Make This Delicious, Nutritious, Filling Soup Ahead and Just Reheat for a Quick, Easy, Tasty and Healthy Meal!
If you've read some of my other recipe articles, you know I love desserts! But I've also started paying more attention to my health and nutrition. I enjoy cooking, but at lunchtime I just want to grab something quick and easy but also tasty and healthy. I didn't think that was too much to ask for, but finding a lunch meal that met all those requirements turned out to be quite a challenge! Eventually I came up with this delicious, healthy homemade soup recipethat gives me a whole day's worth of vegetables in a single bowl, is high in fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, and tastes great despite being fairly low in fat and sodium. And in addition to being delicious and nutritious, it can be made in advance, frozen in meal-sized portions and just reheated at lunch time. Success!
You can easily adapt this vegetable soup recipe to suit your own or your family's taste, to meet specific dietary requirements, or to use whatever veggies are in season (or in your refrigerator). It's also a cinch to turn it into a vegetarian or vegan recipe. I encourage you to play with it and make it your own!
In addition to sharing my recipe, I've also included a fun and fascinating soup trivia quiz (I guarantee that if you take it you'll learn something about soup you didn't know before!) and lots of cooking tips, techniques and video demonstrations by expert chefs that will help make you a better cook. Enjoy!
You can easily adapt this vegetable soup recipe to suit your own or your family's taste, to meet specific dietary requirements, or to use whatever veggies are in season (or in your refrigerator). It's also a cinch to turn it into a vegetarian or vegan recipe. I encourage you to play with it and make it your own!
In addition to sharing my recipe, I've also included a fun and fascinating soup trivia quiz (I guarantee that if you take it you'll learn something about soup you didn't know before!) and lots of cooking tips, techniques and video demonstrations by expert chefs that will help make you a better cook. Enjoy!
My Search for the Perfect Lunch
I played around with a lot of different possibilities and eventually decided that some type of tasty, filling, healthy soupcould fill the bill. Hoping for something I could just grab, heat and eat, I tried a wide variety of low sodium, low fat, "light" and "healthy" canned soups. Unfortunately, even the reduced sodium soups still had more sodium than I wanted and tasted like dishwater to me, and only the bean-based soups had enough protein and fiber. Worse yet, none of them tasted good enough to eat on a regular basis, and they weren't going to help me reduce my consumption of heavily processed food.
My Quick, Healthy and Tasty Lunch Solution
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
I finally realized that if I wanted to each fresh, healthy, nutritious and tasty food for lunch I was going to have to spend the time to make it myself. I also knew that, no matter how good my intentions, I was not going to take the time to wash and cut up veggies or making salads with some type of healthy protein for myself every afternoon. Then it dawned on me ... I could take an hour on the weekend once a month to make a huge pot of homemade vegetable soup with beans, divide it into individual portions, freeze them, and then defrost and reheat one of them two or three times a week for lunch! Now all I needed was a recipe that met my nutrition and taste requirements.I looked through my extensive library of cookbooks and searched online to find a few likely candidates. Most of them turned out to be too time-consuming, not healthy enough, or not to my taste. The only one that came close was Ellie Krieger's Tuscan Vegetable Soup Recipe on the Food Network site, so I used that as a jumping-off point and experimented with different ingredients and proportions to come up with exactly what I wanted. In addition to the filling cannellini beans (AKA white kidney beans) from Ellie Krieger's original Tuscan Vegetable Soup Recipe for healthy fiber and protein as well as taste, I also added a little fully cooked chicken sausage (about 1/3 of a sliced chicken sausage link per serving) that contributes a LOT of extra flavor as well as some extra protein. If I want to splurge a bit (or just need some variety) I sometimes top my soup with a bit of freshly-shredded cheese, too. Yum! But it's still quite tasty without either the chicken sausage or the cheese if you want to keep the saturated fat and sodium to a minimum or make this into a vegetarian or vegan recipe.
