This alphabet vegetable soup recipe is easy, homemade, and satisfying. It freezes wonderfully and keeps perfectly for lunches all week. Add your favorite spices and use your favorite vegetables. Alphabet pasta is really fun, but any small shaped pasta works!
I know, I know. Vegetable soup where I usually share recipes like chocolate cake and peanut butter pie?
Stick with me. This is an absolutely delicious soup recipe, especially considering that most of your bowl is vegetables. Paired with lots of seasonings, plenty of garlic, hearty potato, and super fun pasta, vegetable soup finally receives a glamorous makeover.
This homemade soup is… SO GOOD!
Let’s Make Alphabet Vegetable Soup!
Spelling with our food calls for lots of excitement! I was inspired to make homemade alphabet vegetable soup because (1) it’s adorable and (2) homemade soup always tastes superior to canned. I bought the Amy’s brand organic alphabet soup a few times recently and while it tastes great (for kids and adults!), I knew I could replicate it at home.
This is a very low-key soup with a lot of room for substitutions. Chicken or vegetable broth? Either works. Fresh or frozen veggies? You pick. Green beans, corn, carrots? Use whatever. Just about any combination of ingredients, while somewhat following the recipe, works.
Two additions we love:
- Potato: 1 medium potato adds heartiness. Potato gives each spoonful a little more staying power and substance. Sweet potato works too!
- Tomato Paste: The tomato paste helps thicken and adds fantastic concentrated flavor.
Where Can I Find Alphabet Pasta?
I bought alphabet pasta online (affiliate link), but later realized it’s common in most major grocery stores. If you can’t find alphabet pasta or don’t want to buy it online, use any small shaped pasta. You need about 1 cup dry.
By the way, frozen veggies make the soup even easier. No need to thaw!
What makes me happy: This soup is really easy, loaded with vegetables, pretty healthy, feeds us for a few days, satisfies for hours, and tastes awesome.
What makes me even happier: My kids eat it!
If you don’t love it too, I promise to come spoon up your leftovers.
Here’s a friendly reminder that brown butter sage dinner rolls, no knead seeded oat bread, homemade breadsticks, and homemade biscuits all make the best soup dippers. And if you love biscuits as much as we do, you’ll probably also enjoy this biscuit vegetable pot pie recipe.
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Homemade Alphabet Vegetable Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This alphabet vegetable soup recipe is easy, homemade, and satisfying. It freezes wonderfully and keeps perfectly for lunches all week. Add your favorite spices and use your favorite vegetables. Alphabet pasta is really fun, but any small shaped pasta works!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning*
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 8 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
- 3–4 cups frozen, canned, or fresh vegetables*
- 1 medium potato, peeled & chopped (1 heaping cup)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
- 1 cup dry alphabet pasta*
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a 5 quart (or larger) pot or dutch oven. Add the garlic, onion, Italian seasoning, salt, thyme, and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes as the onion softens.
- Add broth, vegetables, potato, bay leaf, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then add uncooked pasta. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
- Serve soup warm and top with fresh parmesan cheese, if desired.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week. To reheat, simply pour into a pot over medium heat and cook until warm. Feel free to add more broth to the leftovers as it cooks if it is too thick. (It thickens in the refrigerator as the potatoes and noodles soak up the liquid.)
Notes
- Freezing: Soup freezes wonderfully! Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator the day before eating, then reheat on the stove until warm.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Large Pot or Dutch Oven | Alphabet Pasta
- If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use any combination of Italian spices that you like. Dried basil, rosemary, oregano, etc.
- I use a 19 ounce bag of mixed vegetables: corn, peas, green beans, and carrots. This medley tasted delicious in the soup! You can use your favorite fresh, frozen, or canned (drained) vegetables. Do not thaw if using frozen.
- You can usually find alphabet pasta in the pasta aisle of grocery stores or purchase it online. Or use any small shaped pasta.
- Slow cooker directions: Prepare the soup through step 1 on the stovetop. Transfer to a slow cooker, then add everything else except for the pasta. Allow to cook for 2 hours on low, then add the pasta. Cook on low for 1 more hour.
Keywords: Homemade Alphabet Vegetable Soup
This is the BEST vegetable soup I ever made…and I’ve tried many. The tomato was nice a tangy, just the way I like it!
★★★★★
I made this for my mom who had dislocated her jaw that morning and was only capable of eating soup. My whole family loved it and were begging for seconds. Thanks for yet another amazing recipe Sally!
★★★★★
Made this soup last week and followed recipe, except pasta shape I used was Ditalini no 36. It was delish! I would cut out the pasta next time and add more of the veggies for lower carb meal.
Loved this soup! So easy and tasty! I left out the alphabet noodles because I like a bit of broth, but still so good. Will definitely be making this again!!
★★★★★
Made this soup for our annual fundraiser Bermuda National Trust Auction and Jumble sale, Its a bit cold in Bermuda at the moment so a hot soup goes down well.
★★★★★
Have you considered instant pot directions?
I just made this in my instant pot. Set the pot to saute and did everything the same except when it was time to add the noodles, I turned off the pot, stirred in the noodles, placed the lid and set to pressure cook for 4 and NPR for 10. It turned out great!
I did it in my instant pot too! Delicious like anything I have made of yours, Sally!!! Yummm!
