There is nothing better than a hearty 10 Vegetable Soup to feel warm on a cool day. This healthy soup is chockfull of vegetables in a light tomato accented broth. When I think of soup, Vegetable Soup doesn’t jump out at me. In fact it took me quite a while to work this soup recipe out. I really wanted a satisfying soup that was really healthy and with the maximum vegetable content. One that I could savor with a grilled cheese sandwich or just some crusty bread with butter. After much trial, I finally came up with something even my husband really liked. He is someone that normally eats some sort of protein with every meal to feel satiated so I was pleased to get the very positive feedback.
Table of contents
Panera Ten Vegetable Soup
I was the last to know that Panera used to make a Ten Vegetable Soup. I’m a huge fan of Panera Bread. One of my favorites is the Asian Sesame Salad with Chicken. I order the same thing almost every time. But I was a local store buying jars for this soups leftovers, when I was asked what I was using the jars for. I replied it was for my 10 Vegetable Soup and of course the sales associate asked if it was the Panera 10 Vegetable Soup. I said no, and she told me all the reasons why she loved it and that it was no longer on the menu. Clearly my curiosity got the best of me and I searched for it as soon as I got in the car. I never realized this soup has such a following. I’m here to say, mine is not the same. (insert sad face emoji here) Even though the Panera soup sounds utterly delicious, I again wanted to create an all veggie based soup. I do deliver a nutritious and delicious soup that I think you will love, not to replace your favorite 10 vegetable soup, but one to add to your recipe rotation.
Vegetables and their health benefits
“Eat more vegetables” everyone says. From the magazines, to the commercials, to our Doctors. It’s hard right? I know for myself I’m always trying to eat more veggies. Bottom line? I just feel better overall when I have my fair share. Nothing magical about it. They are good for you. Your body does an internal happy dance when you give it more nutritious food.
This soup has 10 vegetables in it. I balanced this out with all the usual suspects like carrots, celery, onions, zucchini squash, but I also added fresh green beans, bell peppers, corn, spinach, cabbage and my personal favorite, Fennel.
According to Eating Well, these are the top 10 benefits and great reasons for eating your 5 servings of veggies a day:
- Fighting off inflammation (personally, one of the main reasons I’m eating more vegetables)
- Positive effect to blood pressure.
- Increase of fiber that is essential for heart and gut health.
- Overall eye health.
- Improvement in skin.
- Heart disease reduction.
- Benefits to overall blood sugar.
- Reduced risk of Cancer.
- Brain health.
- Overall immunity.
You can see that for the minimal amount of servings (maybe a big salad?) you can really help boost overall health. Maybe instead of an apple a day, it should be a salad a day keeps the doctor away.
Back to the soup! On top of all these vegetables, I added diced, canned tomatoes. If you can find the kind that have basil that’s an added plus. And finally for the not so secret ingredient? A parmesan cheese rind. This gives the soup another flavor boost with the least amount of effort.
What is Fennel?
Fennel gives my 10 Vegetable Soup a different flavor and added crunch. When I say Fennel, I don’t mean Fennel seeds which I love cooking with. This is fresh Fennel. Fennel is a relative of the parsley family and indigenous to the Mediterranean. It’s a hearty perennial herb that has a mild licorice like flavor. The bulb is what is used in this soup but Fennel can be used in so many ways. I love it fresh like my Shaved Fennel, Cucumber and Celery Salad or my Orange Fennel Salad. These are two excellent recipes using fresh Fennel.
How to prep to make my 10 vegetable soup
The prep for this soup is in fact, takes a little bit of time for chopping the vegetables. However, the reward after is that you will have soup for several days to come or like me, in the freezer for days like today, where here in Los Angeles it’s been raining and so cold. I prefer to chop my vegetables small and uniform so they cook at the same time. So yes, it can take about 30 minutes to prep but once the chopping is done, the soup is a breeze to cook. You can use choppers or food processors to save time as well. Anything you prefer as long as the vegetables are similar in size.
Use a large stock pot with lid or a 8-9qt dutch oven. Place on stovetop and add 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Start by washing and drying all the vegetables you intend to use. Once prepped, you will be adding the first 7 vegetables to the dutch oven with oil.
- Carrots: peel and dice.
- Celery: trim tops, bottom and dice.
- Onion: dice small
- Fennel: remove fronds and dice
- Zucchini: remove ends and dice
- Bell pepper: remove top stem, and seeds inside. Dice remainder.
- Green beans: trim and chop into 1 inch pieces.
- To add in the last 10 minutes of cooking:
- Cabbage: shred
- Corn: frozen, set 2 cups aside
- Spinach: set 10oz bag aside or 1-2 bunches of trimmed, fresh spinach.
