Vegan Rustic Vegetable Soup

Vegan Rustic Vegetable Soup 🥕 A delicious, nutritious one-pot stew-like soup abundant with a bounty of hearty veggies & flavor. Easy to prepare & oh so satisfying. Gluten-free. Oil-free option.

This beautiful vegetable soup is one of my all-time favorites. It's loaded with chunky fresh veggies and tomatoes cooked until tender in a delicious 100% plant-based vegetable broth. If you like Marie Callender's Vegetable Soup, then you are really going to love this.

Serve with a loaf of freshly baked artisan bread or a crusty baguette and you'll have a budget-friendly and simply heartwarming meal to enjoy on a chilly night! Just like this protein rich easy vegan lentil soup, vegan Congressional bean soup, or hearty vegan chili.

My mom aka "Mama Love", was a fantastic cook. She had an uncanny knack at pulling together whatever was in the pantry and making something scrumptiously good.

Growing up on a small farm in Idaho during the Great Depression, she learned to make a meal out of what few ingredients were available. Nothing went to waste. Wilted vegetables, potatoes, carrots, or onions from the root cellar became one-pot meals. Her soups and stews would feed the family for days, like this wonderfully hearty vegan rustic vegetable soup, which is her recipe.

🥕Ingredients

See the printable recipe card below for quantities and details

• Olive oil - or avocado or canola oil (See notes below for oil-free option)
• Onion - sweet, brown or yellow
• Celery - fresh
• Carrots - fresh or frozen
• Italian seasoning
• Basil - dried or fresh
• Bay leaves
• Salt - I use coarse sea salt
• Black pepper - freshly ground
• Garlic - fresh or powder
• Vegetable broth - fresh or packaged
• Vegan bouillon - paste, powder or cubes
• Zucchini 
• Yellow squash - or any small squash variety
• Russet potatoes - preferred or substitute with Yukon gold or new potatoes
• Kidney beans - canned or pre-cooked
• Sweet corn - off the cob, fresh or frozen
• Whole tomatoes - canned or bottled. Substitute with diced or stewed.

🥕Instructions

• Gather and measure the ingredients. Prep the veggies (rinse, peel, cut).
• Dice onions, celery, and carrots (also known as "mirepoix" - see FAQ's below to learn more.)
• Use a large (7 qt. or more) stove-top dutch oven or soup pot.
• Begin heating 3 tablespoons olive oil over med-low temperature (or water for oil-free version)
• Add onions. Sauté until onions begin to look transparent.
• Add celery & carrots. Continue cooking over med-low until slightly tender.

• Add dry spices. Add garlic, making sure it doesn't burn *(add 1 extra tablespoon oil or water if needed).
• Pour in broth & bouillon. Turn up heat to medium-high. Stir.
• Gradually add zucchini, squash, potatoes, kidney beans, corn, & tomatoes.
• Using a long spoon, stir from the bottom of the pot, incorporating the spices throughout.
• Cover pot and bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low.
• Keep an eye on the soup so it doesn't boil over. If needed, reduce heat and move lid enough to allow steam to escape.
• Stir occasionally. Continue cooking for about 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but not mushy.

Variations

Ladle into soup bowls (remove bay leaves before serving). Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve with a warm sourdough baguette & your favorite vegan butter. M'mm good!

🥕Equipment

You'll only need a few items to make this simply delicious soup!

• One large (7 qt. or more) stove-top dutch oven or soup pot.
• Vegetable peeler
• Chef's knife
• Measuring spoons
• Cutting board
• Long handled spoon (for stirring)

Note: Clean up is easy since everything goes into one pot . . . one BIG pot. This vegan rustic vegetable soup recipe will easily serve twelve or more portions. You'll love having leftover soup, since you can freeze individual servings for later.