Instant Pot Vegetable Soup is a great way to use up vegetables that your kids love or trick them into eating ones they don't! The secret is in the broth: follow my instructions for a mouth-watering broth and the vegetable soup will be the best you've made!
*If you don't have an Instant Pot, I have instructions for the stovetop version here
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We know that vegetable soup is a perfect "cleaning out the fridge" soup. Throw whatever veggies and beans you've got lying around in there and you've got vegetable soup.
But not if your broth is tasteless. Vegetable soup is surprisingly one of my kids' favorite soups. But they probably wouldn't love it enough to gobble down all of those vegetables if the broth wasn't amazing.
The secret to an amazing, kid-friendly Instant Pot Vegetable Soup is the broth. Follow my recipe for the broth base and you'll have an incredible flavor that isn't impacted by the vegetables or beans you choose.
Your kids will love it. You will love it. And I hope it will become one of your go-to soups with cold and dreary winter days!
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Ingredients
To make Instant Pot Vegetable Soup, you need:
- Vegetable broth and vegetable juice
- Diced tomato cans
- Onions, garlic and celery
- Choice of vegetables: carrots, green beans, peas, corn, kale, spinach, etc.
- Chickpeas
- Ditalini pasta: or other short pasta
- Herbs: parsley, thyme, basil
Always use fresh celery, garlic, and onion. This gives the broth fantastic flavor.
What kicks up the flavor in the broth for Instant Pot Vegetable soup is a combination of vegetable broth, vegetable juice, and the tomato juice from the diced tomato cans.
Then the spices come together to amp it up even more, leaving you with a vegetable soup so good that everyone will want seconds!
Variations
- There are many substitutions for the vegetables. Keep it super easy by using canned veggies or chop up fresh vegetables that are about to expire. I always use canned corn, tomatoes, and green beans. But peas, potatoes, asparagus, and any others that you love are perfect for vegetable soup.
- Change up the legumes also. Instead of chickpeas, use cannelloni beans or kidney beans. I think any kind of bean works to make this soup heartier, healthier, and full of protein.
- You can make this with or without the pasta, or even add ground beef or Italian sausage!. If you want to add meat, brown it in the Instant Pot before following the recipe as written. Once it's browned, deglaze the pot and keep it in the Instant Pot. Then follow the recipe as written.
Tips
There are a few things to keep in mind when making Instant Pot Vegetable Soup:
- Use fresh onion, garlic, and celery to make the broth base.
- Replace the chickpeas with your favorite bean.
- Use the juices from the canned tomatoes for more flavorful broth.
- Use any short pasta, or no pasta all.
- The pasta will soak up broth as the soup sits, so you may need to add a combination of vegetable broth and vegetable juice if you have leftovers (add in increments of 1 cup vegetable broth and ½ cup vegetable juice).
Instant Pot Instructions
Here is how to make Instant Pot Vegetable Soup quickly, in only 30 minutes:
First, saute the onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in olive oil for 3 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth and deglaze until a wooden spoon runs smooth on the bottom of the pot and all stuck bits are released. Then add vegetable juice, tomatoes and spices. Do not stir. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
Complete a controlled quick release and add the canned veggies, chickpeas (or beans) and ditalini. Give it a good stir, then set to saute on high for 6 minutes.
Turn off the Instant Pot and remove the inner pot carefully to another surface, to prevent overcooking. Let cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!
As it stands, the pasta may soak up too much broth for your liking. Simply add 1 cup of vegetable broth with ½ cup tomato juice along with a little salt to make more broth.
SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS
To make vegetable soup in the slow cooker instead of the Instant Pot, follow these steps:
- Add all ingredients except for the pasta and beans to the slow cooker.
- Set on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
- With 30 minutes left add the pasta and beans. Give it a good stir.
Then enjoy! If the pasta soaks up too much of the broth, add more vegetable broth and vegetable juice 1 cup at a time. That's all there is to it!
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add all ingredients except for the pasta and beans to the slow cooker.
- Set to high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
- With 30 minutes left add the pasta. Give it a good stir and cook for the remaining time.
Then enjoy! If the pasta soaks up too much of the broth, add more vegetable broth and vegetable juice 1 cup at a time. That's all there is to it!
Serving
Serve Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with a green salad and homemade bread. Garlic bread and tomato basil bread are excellent choices for dipping. But the kids love saltines or oyster crackers, and sometimes even plain white sandwich bread.
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments! And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious recipes!
Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 5 celery stalks chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 4 cups vegetable juice such as V8
- 6 cups vegetable broth or 6 cups water + 6 bouillon cubes
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes plus the liquid
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 15 oz can corn drained
- 1 15 oz can green beans drained
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups uncooked ditalini pasta or other short pasta
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute on high for 3 minutes. Add the oil and when heated, add onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Stir frequently.
- Turn off saute and add the vegetable broth. Deglaze until a wooden spoon runs smooth on the bottom of the pot and all stuck bits are released. Then add vegetable juice, tomatoes and spices. Do not stir. Seal the lid and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
- Complete a controlled quick release and set back to saute mode on high for 6 minutes. Add the ditalini and canned corn, green beans, and chickpeas. Give it a good stir and let cook for 6 minutes.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and remove the inner pot to a heat proof surface to prevent overcooking. Let cool slightly, and serve with your favorite salad or bread.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add all ingredients except for the pasta to the slow cooker.
- Set to high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours. With 30 minutes left add the pasta and cook for remaining time.
Meryle Stanley
Just made this soup so quick and easy with lots of flavor thank you.
Brenda
What size instant pot do you use if you want to double the recipe?
Kristina
Hi Brenda. As written this fills up a 6 quart Instant Pot nearly to the fill line. I think you could double it using a 10 quart pressure cooker, but it may become overloaded with the addition of the pasta. You may need to cook the pasta separately, then add it to the soup at the very end (or to individual bowls).
Jack
How about potatoes?
Kristina
Sure, you can use potatoes too!
Julie Hernandez
Love! Can I freeze it you think?
Kristina
Hi Julie,
Yes! You can freeze this soup. The pasta may fall apart a little bit, depending on how long you freeze it for. But it will still be delicious! It's great for meal prep freezer lunches and for moms wanting to meal prep before new baby arrives. 🙂
nurp
Could you please add link to your broth recipe? Thanks a lot for sharing!
Kristina
Hello! I do not have another post for just the broth, only the soup.
Toni
I can't wait to make this again! So good!
Erin Gierhart
I love how easy this is!
Scott
Do we drain canned vegetables? I’m a novice.
Kristina
Hi Scott, you should drain everything but the tomatoes.