★★★★★
Hello! Personally, I’d be fine with an all vegetable soup, but my husband is a hard sell on meat free. ☺ Might it be possible to add rotisserie chicken, Italian sausage, or some other meat? Thanks!
Hi Susan! Yes, definitely. I recommend cooking 1/2 lb of ground meat or sausage when you cook the onions and proceed with the recipe as written. Or stir in rotisserie chicken when you add the broth.
Thanks to your quick reply ☺ my husband made this for dinner tonight. He added frozen meatballs at the beginning and they turned out just right. I loved the smell of thyme while it was cooking. We will definitely be making this again!
★★★★★
This was so good, and so easy and quick to prepare. It was a perfect dinner to have after coming in from shoveling snow. I’m trying to eat better, so I left the super fun alphabets out, and added a half of a small green cabbage…this was really good!! Thank you for such a delicious, easy to prepare recipe!!
★★★★★
Hi Kelly! I need to try it with cabbage now, what a great substitution. Thank you for sharing!
Very easy and delicious. My store didn’t have little alphabets, but teeny little bow ties worked beautifully. We’re trying to eat meat free a few nights a week and this certainly fit the bill!
★★★★★
So glad you and you all enjoyed this soup recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Made this for dinner and the whole family loved it! I used half chicken and half beef stock and used ditalini pasta since it was easier to find for me. We will definitely make this again! Keep the savory recipes coming! 🙂
★★★★★
Very tasty, full of flavour and so easy! Is definitely a new staple in our menu!
★★★★★
This soup is scrumptious! It reminds me of a glorified Spaghettio’s but healthier and more satisfying! Sally – a next cool book idea would be Toddler Approved Meals for the Proud Mama (our daughters are very close in age, and as I’m sure you understand, pleasing her palate is a chore!)
For those making this for the first time – follow the pasta recommendation. I put in two cups, and it was too much.
★★★★★
Used half veggie stock and the other half beef broth and a mixture of fresh and frozen veggies since that is what I had on hand, and small shell pasta. Very easy to make and good!
★★★★★
Made this soup and is delicious.
★★★★★
This soup is delicious. We had it for dinner the other night and I can’t wait to have the leftovers. It’s so easy to make too!
★★★★★
I made this soup for dinner tonight! My family loved it!!! Thanks for the delicious recipe Sally!
★★★★★
Delicious! Used corn, carrots and green beans so all 4 Kids would eat it and not pick things out. Used 15oz of puréed garden tomatoes in place of canned. Such a warm yummy meal on a cold snow day. Homemade bread on the side.
Any idea on calories per 1 cup?
★★★★★
Hi Sally- It was nostalgic to see vegetable soup again! I used those dry alphabet macaronis to teach my girls spelling (they are grown now).
I just might make this for our usual Sunday nite scrabble game.
It looks delicious.
Thanks for this recipe, Sally! I made it this weekend for family and took a container to friends. Besides being fun to make, it was exceptionally tasty. I additionally added a package of our garden, cut-up, frozen tomatoes and also used several small tender potatoes Delicious!
Blessings upon you and family,
maureen
★★★★★
Update. Made it! Ate it! Delicious! Husband loves it too!
★★★★★
Made this tonight using ingredients I had on hand. Spicy V8 juice and organic veggie broth for the base. Used a mix of frozen squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and corn. This is a nice hearty soup perfect for cold nights. And it makes plenty for leftovers!
★★★★★
This is simmering on the stove right now. It looks and smells so good. Perfect for this cold winter day in Wisconsin.
I made this for supper tonight and we all loved it! It has so much flavor and so easy to make. For the spices I ended up using Italian style tomato paste and then just added a little more basil along with the salt and pepper. I made it in the crockpot and found that the 3 hrs total was not near enough time. The potatoes and other veggies were not done. I had to put it on the stovetop to boil for a while. Next time I will just put it in the crockpot longer. Thanks for such a yummy, healthy recipe! I know I will be making this again!
I have made this a bunch of times. I like that it freezes well. My husband travels and I always put up small batches for me so I have good homemade food when he’s gone. I have added a pound of ground beef and sometimes ground turkey, just to make it go further. We love this with jalapeno corn bread.
Made this today and it’s delicious! I used two carrots, one yellow squash, two potatoes, and a heaping cup of canned green beans. I swapped the diced tomatoes for tomato sauce because I just don’t care for the canned variety. I skipped the pasta too.
★★★★★
This looks delicious Sally! Question: do you think adding ground turkey would work in this recipe? Would love to add some extra protein to the soup but didn’t know if I would need more liquid, etc? Thank you!
Hi Danielle! You can definitely add ground turkey. I recommend cooking it when you cook the onions, but make sure it’s all cooked through before adding the rest of the ingredients. You’ll likely need 1-2 extra cups broth. Let me know how you like it!
This looks so yummy! I like tomato paste and such but I am not crazy about chunks of tomatoes… can i skip that by chance? Or does it really make the flavor great?
Hey Jenny! You can leave out the canned diced tomatoes. Add another can of tomato paste and extra stock/broth though.
Already tried this soup the minute it was in my email. The flavour is great! I used some little circle noodles. Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
Sally,
Hi! Which type of stock did you personally end up using when you made the recipe? Thanks! 🙂
I use vegetable stock!
Looks delicious going to make this on weekend for grandchildren will let u know good day + thank U
★★★★