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Easy Veggie and Pasta Soup is just that, a quick vegetable soup with some pasta that my son loves more than the soup he gets outside of home. He will gobble this up because this soup is consistently good and has his favorite vegetables: carrots and celery. Peas are nowhere to be found in this soup, but add it if it’s a vegetable that your family loves.
This veggie soup doesn’t have as much broth as many other soups. You may want to add an extra cup of broth if you prefer a thinner vegetable soup. It’s great for lunch with a sandwich or salad. Leftovers freeze well so you can keep some frozen veggie and pasta soup on hand for those unexpected sick days.
Does it matter what kind of pot I use?
It depends. When sauteing vegetables, the only part of the vegetable that will cook is the part touching the bottom of the pot. It takes more time to soften vegetables in a pot with a narrow base since fewer of them touch the bottom of the pot. So, if you throw all the vegetables in at once, they are going to cook unevenly, and you will have some crunchy vegetables and some not so crunchy vegetables. If your pot is wide at the bottom, the veggies have room to spread out. This will result in more even cooking when sauteing.
You could skip sauteing and just put all the vegetables and broth all at once. The difficult part about this is that the vegetables will take longer to cook. You will have to simmer the vegetables in the broth over a low heat to prevent the soup from boiling over (that’s not fun to clean up). This soup is meant to come together quick so you can focus on more important things like taking care of your sick kiddo!
Regardless of which type of pot you use, make sure that you use either the liquid from the canned tomatoes or the chicken broth to loosen and scrape up the little brown bits that formed on the pot. There’s so much flavor in those brown almost burnt-like residue that develops when cooking. #brownfoodtastesgood
Looking for a new pot or a new cookware set? I absolutely love the Cuisinart Multiclad Triple Stainless Steel Cookware Set I just got for a birthday gift to myself. The pots and pans heat up much faster than the old stuff I was using that I bought 15 years ago when just starting out. Here’s a link to the set below on Amazon if you want to read more about it (and maybe gift it to someone you love this holiday season!)
Health Benefits: Soup
My son’s pediatrician says vegetable soup is one of the best ways to get kids to eat veggies. If you think about it, the vegetables are soft and easy to chew and if you follow a recipe you will have a higher chance of getting the soup to taste the same every time you cook it. Veggie soup also helps to keep you hydrated. This is a plus if your child often forgets to drink water because they are so busy. It’s been really rainy here in Hawaii; my son reports that the kids were all wishing they had soup to eat at lunch, and he was happy to see this vegetable soup when he got home!
The problems with eating soup are from eating canned versions and eating it too often. First, if you are watching your salt intake, canned soup can make you eat too much salt in one sitting. Second, eating a soup without balancing your meal or your day with other food types (e.g., protein, fruit, carbohydrates, etc.) might not fill you up and you eat junk food or you might not get enough nutrients throughout the day. Lastly, eating creamy soups instead of broth-based soups might cause you to eat too much saturated fat and increase your risk of clogged arteries and heart disease
Health Benefits: Celery
You’ll be surprised to hear that celery has Vitamins A, K, and C, as well as potassium and folate. These vitamins and minerals support overall immune system health, blood health, eye health, and brain health. Celery also has 25 different anti-inflammatory compounds according to Healthline. Benefits of Celery: For Your Health (healthline.com)
I know, lots of you out there probably don’t like celery because of its fibrous, stringiness when it is raw. Cooking for a longer period of time breaks down these fibers a lot so they are easy to eat when softened. Consider adding this affordable vegetable to your soups, stews, and stir fries today!
If you are not feeling veggie soup but are wanting to cook another warm and cozy meal, try these recipes below!
Easy Veggie and Pasta Soup
Equipment
- 1 large cutting board
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 can opener
- 1 4-quart stainless steel pot or larger
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil or vegetable or canola oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- ½ cup dried pasta (e.g. ditalini, stars, macaroni, shells, orzo, etc.)
- 2 cups fresh spinach (optional)
Instructions
- Heat pot on medium high heat for 30 seconds. Add olive oil and heat for a few seconds. Add onions to pot and cook for 2 minutes until translucent. (If your pot is 9" in diameter or greater, go ahead and throw all of the veggies in now and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until they are soft.)
- Add celery and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper (if using). Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until carrots start to soften and brown bits start to form on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chicken broth and diced tomatoes with juice to pot and raise heat to high. Stir contents in the pot scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pot and incorporated into the vegetables. Cover, and bring to a boil.
- Once at a boil, add the pasta and turn heat down to medium and cook the soup for 2 to 3 minutes longer than the pasta package recommends for al dente pasta. Depending on the pasta you choose, this could be a total of 11 to 16 minutes.
