Homemade pureed soups can be a delicious and economical way to get enough vegetables in your diet. They are also a great way to use up leftover vegetables. This creamy vegetable soup is blended so it’s creamy without adding any cream!
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I know, you think that Spring is here, and that you can put the soup pot away. I don’t think so. Soup is good food!
And besides, it’s still a bit nippy out there. Despite the fact that I live in balmy San Diego, balmy is relative. I’m currently wearing a sweatshirt, long pants, and fuzzy socks. The chill lingers.
Where’s the soup?!
If you’re in the mood for something light, but still warming, check out this Velvety Vegetable Soup. It can be made with whatever vegetables you have on hand, plus some spices and broth. It comes together in about 30 minutes, and even a school girl can make it.
FishChick7 has been REALLY into cooking lately. So, every day this weekend I put her to work at the stove, with me standing by. She’s the first child to be so persistent about learning to cook, so I’m rolling with it.
If you’re not a huge fan of blended soups, I urge you to reconsider. I can never forget the time my husband and I were staying with my French family in Toulouse. They had gone to a work event and said they’d be back for supper. Unfortunately, they got held up and a few hours became most of the evening. I remembered that Michele had said she’d started a soup for supper. I was then completely unfamiliar with blended soups so when I saw a pot of broth with large chunks of vegetables floating, I was really confused. How was this soup?!
We ended up snacking on bread and cheese while we waited for our friends to return.
It was only later that I learned that she blended the soft cooked vegetables into the broth. What resulted was a velvety vegetable soup, much like this one. Serve it with bread and a salad and you’ve got a delicious meatless meal. Leftovers can be frozen up to 2 months.
Since then I’ve been a HUGE fan of blended soups, particularly since I broke down and bought an immersion blender. That sucker is awesome. It is one of my kitchen must-haves.
What kind of veggies are in this creamy vegetable soup?
This recipe is very forgiving. Like I said, use what you have, even if that’s leftover veg from last night. If you’re using already cooked vegetables, you’ll be able to dramatically reduce your cooking time — and make great use of leftovers!
Here are a few suggestions:
- potato
- carrot
- sweet potato
- zucchini
- celery
- asparagus
- green beans
- rutabaga
- broccoli
- cauliflower
Do you need to add cream?
I’ve made this pureed vegetable soup multiple times with a variety of vegetables and differing spices. I’ve added cream sometimes, or not. I’ve found that if I use a potato, it adds some creaminess without adding dairy. Same with cauliflower. That’s how I’m sharing the recipe today.
I used broccoli, potato, carrot, sweet potato, and celery in addition to the mushroom and onion, but remember you can use any vegetables. This is a great recipe for using up random bits. It’s like a smoothie in soup form. And better than that just sounded. 😉
No matter how you make this soup, it’s good food.
Ingredients for this Creamy Vegetable Soup
- Oil – We used olive oil but another neutral oil works as well.
- Vegetables – Onion, garlic, mushrooms, and a mixture of whatever vegetables you got
- Seasoning – Thyme, pepper, and salt
- Broth
How to make this creamy vegetable soup
- Saute the onions, mushroom, and garlic. In a large stockpot heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, mushroom, and garlic, and saute five minutes over medium high heat.
- Saute the veggies. Add the vegetables and saute another 3 minutes.
- Add the broth and seasoning. Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Add the thyme, pepper, and salt. Bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender. Remove from heat.
- Blend. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor or countertop blender according to the manufacturer’s directions (vent the lid!)
What can I add to vegetable soup to add flavor?
This creamy vegetable soup is made with vegetable broth. But you can use any type of broth you might have on hand, or water (but that won’t add as much flavor).
You can also increase the amounts of the different herbs and spices in the recipe. Just season as you go. Add a little bit extra. Give it a stir. And see what you think!
You can also try topping this vegetable soup with some cooked, chopped bacon (try cooking your bacon in the oven for no mess!), or some shredded cheese, or even some Homemade Croutons!
Can I freeze this soup?
Because there is no cream in this soup, but just pureed vegetables it actually is the perfect soup to freeze! Just make sure your soup is completely cool before transferring to a freezer safe container.
