If you have been searching for a healthy, comforting dinner to help usher in a new year, you found it! Packed with flavorful vegetables and free from any guilt, my Instant Pot Vegetable Soup is a perfect winter meal. Clean living has never been easier!
After all of the gluttony that seems to come with the holiday season, my body is usually thirsting for a reset in January. I can't seem to shake the deep craving for endless supplies of vegetables, bone broth and herbal tea to remedy all the damage I've done. If we're in the same boat, give this simple, nutritious soup a shot!
It's the New Year, the holidays are over and it's cold outside. These next few months are some of the harder ones to make it through, at least until the promise of spring arrives near the end of March. If your energy is flagging, you're not alone. This easy soup is about to restore your hope and your health.
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Why I Love This Veggie Soup Recipe
If you haven't yet jumped on the Instant Pot train, I implore you to consider it now. If your New Year's goals include cooking more and eating more healthfully, there's nothing like the Instant Pot to help you achieve them. It turns familiar, albeit time consuming, meals into easy, one-pot weeknight wonders. This easy vegetable soup is no exception.
If it's dark when you go to work and when you clock out, I know how draining it can be. Sometimes the thought of cooking just seems like too much. The Instant Pot makes mealtime fast and painless, with just a single container to clean up at the end.
My Instant Pot Vegetable Soup recipe is also incredibly adaptable. It uses just a touch of olive oil and whatever fresh or frozen vegetables you happen to have on hand.
Remember your panic driven freezer stocking adventures from March? It's time to clear things out for a new batch of frozen goods, and this soup will help you use up those stray bags of random veggies you impulse bought when the world was ending.
If you happen to be one of those gung ho, it's-the-New-Year-so-I'm-trying-out-a-crazy-restrictive-diet folks, this recipe is perfect for you. It's naturally gluten free, Whole30 and paleo friendly. If you omit potatoes or sweet potatoes, it's also keto. Oh, and if you use vegetable broth, it's also vegan. So, no matter your diet choice in 2021, this easy veggie soup has you covered.
Finally, if you're a lover of Italian minestrone, this soup tastes almost identical. It's tomato-y, brothy, herby and delicious, but without the noodles or the fuss of the real stuff. Add a dollop of pesto or a sprinkling of parmesan to your bowl and you're basically in Italy. I'm telling you, this Instant Pot Vegetable Soup is a godsend.
How to Make Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
If you went traditional for the holiday season, it's likely you have some celery and carrots languishing in your veggie drawer. In an ideal world, I recommend you start with the French trinity, mirepoix, to get your soup off to a super flavorful and low calorie start.
As a reminder, mirepoix is a mix of diced onions, celery and carrots. I just so happened to have nearly a quart of each already diced after my Christmas meal and needed to use it all before it went bad!
Set your Instant Pot to sauté over medium heat, add a glug of olive oil and tip in your mirepoix. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the veggies are beginning to soften a bit and the onions are becoming translucent.
TIP: If you don't have all the components of mirepoix, don't fret. This soup is all about using what you have on hand. I recommend you use at least some aromatics, so onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, green onions, chiles, ginger or garlic will all help you get there. Note that ginger and chiles will give your soup more of an Asian rather than Mediterranean flair, but will still be exceptionally delicious.
Next up, tip in your minced garlic. Stir and continue to sauté until fragrant, around 30-45 seconds. Add in your canned tomatoes, potatoes (if using), dried herbs and broth. Stir to combine.
Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, then set it to pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes, then manually release whatever steam is left. Be careful not to burn yourself on the steam!!
Remove the lid of the Instant Pot and switch it back to the sauté function over medium heat. Add in your frozen veggies here, stirring to combine. Cook until the frozen veggies are warmed through and are soft enough for your liking.
TIP: Most frozen vegetables are par-cooked before freezing, meaning they take slightly less time to cook through than their fresh counterparts. I used the Organic Greens Mix by Tattooed Chef* which includes zucchini, broccoli, peas, haricots verts and leeks, and it took only about 6-8 minutes of simmering to be perfectly al dente.
Scoop into bowls and top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or hot sauce, a dollop of pesto or a sprinkling of cheese depending on how you're feeling. Dig in and reap all the benefits of your delicious vegetable soup!
*The Organic Greens mix is something I keep on hand at ALL TIMES for a quick supper. You can microwave it or sauté it with some olive oil for a side, or toss it with pasta or into soup for a meal. It's amazing.
How to Serve Veggie Soup
There are several options for how to serve this yummy vegetable soup. Since my mix of veggies and seasonings was more on the Italian side of things, I experimented with three different add ins. Once I used a dollop of pest. Once I used some shredded parmesan cheese. And once I drizzled the bowl with about two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. All three were delicious.
If you went more of the Asian inspired route with ginger and chiles, I'd recommend topping yours off with some sriracha, gochujang or sambal oelek instead. Maybe experiment with a dribble of sesame oil, too!
As with most soups, you can't really go wrong if you opt to serve it with some delicious bread. If you're doing the whole keto or gluten free thing, might I suggest you try Brazi Bites? They're insanely cheesy and delicious. I always have a Costco sized bag on hand.
