Soup never gets old for me, especially in the fall months when life starts to pick up again and I want to make something quick and easy. I have a great recipe for a classic vegetable soup that is great for lunches or a hearty dinner. And if you’re working 9-5 like me, it’s an excellent recipe to make on the weekends for meal prep. Pick the overripe vegetables from your garden and toss them in! There isn’t any wrong way to make this, and I encourage you to add and substitute whatever veggies you prefer.

I never used to be so obsessed with soup until I entered adulthood and realized soup is the perfect lunch, perfect dinner, and overall perfect fall/winter comfort food. The best part about this soup is it is amazingly healthy (at 0 weight watcher points per serving) and very affordable (this will cost you around 15 dollars for 8 servings). I doubled my own recipe so I had enough soup to carry me through the week, but this recipe will make about 8 large servings. For this garden vegetable soup you will need:

2 (4 cup containers) low sodium vegetable broth, 24 oz can of petite diced tomatoes

1 can drained black beans

1 container sliced button mushrooms

1 yellow onion diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried thyme

1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

3 small yellow potatoes diced

and a sprinkle of chili flakes (optional).

I like to begin by using the cast iron soup pot to sweat all my vegetables down and bring out flavor (adding your seasonings early on will give the soup a wonderful base). I begin by placing some olive oil in a pot and sweating down my onion and mushrooms in a heavy hand of salt and the dried thyme for about 5 minutes or until they become soft. This isn’t in the recipe, but garlic would be a great addition to add at this stage as well.

Next, I add in my diced tomatoes and broth and bring to a low boil. Once the soup begins boiling, I add the potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes. The smaller your potato chunks are, the shorter the cooking time! Next, add your frozen veggies and black beans, and whatever other vegetables you prefer! You could absolutely do an Italian spin on this and add oregano and basil to your soup mixture. I, myself, added some chili flake from the garden for heat.

Please, do not forget to season as you go along and taste throughout the cooking process. I absolutely love this soup because it fills you up without weighing you down.

Read along next week as I try an Italian spinach and tortellini soup. If you have an all time favorite soup recipe, I would love to try it. Stay safe.