When ready to enjoy, I just let the soup thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in a pot on the stove on low heat until warmed through.
What goes well with this soup?
I love a comforting bowl of warm soup with some bread on the side, like my Easy Make-Ahead Freezer Garlic Bread or my Whole Wheat Beer Bread.
But you could also serve this along side a salad to make for a complete meal. Make a simple garden salad and whip up your own homemade dressing like my Easy Homemade Italian Salad Dressing or my Balsamic Salad Dressing Recipe.
HOW TO MAKE THIS GOOD AND CHEAP:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. You can really make this soup with any veggies you have on hand, so when you see a good deal on produce items, don’t hesitate to stock up.
- Freezer cooking – By cooking in bulk I save time and effort. I don’t need to get take out when I can heat up a small dish of soup that I made my very own self!
- Using up leftovers – This easy vegetable soup recipe is very forgiving. Mix and match whatever you’ve got on hand.
Tools to help you make this vegetable soup:
These are some of my favorite tools for making this creamy vegetable soup:
- Cuisinart Smart Stick Immersion Blender
- 1-Quart Glass Measuring Cup
- Stainless Steel Soup Ladle
- 8-quart Stockpot
- Good Grips Vegetable Peeler
Creamy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion chopped for ½ cup
- ½ cup mushrooms (chopped)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 4 cup chopped vegetables such as potato, carrot, sweet potato, zucchini, celery, asparagus, green beans, rutabaga, broccoli, or cauliflower (and probably more that I’m forgetting)
- 4 cup vegetable broth You can also use chicken broth or stock
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- salt
Instructions
- In a large stockpot heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, mushroom, and garlic, and saute five minutes over medium high heat.2 tablespoon olive oil, ½ onion, ½ cup mushrooms (chopped), 1 clove garlic
- Add the vegetables and saute another 3 minutes.4 cup chopped vegetables
- Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Add the thyme, pepper, and salt. Bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender. Remove from heat.4 cup vegetable broth, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, salt
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor or countertop blender according to the manufacturer’s directions (vent the lid!)
Adrienne
Surprisingly rich flavor for being dairy free… and not even for being dairy free. My family really liked this, which surprised me. I love how many veggies got into them with this recipe! 🙂
Kimberly from Arizona
I just wanted to say “thank you!” My husaband is going to have severe nose and throat surgery next week. We have been finding things that will be nutritious and easy on his throat after surgery. We made this today. It was SO GOOD. He loves it and I love it.
Jessica Fisher
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it. I have several blended vegetable soups here that have a wide range of flavors. I hope all goes well next week!
Kimberly
Wow, it was a long time ago, but your soup started us on a vegan journey. Thanks again.
Jessica Fisher
How exciting! Congrats!
Sally
I love pureed vegetable soups. This is similar to what I do, but I do add potato or rice when cooking to “thicken” the soup. I don’t like thin, pureed soups.
Jessica Fisher
Reducing the amount of liquid will also thicken the soup in case you don’t have or don’t want to add those other ingredients.
Angie
I saw this yesterday and made it immediately. It was so good. I used frozen vegetables from our garden last year. I took them out about 1 hour before to slightly thaw and cooked a little longer before adding the broth. Great way to use up vegetables.
Danielle L. Zecher
I made a double batch of this last night using half vegetable broth and half chicken broth with butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, and potatoes, and it was fabulous. It was very orange :-), but very good. Some of the veggies were at the use them or toss them point, so it was perfect.
And rummaging through the fridge for the veggies inspired me to clean it out and make a plan for the rest of the week based on what’s in there. WIN!!! 🙂
Julie
Made this tonight and it was so good! I may start calling it “Saturday Night Soup” around these parts 🙂
Jessica Fisher
I wish my husband liked blended soups. Maybe I’ll call it Friday Lunch. 🙂
Martha Artyomenko
I love my immersion blender!
Mari
I’d love this even more than I already do if you added nutrition info – and especially calories, for those of us who need to have a certain amount per meal. thanks for a great site.
Jessica Fisher
Great suggestion. I haven’t had time to research widgets to see what works best. However, in the case of this recipe it would vary too much to be helpful. Since you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand, there’d be no way to figure out calorie info.