- Parsley: optional for serving
On medium heat, allow vegetables to get hot and start to sauté. Add garlic and spices, and continue to sauté for about 4 minutes. Add chicken stock, and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes and then add cabbage, corn and spinach. Cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust spices as needed.
How to serve this 10 Vegetable Soup
This delicious 10 Vegetable Soup is perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich, or topped with a little Basil pesto, garlic bread or turkey sandwich. My favorite way of enjoying it topped with shredded Parmesan cheese and with a toasted sourdough slathered with my Charred Scallion Compound Butter.
How to store, freeze and thaw soup
Now for the gift that keeps on giving. Leftover soup! I store and freeze my soup in Weck jars. I use the 26oz size and use to store in the refrigerator and freezer. In the fridge this soup keeps for about 3 days. In the freezer it keeps about 4 months.
This recipe yields about 22 cups of soup. Once it’s cooled, check to see if the soup vegetables have absorbed some of the liquid. If so, just add 1 cup of broth at a time until you have your preferred consistency. Place soup in containers or Weck jars leaving about 1 inch on top for expansion in the freezer. You don’t have the same expansion with refrigeration.
NOTE: Weck jars can handle the freezer. Please check the care labels of any containers if you choose to use glass. Most plastics will be fine in the freezer.
The best way to thaw this soup is to place in fridge and allow to thaw for about 1 day and then heat on the stovetop until it’s completely heated through. If you are using the microwave, use the appropriate defrost setting and then heat the soup thoroughly until hot. Again, making sure your containers are microwave safe and can go from freezer to microwave without issues.
More Vegetable forward recipes
If you love vegetables or just trying to eat more healthfully, here are a few of my favorite veggie filled recipes: Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Feta, Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Grain Salad, Roasted Za’atar Cauliflower with Golden Tahini Harissa Sauce, and another favorite soup, Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup.
Frequently asked questions
100% and perfect for Mediterranean style eating. Super nutritious and healthy.
Yes, you can add chicken or small chunks of beef sirloin. Both work well. As an alternative so does ground chicken, turkey, beef or pork and of course tofu!
In addition, all canned beans work well. My favorite is chickpeas or white beans for this soup.
Any of vegetables can be swapped however, the soup gets the great flavor from the variety used. So the more variety, the better the flavor.
Very healthy. 2 cups of soup has 124 calories and 4 grams of fat. In addition, you get 6 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein.
It can be. Substitute chicken stock for vegetable stock (check label to ensure it’s 100% Vegan) and add nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan cheese rind.
You can but I would add some nutritional yeast or vegetable stock concentrate, like a Better than Bouillon to give the soup more depth. Add a little bit at a time.
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10 Vegetable Soup
Equipment
- 1 large dutch oven or stock pot 8-9 quart
- food chopper optional
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Vegetables prep-all washed and dried before chopping
- 3 whole carrots peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 1 whole bell pepper top and seeds removed, diced
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 2 cups green beans trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 whole fennel fresh, trimmed and diced
- 1 whole zucchini diced
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1-2 whole dried Bay leaves
- pinch salt kosher
- pinch pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper crushed
- 10-12 cups chicken or vegetable stock low sodium
- 1 14oz diced tomatoes regular or Italian spices added
- 1 pc parmesan cheese rind
- 2 cups spinach frozen
- 2 cups corn frozen
- 1/2 small head cabbage shredded
Serving suggestions
- 1/2 cup Parsley, flat leaf or curly chopped for garnish (optional)
- parmesan cheese shredded for serving
- sourdough bread optional
- pesto jarred, optional
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot, add olive oil, diced carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion, green beans, fennel and zucchini.
- Heat oil and vegetables over medium heat and start to sauté. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, pinch of salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Stir.
- Add broth. Add 8 cups first and then add accordingly. The amount of stock will depend on the yield of the diced vegetables. I typically use about 10 cups and add a little more once the soup is cooked and cooled.
- Add canned tomatoes and parmesan cheese rind.
- Simmer 15 minutes.
- Add frozen spinach, corn and cabbage and simmer another 5 minutes.
- Remove parmesan rind and bay leaves.
- Serve in bowls and top with shredded parmesan cheese or a dollop of pesto.
- Garnish with parsley. Optional.
Refrigerating and freezing
- Once the soup is completely cooled, check to see if the vegetables have absorbed some of the liquid. If so, add 1 cup of stock until desired consistency. (Usually no more than 2 cups)
- Place soup in freezer/fridge safe containers. If freezing, allow 1 1/2 inch of room on the top for expansion. Refrigerate for up to 3 days and freeze for up to 4 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated online and should be used as a guide.
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com
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