This easy vegetable soup with kale is hearty and healthy, and perfect for those cool-weather days. It's full of vegetables, can be doubled, and makes an easy weeknight meal! This easy recipe is vegan, dairy-free, low carb, keto, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
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Hi! I’m Sarah, I’m excited to be back at Joy Filled Eats with another recipe. I’m a mama of four-year-old twins and a two-year-old. When I’m not chasing them around, I write about food, faith, creativity, and motherhood at sarahjhauser.com. I love sharing wholesome recipes for everyday life that fit a variety of lifestyles. In addition to my blog, you can also find me on Instagram (@sarah.j.hauser) and Facebook (/sarahjhauser).
Today, I’m sharing a recipe for Loaded Vegetable Soup. There’s nothing like a hearty soup when the weather turns cool! But sometimes, cold-weather comfort food can be heavy and not always the most healthy. While I love a rich chowder or a meaty stew, sometimes I need something nourishing for my body yet still comforting to the soul. This soup is perfect for those times. It’s still hearty and filling but also chock-full of all kinds of vegetables (making it high in much-needed nutrients like vitamins A and C!).
Ingredients for Easy Vegetable Soup with Kale
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Bell Pepper
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Crushed tomatoes
- Chicken or vegetable broth
- Kale
- Salt and pepper
Tips for Cooking
So much of the flavor of this soup develops in the very beginning when the vegetables are cooked together in a bit of olive oil. You’ll notice I didn’t include herbs and spices other than salt and pepper. The onion and garlic alongside the rest of the veggies add so much flavor, but you could always add a touch of basil or parsley if you like. Using crushed tomatoes, too, gives the soup the perfect bit of acidity and a beautiful, deep red color.
Variations on Easy Vegetable Soup
For this soup, I sauteed a variety of vegetables I love and often have on hand. The beauty of this recipe, though, is that it’s super flexible! Depending on your dietary preferences or restrictions, you can add in chickpeas, rice, quinoa, mushrooms, green beans, or other vegetables. Use vegetable broth if you need it to be vegan, or add cooked chicken at the end for extra protein.
How to Serve Vegetable Soup with Kale
This is such a flexible recipe, so serve it with whatever crackers, bread, salad, or other goodies you need to use up. I love it topped with a little Parmesan cheese. You could also try serving it with keto cheese crackers or alongside a low carb panini, keto garlic breadsticks, or sprouted quinoa bread.
It’s an easy recipe that makes a nutritious meal, or it can be easily doubled and served alongside salads or sandwiches to feed a crowd. Enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 2 large carrots sliced
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 1 large zucchini chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 oz kale a couple handfuls
- salt and pepper
- shredded parmesan cheese (optional, to sprinkle on the bowls of soup)
Instructions
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven set over medium heat.
- Add the onion, celery, carrots, and bell pepper along with a ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.
- Add the zucchini and garlic, and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the zucchini starts to soften.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth. Turn heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the soup simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the kale. Stir until the kale is wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Elle says
wonderful assortment of veggies, great any time of year or day.
Saloni says
0.2 bell pepper? is this 20 grams? how do I measure the ingredients for 1 serving?
Taryn says
I'm not sure what you are looking at. This calls for 1 bell pepper. Are you trying to reduce this to just make one bowl of soup?
PegB says
Used your soup as my base recipe, but added some chunks of stew meat to up the protein, since I always struggle at getting enough protein. I then let it simmer covered for a few hours like my Gram used to. Fabulous!!!