Homemade Vegetable Soup Recipe
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Since we started our eating healthy, we’ve eaten a lot of grilled chicken and salad. As I was racking my brain trying to come up with an idea for dinner that didn’t involve chicken, vegetable soup came to mind. It’s one of my all-time favorite meals, and it reminds me of my precious daddy. He always called it “Red Soup,” one of his favorite meals to cook when my mom had to work late. Of course, he’d cook a steaming pan of delicious cornbread; I always loved crumbling a big piece of moist cornbread right in my vegetable soup. But……cornbread isn’t part of the plan during our 24-day healthy eating challenge. So, I asked our Facebook community their secret to homemade vegetable soup. I incorporated several suggestions to make the best Vegetable soup ever!!
Here’s what our Time 2 $ave Facebook community suggested:
- Amber S. – Add salsa!
- Veronica S.- Instead of tomato juice I use V8 love it!
- Christina B. – I drain all the vegetable juice first and if needed to thin it out, add it back. Tomato sauce is the base.
- Charlene W. – I add salsa or some taco seasoning. Yummy.
- Tammy R. – Add a can of Rotel tomatoes, yummy.
- Tisha B. – Worshtechire sauce and spicy mustard
- Nicole F. – V8
- Heather S. – Beef bouillon
- Donna Q. – Cabbage, chop small if short on time. Trader Joe’s… 21 Seasoning!
- Sandie P. – Ketchup….the more the better and one bay leaf and a little sugar plus all your veggies.
- Suzanne R. – Beef bullion for us too.
- Candice A. – Picante sauce
- Marcy R. – I make vegetable beef soup by boiling a cheap beef roast in water seasoned with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic. I let it boil on a low simmer until the meat shreds easily. Then I remove the meat and add my drained canned veggies into the beef broth. Then I had veg juice (like V8) until my pot is almost full and add my shredded meat back in. I let it simmer until we’re ready to eat it. My mom always added little pasta shapes like stars or ABC’s to thicken it up a bit too.
- Tiffany F. – Always always always add lemon juice – fresh is best. It wakes up the flavor of veggies without overpowering them. Next time – roast your veggies in the oven with olive oil and sea salt before you assemble your soup. Yum!
- Leanne E. – I use a splash of Worcestershire also!!
- Deborah P. – Lots of cabbage and some sliced tomatoes canned or fresh.
- Michelle K. – mixed vegetables…beef…tomatoes
- Kristin G. – I use beef broth and v8 as a base. I use a soup bone, brown my cubed
Beef and deglaze the pan with beef broth. Bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Frozen vegetable and the corn is Southwestern. Add the vegetables after the meat has had a chance to simmer and tenderize. Yummy! - Jennifer K. – I made a crockpot full for a church member. I used one container of vegetable broth, one container beef broth, baby carrots, frozen corn, fire roasted tomatoes, chopped onion, frozen green beans, frozen peas, & ground beef. I add rosemary, thyme, & basil.
- Lynelle S. – V-8 juice as the base.
- Trish J. – Cornbread with the soup!
- Magda S. – Put a tbs Marmite in for flavor.
- Laura P. – My husband and I like to put V8 juice as the tomato base. Yummy!!
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! Our Facebook community rocks. (Make sure to “like” our page you don’t want to miss out on great conversations!)
Homemade Vegetable Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb 93% Lean Ground Beef browned
- 1 28 oz can crushed organic tomatoes
- 3 cups water
- 1 can Rotel
- 1 bag mixed veggies
- 1 bag lima beans
- 2/3 cup salsa
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Brown ground beef, rinse and drain.
- Add rest of ingredients, bring to a boil.
- Boil for 1 hour covered on med/low.
- Remove lid and boil on low for 45 minutes to an hour or until veggies are tender (may add more water as needed).
- Remove bay leaf and discard.
- May also add okra, potatoes, beans, peas, etc. Such an easy, delicious recipe, lots of ways to experiment.
