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Corn, zucchini, and tomatoes…oh my! A light and healthy summer vegetable soup is the perfect way to take advantage of all of the season’s fresh produce. Best of all, there’s no need to heat up your kitchen — just turn on your stovetop, Instant Pot, or Crock Pot for this easy homemade vegetable soup recipe that keeps well in the freezer for months.
WHAT IS THE SECRET TO MAKING GOOD SOUP?
The secret to a good soup recipe is layering a variety of fresh, flavorful ingredients in the pot. You want different textures, plenty of seasoning, and an acidic note to brighten up the dish.
It helps to chop all of the veggies into uniform bite-size pieces so that they cook evenly and so that the soup is easy to eat with a spoon. Use homemade or high-quality stock or broth, as well as the freshest or highest-quality produce that you can get your hands on. When the ingredients are simple, like they are in this garden vegetable soup, you want each item to contribute maximum flavor.
INGREDIENTS
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that we put in our garden vegetable soup. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Olive oil: to sauté the vegetables.
- Onion and garlic: add savory flavor to the dish.
- Corn: use fresh corn cut off the cob, or substitute with frozen corn kernels.
- Tomatoes: peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh tomatoes are great in the summer, but a big can of diced tomatoes works well, too!
- Sweet bell pepper: any color is fine — green bell pepper, red bell pepper, etc.
- Zucchini: a classic summer veggie, zucchini is always abundant at this time of year! Use yellow summer squash as an equal substitute.
- Lima beans: fresh or frozen are fine. If you don’t care for lima beans, just add some extra corn in their place. You can also sub with frozen peas or a can of drained, rinsed beans (such as pinto beans, kidney beans, or cannellini beans).
- Mushrooms and eggplant: hearty vegetables that bulk up the soup and give it a satisfying, “meaty” texture. If you don’t want to use one of these ingredients, you can substitute with meat (such as ground beef or cooked, shredded chicken), or add some cooked rice or noodles to the soup at the end.
- Broth: I use a low-sodium vegetable broth or stock so that I can control the seasoning in the pot. Chicken broth or chicken stock is also a good option if you’re not trying to keep the meal vegetarian.
- Vinegar: apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar are typically my top choices, but white vinegar or balsamic vinegar will both work, too. The vinegar adds an acidic note that brightens up the soup.
- Sugar: to balance the acidity from the tomatoes and give the soup more depth of flavor.
- Italian seasoning: a convenient blend of herbs and spices that typically includes marjoram, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano and other herbs.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the soup.
HOW TO MAKE VEGETABLE SOUP
When you’re faced with baskets full of fresh summer vegetables that you don’t want to spoil, when you need a quick freezer-friendly meal that you can grab on busy nights, or when you just want to nourish your body with a healthy, low-calorie vegetarian dinner, this Summer Vegetable Soup comes to the rescue! I’ll show you the stovetop method here, but I’ve also included instructions for the slow cooker and Instant Pot below.
- Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a big Dutch oven or other large pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and gently simmer for 1 hour, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
