This vegetable soup is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Incredibly flavourful, full of different textures from celery to butternut squash and warming to the soul. I love my veggie soups like I love my salads - diverse and plentiful.
In the fall and winter, soups are the best way to get a maximum number of nutrients (veggies) in a warm bowl.
Even though I'm still eating a salad most nights for dinner (have you tried myJuicy and Crunchy Kale Saladyet?), I've been loving having soup for lunch. However, last night we hadgrilled pear and cheese sandwichand soup for dinner. Thought I would mix things up!
As I've probably said before, I learned everything about soup making from Ma McCarthy – she's a pro! Before "bone broth" even became a thing, my mom was making her own stocks and broths. It's just what you did with a leftover chicken or turkey. Common sense, right? But if you don't eat animal foods, you can use a vegetable broth for the base of this soup.
Even though I learned how to make a good soup from my mom, when I studied at George Brown, I learned that a soup is nothing without a good stock. If you don't havehomemade stock or broth, then you can likely get homemade stock from your local health food store or butcher shop.
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I'm not a fan of the carton or canned stocks. They just aren't fresh and they have too much salt. Many of them even have MSG (often disgused as "yeast extract" and other names) – gross! But many stores will make their own bone broth and sell it frozen or freshly made.
What makes this soup so wonderful is the variety of veggies. There'sbutternut squash, zucchini, celery, tomatoes, onions, garlic, carrots and more. I used dried herbs that I always have in my kitchen (you probably have them too) and all the flavours together combined with a really good quality stock made for a wonderful soup that will having you coming back for more.
Vienna was really curious as I was prepping this soup, but unfortunately she couldn't really help me much because I was using a very big, very sharp knife. She brought out her little wooden knife so she could pretend to cut the carrots and celery though.
Whenever I make soup, I am careful not to overcook the veggies. So for this soup, I didn't do it in a slow cooker or crockpot because I didn't want the veggies to be mushy. I wanted them to still have some texture, plus when they have texture, this means they still have a lot of vitamins left too. I'm not too worried about the minerals because the heat will leach them out into the stock which you'll be slurping in the stock!
I called this a Fall Harvest Soup because the squash is really the hero of this soup and it's a total fall veggie. But if we are being literal here, zucchini is technically a summer squash. Mind you, I've been buying zucchini at my localfarmer's market.
Like many of my recipes on the blog, this recipe is gluten-free (that is, if you don't eat it with a crusty sourdough baguette - he he he), dairy-free, plant-based, paleo and full of flavour.
Because healthy should be delicious, right?!?
If you don't have butternut squash handy, don't sweat it. Sweet potato would be the perfect swap. Don't have celery on hand? Double the carrots. This soup can work many ways. The more variety of veggies you include, the more flavour you'll have. Phytonutrients are the plant chemicals that give plants their taste, so that's why more diverse veggies is a good thing!
Soups
Fall Harvest Vegetable Soup Print
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Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cups butternut squash, cubed
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 can (796 mL) canned diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil on medium and add onions. Saute for two minutes, then add butternut squash and carrots.
- Saute for five more minutes, than add stock, celery, zucchini, canned tomatoes. Give a stir.
- Then add all the dried spices, bay leaf, parsley, basil and oregano.
- Lastly add the garlic and sea salt. Give a stir. Bring to a soft boil then reduce to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Enjoy immediately. To store, let the soup completely cool before transferring to a mason jar. Freeze for up to 3 months or refrigerate up to one week.
Notes
Serves 6 - 8.
And yes, you can most certainly make this in a crockpot or slow cooker, I just wouldn't cook it in there all day - it will turn into a sloppy mushy soup. Not what you want!
If you've got a little one who can't chew much yet, you could toss all these ingedients into a blender and then serve this as a super delicious nutrient-dense puree. It's important whenraising healthy eatersto introduce them to lots of flavours. I've got a wholepost on food introductionif you're at that life stage with a little one in your family.
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This soup is packed with fibre fordigestive health, antioxidants for disease prevention,immune boosting nutrientsfrom the broth, butternut squash and carrots. Honestly, it's the PERFECT FALL SOUP!
Whether you enjoy this with a crusty sourdough baguette or someAlmond Rosemary CrackersandSweet Potato Hummus, you've got a wonderful plant-based meal.
I really enjoyed putting together this soup recipe to share with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I did.
Joyous health to you!
Joy
