Vegetable Bean Soup

This easy vegetable bean soup is a perfect combination of flavor, color, protein, and fresh vegetables. Curl up with a bowl of this soup alongside a whole grain muffin. Yum!

Updated March 19, 2020.

Vegetable bean soup is perfect on a chilly day, but we’ve been known to eat it year-round. Beans and corn combine to make a complete protein. To make it even more robust, try this vegetable bean soup over brown rice or even macaroni. Or serve it with whole grain muffins on the side. However you serve it, this soup makes a healthy meal.

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Ingredients

This vegetable bean soup uses ingredients that you probably have on hand, making it super-simple to make. Because you prepare it quickly instead of slow cooking it, the fresh vegetables stay nice and crunchy instead of getting soggy.

• Canned fire-roasted tomatoes — provides the tomato base for this soup.
• Canned beans — cannellini beans are shown here, but you can use any kind of canned beans.
• Frozen corn — adds color and combines with beans for a complete protein.
• Fresh vegetables — such as spinach, mushrooms, and squash make this soup colorful and flavorful.
• Veggie bouillon plus onion and garlic powder — provide flavor.
• Italian dressing — contains vinegar and other ingredients that bring out the flavor of the beans.

This photo shows canned cannellini beans and frozen corn. Other types of beans, such as pinto beans, kidney beans, and so on work just as well in this vegetable bean soup. The not-so-secret ingredient is zesty Italian dressing. That might seem weird but the tanginess of the vinegar really brings out the other flavors and the vinegar in the dressing helps break down indigestible sugars, making this easier to digest. Because bouillon contains salt, taste the soup before you add additional salt as you might not need any. If you have some leftover beans, you can use those instead of the canned beans.

Notes about Vegetable Bean Soup Ingredients

I used fresh spinach, squash, and mushrooms. That’s perfect if you have them, but if you don’t have fresh veggies, use frozen or even canned ones. These vegetables are some of our favorites but substitute for veggies that you have on hand or ones that you like. I’m not a fan of cooked carrots but if you are, toss some in. You get the idea; make it yours.

A note about the calabaza squash: We use this variety of squash because it’s grown near where we live and we try to “buy local” as much as possible. If you can’t find it where you live, zucchini squash or yellow squash are good alternatives to calabaza squash.

Making Vegetable Bean Soup

Step 1

• Start by adding a can of fire-roasted tomatoes to a large pot.
• Add the water along with the vegetable bouillon and onion and garlic powder to the pot.
• Set the heat to medium to bring things to a slow boil.

Step 2

• While these ingredients are starting to heat up, add a can of cannellini beans (undrained). and let things simmer for five minutes or so, just long enough to let the bouillon flavors spread through the soup.
• While that is heating up, slice the mushrooms and squash.
• Stir in the squash and mushrooms and let them cook for about three to five minutes.
• Add the frozen corn and bring the soup back to a boil.

Step 3

• Stir in the fresh spinach and a couple of tablespoons of zesty Italian dressing.
• Ladle this delicious, easy-to-make vegetable bean soup into your favorite bowls and serve!

Sides for Vegetable Bean Soup

Even though the beans and corn combine to make a complete protein, we sometimes serve this vegetable bean soup over brown rice or macaroni. This gives the soup a little more body and texture and it adds a serving of grains. It’s also good with whole-grain muffins or other bread of your choice.

Other Recipes You Might Enjoy

If you’re in the mood for soup, try cannellini bean soup or instant pot lentil cabbage soup.