Vegetable and Bean Soup

Jen Vondenbrink
2 days ago
1 min read

There are just times when you need a nutritional reset. That's when I love to pull together this Vegetable and Bean Soup. It is full of veggies and hearty enough with the beans to be a meal in itself.

Let's face it, after the holidays, or perhaps an indulgent vacation, we all need to get back to basics and refocus on eating healthy. I developed this recipe because I wanted to combine a vegetable soup with a hearty bean soup on New Year's Day after celebrating the holidays with a lot of rich food.

You can certainly change up the vegetables for some of your favorites. I love to add the following:

Shredded cabbage
Shredded carrots
Shredded Brussels Sprouts

You can also make this fully vegetarian by omitting the ham or bacon and chicken stock and substituting vegetable stock, and for the smoky flavor of the meats use another teaspoon of smoked paprika.

Enjoy!

Note on the sauce:

I like this soup thick and filled with vegetables, but if you like more liquid in your soup feel free to adjust the liquid levels.

For winter greens, I like to add chopped kale, chard, spinach, or even leftover mixed greens.

Notes

In a large stockpot, sauté the onions, carrots, celery, and pepper until soft. Add the ham/bacon, and broccoli slaw. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomato paste darkens. Then add the wine to deglaze the pan. Cook until all the liquid is gone.

Add the beans and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Then add the winter greens and cook for an additional 20 minutes adding water or stock as needed.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Instructions

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 diced Carrot

2 diced stalks of Celery

1 diced small Red or Green Pepper

2 oz diced Ham or Bacon

½ bag Broccoli Slaw (optional)

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

½ teaspoon Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Dried Thyme

½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

4 minced Garlic Cloves

2 tablespoons Tomato Paste

1/2 cup White Wine

2 cans White or Navy Beans with their juice

4 cups Chicken Stock

2 cups Winter Greens

Ingredients

Vegetable and Bean Soup

This takes the traditional Bean Soup and amps it up with lots of additional vegetables. It is hearty and something you can make a freeze to pull out when you want a healthy meal quickly. Perfect to serve with some sourdough bread.