Vegan Vegetable Soup

Today’s recipe is for a healthy homemade vegan vegetable soup with butternut squash and kale.  It is paleo, whole30 approved and gluten-free! 

I originally published this Vegan Vegetable Soup recipe on September 5th 2014. I have updated the text and photos and added a video to reshare it with you today. This post contains affiliate links. 

When I first published this post, my little one had just started Kindergarten and my older daughter was starting second grade. It’s hard to believe that now they’re in 5th and 7th grade! My how time flies! One thing that hasn’t changed is that this time of year, is when I go soup crazy. 

Or at least that’s what I call it. I am not sure if there is an actual thing called soup crazy. You know, like stir crazy, but a cozy fall cooking version of it? This is what it looks like: Without fail at this time of year, the bounty of the harvest is rolling in, the grasses are dried up, the evenings and early mornings are chilly, and I get soup crazy.

I get all excited about being in my kitchen and cutting up stuff and simmering stuff and letting my house fill up with the smell of yumminess. Big steaming bowls, maybe a savory muffin along side. Lunchboxes for my hubby. Quarts into the freezer. The whole soup crazy nine yards.

It happened when I made this cheddar potato soup and when I amassed this list of healthy soups too and other many undocumented times no doubt.

It may have something to do with the fact that even though we’re into October, fresh vegetables are still coming in from local farms. On the weekends I go to the farmers market, and spend every single penny in my wallet and then have so much to carry that my biceps are going to burst. And then I get home and I am like, what am I going to do with all this produce?

Soup. Soup is the answer. Has been and still is, and this Vegan Vegetable Soup is still a winner! 

Tips for Making Vegan Vegetable Soup

A few cooks notes about this vegan vegetable soup.

VEGAN BROTH:

If you are a meat eater, I recommend making this with chicken broth, since that has the best neutral flavor. Look for varieties that have about 500 mg of sodium per cup. Even better is making your own chicken stock from scratch.  But if you do that make sure you add a little extra salt.

If you are vegan or vegetarian, look for Imagine No Chicken broth. It is by far the best vegetable broth on the market. Hands down.

SWAPPING IN OTHER VEGGIES:

If you’re wondering about the combo of ingredients, yes yes yes mix them up. By all means! Just keep a few things in mind. Cook the onion and garlic as directed, where you can mix it up is in step two and three. Add large diced, hard, and longer-cooking vegetables like squash in step two. Add more tender, small diced, shorter cooking vegetables in step three. Taste as you go. I think adding zucchini in step three to this would be an obvious choice, or even chopped green beans. Get crazy with it. Soup crazy.

How to Make Vegan Vegetable Soup

Chop Vegetables as You Cook

• No doubt making vegetable soup requires a lot of chopping of the vegetables, but that’s actually not a bad thing. One of the cool things about making soup is you can cut as you cook. Unlike a stir-fry where you need to have everything cut and measured before you turn on the stove, soup is much more forgiving and relaxed. It’s part of the charm of making soup!
• I like to start off my chopping my onions and garlic, and about halfway through cutting, I get my big heavy soup pot onto the stove and start heating it up.
• Then while the onions are softening, that’s when I start in on cutting the carrots and celery. And so on. It’s a good use of timing and actually quite relaxing!

How to Cut a Butternut Squash for Soup

• If you haven’t cut up a butternut squash before, it’s not as intimidating as you may think. You can wear gloves if you have sensitive skin. The squash is so high in Vitamin A that it actually will make the skin rough from exfoliating it so much! 
• First cut the ends off. Then cut the neck from the bulb so it is easier to handle. As you remove the skin, it will become slippery, so having it in two smaller pieces makes it easier to hold. 
• Peel the squash with a high quality peeler. Then cut the bulb end in half and scoop out the seeds.
• Cut the bulb end into cubes. Then cut the neck end into slabs and then into cubes. 

Add Herbs and Wine to the Vegetable Mixture

I cook the Herbs de Provence with the sauteed vegetables to help bring out the flavors of the herbs. If you’re not familiar with this French herb blend, it is a woodsy and floral blend with lavender in it. I like to use it in Ratatouille or Crispy Skin Chicken too. 

After the vegetables are softened and starting to brown, add in white wine. This will deglaze the pan, and remove any browned bits from the pan. These browned bits, or fond, are full of rich flavor. The wine also balances the sweetness from the squash and brings out the flavors in the soup.

Tip: Increase the heat to bring it up to a simmer quickly. 

To Cook The Vegetable Soup

See above my notes about the broth you choose. Add that in after the wine is reduced a bit. 

Add in hot sauce (Tabasco is great) too to add a peppery backnote to the soup flavor. 

Once the soup comes to a simmer, add in the butternut squash and bring it back up to a simmer. Then cook the soup until the squash is nice and tender but not falling apart. This takes about 12 minutes. Check it with a fork to see if it’s done.

Add in Quick Cooking Vegetables at the End

At the end, stir in kale and tomatoes, and cook them only until the kale is tender. If you have another tender vegetable like zucchini or green beans (ones that soften in 4 minutes or so) this is the time to add them. 

QUESTIONS:

Do you get soup crazy?

Do you buy more than you can carry at the farmers’ market?

Do you feel like getting back into the kitchen at this time of year? 

More Vegetarian Soup Recipes:

4-Ingredient Kale Cheddar Soup, this recipe has a magical creamy texture thanks to the potatoes cooked into the soup. They help the cheddar cheese melt in beautifully! 

Cheddar Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup, I served this to a group of friends recently, and got many requests for the recipe. It’s a big hit every time!

Instant Pot Cream of Cauliflower Soup Here’s a great instant pot beggginer recipe to try if you’re new to the IP. It’s hard to mess it up.

Minestrone Soup– Do not miss this one. (It’s vegan too!) It’s another one of those recipes that’s worthy of making everyone a little soup crazy.

Thai Pumpkin Soup is ready in only 15 minutes believe it or not! 

Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup an unforgettable combination with coconut and pureed peanuts! 

Thanks so much for reading. If you make this recipe please come back and leave a rating and review! 

Happy Cooking!

~Katie

vegan vegetable soup

• Author: Katie Webster
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 12 cups 1x
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

★★★★★

5 from 22 reviews

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Description

Healthy homemade vegan vegetable soup recipe with all sorts of yummy harvest veggies, including butternut squash and kale. Paleo, vegan, and gluten-free.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large diced onion
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 3 carrots, diced
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 6 cups Imagine No-Chicken Broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 10 dashes Tabasco sauce, or to taste
• 1 4-inch sprig rosemary
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 1 1/2 pounds or 4 ½ cups)
• 4 cups finely chopped kale leaves (no stems)
• 1 large tomato, diced (about 1 large) peeled and seeded if desired

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Instructions

1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt, and cook, stirring often until the onion is softened and starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add carrots, celery and Herbes de Provence. Cover and cook, removing lid to stir often until the vegetables are starting to brown and sizzle, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Add wine, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring until the wine is almost completely evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth, Tabasco sauce and rosemary and bring to a boil. Add squash, and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low or to maintain a simmer, and cook until the squash is tender, but not falling apart, about 12 minutes.
3. Add kale and tomatoes and stir until the kale is wilted into the soup. Cook until the kale is tender, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Remove rosemary sprig before serving.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 cups
• Calories: 228
• Sugar: 6 g
• Sodium: 814 mg
• Fat: 9
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Carbohydrates: 27 g
• Fiber: 6 g
• Protein: 5 g