth or stock instead.

How do I increase the depth of flavor in soup? ›

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

How to give vegetable soup more flavor on Reddit? ›

Acid, lemon or lime juice is my go to. Msg, a bit of Vegeta or similar product goes a very long way in pushing these types of soups over the top. Add some heat if you're into it. Sriracha or fresh cut hot peppers added as a garnish to taste.

How to add umami to vegetable soup? ›

I've found that using fermented black beans or olives when making vegetable stock adds a huge amount of umami. "When I'm roasting vegetables I'll blend sun-dried tomatoes with the olive oil before I toss them, which adds a lot of umami.

How to fix a bland vegetable soup? ›

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.

How do you add depth to vegetable broth? ›

Boost the Umami of Vegetable Broth

Soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos add great depth, but watch out for using too much—you'll end up making the stock only taste like super-salty soy. Start with about 2 teaspoons per quart and adjust from there. Remember, you can always add more.

Why does my vegetable soup have no taste? ›

Not Browning Vegetables

It may be tempting to toss all your chopped ingredients into a pot, add the broth and simmer until tender. But if you take the time to brown all your ingredients before adding the broth, you'll be rewarded with extra flavor and sweetness.

What adds depth of flavor? ›

You can also add in some parsley, thyme, bay leaves, or Herbs de Provence. Add some salt and pepper and just let the heat bring out the flavors of your aromatics for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients in your dish.

How do you add depth to a vegetarian soup? ›

You can add a head of garlic when you make the broth. Just slice it in half crosswise to expose the cloves and toss it in the pot. Some other ingredients I like to use include tomato paste, anchovy paste and Marmite. Each of them adds depth in a different way, and they are all interesting.

What is the secret ingredient to the secret soup? ›

The secret ingredient is... nothing! Despite that revelation, this so-called secret-soup is one of the most hotly requested dishes in the Babish Culinary Universe.

How do you doctor up a can of vegetable soup? ›

Start by sautéing any combination of finely chopped vegetables and alliums—like onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and ginger. Whatever you choose is going to infuse the entire can of soup you're about to heat.

How to make vegetable broth taste beefy? ›

Dried Mushrooms

Dried shiitakes are especially tasty if you're trying to add meaty savoriness to veggie stock. Add 3–4 mushrooms to a 1 quart of stock. You've seen those fancy dried morels at the market.

How can I increase the flavor of my vegetable soup? ›

A squeeze of citrus, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream, a dusting of cheese or a good chile powder, a sprinkling of some herbs or croutons — all can take a perfectly fine soup into the realm of the delectable. Even a spiral of good olive oil to finish and some coarse sea salt can do wonders.

What is umami secret ingredient? ›

Seaweeds and umami are intertwined topics. Seaweeds like Kelp and Kombu offer concentrated, plant-based sources of umami taste. 'Umami' is regarded by many Japanese as 'critical to delicious cooking'.

What seasoning gives umami flavor? ›

Spices like green cardamom and herbs like bay leaves have bold and bright profiles and pair wonderfully with a wide range of umami foods. You can experiment by pairing sweet paprika, cumin, allspice, tamarind, parsley, cocoa, or cinnamon with umami-rich foods.

What is the flavorful liquid that adds more flavor to a vegetable meal? ›

Soy sauce or liquid aminos

These dark brown liquids bring both saline punch and some welcome caramelized flavor to dishes, along with a good boost of umami.

What can you add to vegetable soup to make it thicker? ›

6 ways to thicken soup:
  1. Blend all or part of it. If you've made a broth with chunks of vegetable in it, such as minestrone soup, then pour the soup through a sieve. ...
  2. Add cream or yogurt. ...
  3. Add flour or cornflour. ...
  4. Use a butter and flour paste. ...
  5. Blend in bread. ...
  6. Add lentils or rice.

How do you deepen flavor? ›

Seasoning Tips for Improving Flavor
  1. Drop (salt for) acid. ...
  2. Use coarse salt when seasoning meat. ...
  3. Pep up—or tone down—your pepper. ...
  4. Season cold foods aggressively. ...
  5. Incorporate fresh herbs at the right time. ...
  6. Add a little umami. ...
  7. Make adjustments when seasonings go awry. ...
  8. Add a finishing touch.

How to spice up a can of vegetable soup? ›

But to put some pep back in your soup's step, you're going to want to add more. Start by sautéing any combination of finely chopped vegetables and alliums—like onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and ginger. Whatever you choose is going to infuse the entire can of soup you're about to heat.

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