My kids love soup and homemade Vegetable Noodle Soup is a true winner in my house! It's perfect for cold winter nights when all you want to do is cozy up on the couch with a blanket and your favorite television show, just like chicken noodle soup is. This recipe makes a big batch not just for dinner, but for lunch throughout the week or to freeze for an easy meal later on.
My vegetable soup recipe is full of delicious and nutritious vegetables and protein-packed beans and ditalini pasta. It's simple to make and is a kid-friendly vegetable soup that will be loved by the whole family. You can also opt for the Instant Pot version if you want your soup done quicker- in about 30 minutes.
It's not just a fantastic way to get your whole family to eat a lot of vegetables in one sitting, but to eliminate a whole lot of processed ingredients you get from canned soup. It's also inexpensive to make, so it's economical and budget-friendly too. Vegetable noodle soup is great served with crusty bread for dipping, like garlic bread, cheesy bread or Italian bread.
Table Of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- There are endless possibilities for customization. Change the vegetables, the beans or seasonings to suit your preferences.
- It's highly nutritious!
- This recipe is chock full of rich flavors and coziness. The combination of different vegetables, herbs, and spices creates a harmonious blend of tastes and depths.
- It's easy to prepare.
- Soup is an excellent way to use up leftover vegetables, minimizing food waste.
Ingredients
- Ditalini pasta: or other short pasta, like little stars or elbows.
- Broth base: the broth is made with a combination of vegetable broth and vegetable juice. You can also use vegetable stock or chicken broth for a non-vegetarian version.
- Vegetables: canned corn, canned tomatoes, canned green beans, carrots and celery.
- Aromatics: garlic and onions.
- Herbs and spices: thyme, parsley, basil, salt and black pepper.
- Legumes: cannellini beans or other cooked beans.
A word from kristina...
The Secret to the Best Vegetable Soup
In this vegetable noodle soup, V8 is my secret ingredient to giving it a big boost in flavor.
What Are The Best Vegetables To Put In Vegetable Soup?
Here are some vegetables that are generally well-liked by families and work well in soups:
- Carrots: Carrots are sweet and colorful, making them a popular choice for kids.
- Potatoes: Potatoes add a hearty texture to soups.
- Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are slightly sweeter than regular potatoes and are packed with nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, and fiber.
- Corn: Corn kernels add a touch of natural sweetness and vibrant color to the soup. Kids often enjoy the slightly crunchy texture.
- Peas: Peas are small and soft, making them easy for kids to eat.
- Green beans: Green beans are mild in flavor and are soft when using canned beans.
- Zucchini: Zucchini has a mild flavor and a tender texture. It can be diced or sliced thinly to blend into the soup easily.
- Tomatoes: Tomatoes add a tangy and slightly sweet flavor to the soup.
- Cabbage: we love cabbage in cabbage soup and cabbage casserole!
- Green veggies, like spinach, kale and leeks.
Kristina's Tips
- Use your kids' favorite vegetables and beans.
- Instead of ditalini pasta, use a fun shape like dinosaurs, alphabets, princesses or animals.
- Before adding the pasta at the end, blend the soup as much as needed so the vegetables become blended into the broth.
- Chop the veggies as small as necessary to trick your kids into eating them. For instance, my 4-year old doesn't like celery. But if I roughly chop them into little squares and odd shapes rather than the classic U shapes, she has no idea they are there.
How To Make Vegetable Noodle Soup
- In at least an 8 quart stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onions, celery and carrots. Saute until tender crisp, about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Turn the heat to low and add the can of diced tomatoes and their juices, can of sweet corn, can of green beans, dried parsley, dried thyme, dried basil, salt and black pepper to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and V8 vegetable juice. Stir and simmer for 75 minutes with the lid on stirring occasionally.
- Add the can of cannellini beans and uncooked ditalini pasta. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes more without the lid.
- Remove soup from the heat, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Get the Kids to Eat it Too!
My 2 tricks for getting the kids to eat their vegetable soup are using the vegetables that I know they like or the vegetables that easily break down and turn soft. I also cut the vegetables up into very small pieces or partially blend the soup before adding in the pasta so that most of the vegetables become unrecognizable as such. I use a lot of pasta in fun shapes like mini bow ties, elbows, alphabet shapes or wagon wheels. There are even fun noodles like dinosaurs and princesses!
How To Store
Fridge: Store leftover soup in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Freezer: Keep in the freezer using freezer safe storage bags for up to 6 months.
Reheating: Reheat soup in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or on the stovetop until it begins to boil. To reheat frozen soup, thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Recipe
Vegetable Noodle Soup
Equipment
- 8 quart stock pot
- soup ladle
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 5 celery stalks diced
- 5 large carrots
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups vegetable juice such as V8
- 1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 oz
- ½ can green beans 15 oz
- 1 can sweet corn 15 oz
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ can cannellini beans 15 oz
- 3 oz uncooked ditalini pasta or other short pasta
Instructions
- In at least an 8 quart stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onions, celery and carrots. Saute until tender crisp, about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Turn the heat to low and add the can of diced tomatoes and their juices, can of sweet corn, can of green beans, dried parsley, dried thyme, dried basil, salt and black pepper to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and V8 vegetable juice. Stir and simmer for 75 minutes with the lid on stirring occasionally.
- Add the can of cannellini beans and uncooked ditalini pasta. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes more without the lid.
- Remove soup from heat, taste, and adjust seasonings as needed.
Notes
Nutrition
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