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 (5-quart or larger) | 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.