Or, better yet, level up with a grilled cheese sandwich. Or a grilled ham/turkey/chicken sandwich with pesto? Maybe some sundried tomatoes? Or spinach? You get the idea.
Finally, don't discount the beauty of a soup and salad combo. Make yourself a nice little green salad with some arugula and your favorite dressing, and whatever else you might have on hand that sounds tasty. I've been loving my simple, seasonal combo of arugula, Apple Thyme vinaigrette, pecans, sliced apples, pomegranate arils and goat cheese.
No matter how you serve your vegetable soup, it's sure to be delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heck yeah you can! Most soups and stews taste better after a day or two, once the flavors have had a chance to really meld. This soup should keep in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.
One of my favorite things to do around this time of year is to make a double portion of most meals. We eat one portion worth, then freeze the other for future enjoyment on days when I don't have any gas left in the proverbial tank. This Instant Pot Vegetable Soup is a perfect candidate for this method.
Yes! Scoop it into delitainers and leave about ½" of clearance for expansion. Or use freezer bags instead. Check out this nifty blog post about how to freeze things flat for a super organized freezer, in case that's one of your New Year's goals too.
One thing I love about vegetable soup is that basically every veggie I can think of will work well in it. For a Mediterranean base, go with carrots, onions, celery, canned tomatoes and garlic. For a more Asian inspired base, start with chiles, onions, ginger and garlic.
From there, basically any add-ins are good to go. Zucchini, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, edamame, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, winter squash, potatoes or leafy greens are all awesome choices.
Is that clamshell of greens in your fridge looking sad? Add it to your soup for a nutritional boost! Have some random frozen veggies that you don't know what to do with? Chuck them in! I approach this vegetable soup recipe as a fridge/freezer cleanse slash "everything but the kitchen sink" soup. Basically anything goes.
Not to worry! You can use chicken stock, beef stock, bone broth, bouillon, tomato juice, carrot juice, wine or even water instead. Tomato and carrot juice will lean a bit sweeter than the alternatives, so maybe go half water and half juice to be safe.
Heck yeah I do! Feel free to dump anything your heart desires into this veggie soup to make it work for you.
I feel like white beans are a natural choice and would fit with the minestrone vibe. Great Northern, navy, or cannellini beans would all be a great fit. A similar but different vibe could be achieved with some garbanzo beans (chickpeas) or edamame.
TIP: If you're using beans for the recipe, I recommend using canned or pre-cooked beans for ease and adding them with the frozen veggies. You can opt to use dried prior to pressure cooking, but you'll need to increase the cook time and the amount of liquid used.
Finally, if you have leftover chicken, turkey or holiday ham, feel free to add it to the mix. I'm telling you, this soup will work with whatever you need to get rid of.
Need more healthy eating inspiration? Check out these other recipes perfect for the New Year:
- Instant Pot "Sous Vide" Style Egg Bites
- Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup with Ham and Kale
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Herbes de Provence Mustard
- Easy Sheet Pan Cauliflower Tikka Masala
- Pantry Sweet Potato Salmon Cakes
If you tried this Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Soup recipe, please feed me with your comments below! I'd love to know how it turned out for you.
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Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 C Mirepoix or chopped aromatics of choice (frozen okay)
- 8-10 cloves Garlic minced
- 6 C Stock or Broth see notes
- 28 oz Canned Diced Tomatoes and their broth
- 3 Yukon Gold Potatoes scrubbed and medium diced, optional
- 2 Dried Bay Leaves
- 1 Tbsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tablespoon Dried Parsley
- 2 bags Frozen Veggies of Choice
- Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to sauté over medium heat, add a glug of olive oil and tip in your mirepoix. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the veggies are beginning to soften a bit and the onions are becoming translucent.
- Tip in your minced garlic. Stir and continue to sauté until fragrant, around 30-45 seconds. Add in your canned tomatoes, potatoes (if using), dried herbs and broth. Stir to combine.
- Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, then set it to pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes, then manually release whatever steam is left. Be careful not to burn yourself on the steam!!
- Remove the lid of the Instant Pot and switch it back to the sauté function over medium heat. Add in your frozen veggies here, stirring to combine. Cook until the frozen veggies are warmed through and are soft enough for your liking.
- Season with salt and pepper as needed. Scoop into bowls and top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or hot sauce, a dollop of pesto or a sprinkling of cheese depending on how you're feeling. Dig in and reap all the benefits of your delicious vegetable soup!
Notes
- I used chicken bone broth, but any vegetable broth or chicken/turkey/beef stock would work. You can also sub a combination of water, wine, bouillon, carrot or tomato juice depending on what you have on hand!
- Soup will refrigerate well for up to a week, or freeze for up to three months.
- Make sure to leave ½" of room in your containers if freezing to allow for expansion.
- See blog post at https://confessionsofagroceryaddict.com/easy-instant-pot-vegetable-soup for more notes on different substitutions you can make for vegetables, herbs and spices!