For the past few months I've been enjoying a tasty, filling, and healthy bowl of hot soup for lunch two or three times a week and loving it! And all I have to do is remember to defrost a serving the night before and then heat it up in a saucepan or microwave when I'm ready to eat. While it's heating, I often toast up a slice of whole-grain bread or a whole-grain English muffin. For me, hot, homemade soup equals comfort food, and this recipe also gives me a whole day's worth of veggies in one delicious bowl!
You can easily adapt this nutritious, homemade vegetable soup recipe to suit your own or your family's taste, dietary requirements, or the veggies that are in season (or on hand). I encourage you to play with it and make it your own!
Looking for Yummy and Healthy Soup Recipes Like This One?
Before coming up with my new healthy lunch menu it had been quite a while since I made a homemade soup other than my lovely, light, fresh gazpacho in summer and my mother's bean and flanken soup. My husband and I really love gazpacho, but it has no protein and isn't a complete meal. And although my mother's flanken soup makes a hearty and filling comfort food meal that gives me fond memories of my mom, unfortunately it also is way too heavy for warmer weather and has too much fat, salt and red meat. (Flanken is a very fatty cut of red meat that comes from the same part of the cow as short ribs, another very fatty cut. So in my mom's flanken soup it pretty much negates the healthy eating benefits from the nice assortment of high-fiber dried beans that make up a large part of recipe.)
Now, after enjoying my new healthy vegetable soup for lunch, I've gotten interested in making other kinds of soup that taste great, don't take forever to prepare and are reasonably good for me. In my search for sources of new recipes to try (and probably experiment with, since that's how I like to cook), I found a cookbook by Kimi Harris, author of the popular blog The Nourishing Gourmet, that looks so good I've put on my wish list!
Now, after enjoying my new healthy vegetable soup for lunch, I've gotten interested in making other kinds of soup that taste great, don't take forever to prepare and are reasonably good for me. In my search for sources of new recipes to try (and probably experiment with, since that's how I like to cook), I found a cookbook by Kimi Harris, author of the popular blog The Nourishing Gourmet, that looks so good I've put on my wish list!
Detailed Step-by-Step Instructions and Helpful Tips
Don't worry about writing down the recipe! I've included a PDF of this Healthy Vegetable Soup Recipe with Cannellini Beans and Chicken Sausage that has been streamlined and, of course, includes the quantities of each ingredient. So you can save and print the recipe and then jot down notes about any of the detailed tips and cooking techniques on your printed copy.
Ready to start cooking?
Gather Your Ingredients
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Before you start slicing, dicing, mincing and chopping, take out all the ingredients, tools and equipment you'll be using for the soup. You'll be done in less time if you don't have to stop to rummage around your drawers, pantry or fridge looking for your mandoline slicer, broth or fresh herbs...especially if it turns out you're missing a key ingredient! This soup is extremely adaptable, but if you don't have enough broth and have to substitute water, the flavor will suffer. (Substituting bouillon or commercial soup base would be far worse, making the sodium content skyrocket as well as making the taste unbearably salty.) And while dried cilantro can be used in a pinch, the flavor of the fresh herbs really adds a lot to this recipe!Note: This photo shows just some of the yummy ingredients in this recipe, since trying to fit all of them into the shot would have made for a very crowded picture! ;)
Heat the Olive Oil in a Large Dutch Oven or Stockpot
Pour about 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large Dutch oven or stock pot and place it on a burner over medium-low heat. Tilt the pan in different directions to distribute the oil evenly over the bottom of the pot. Allow it to heat up while you slice the onions.
Use a Good Quality, Covered Dutch Oven or Stockpot
A good quality Dutch oven or stockpot is essential for making soups and stews. It's also an investment that will give you many, many years of service in the kitchen. Look for a pot with a heavy bottom designed for even heat distribution; hot spots or cold spots will result in uneven cooking.
Slice the Onions Paper Thin
Not like the too-thick, hand-hewn, uneven slices shown here! ;)
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
While the olive oil is heating, peel and slice the onions. I love sweet, mild, delicious Vidalia onions when they're in season, but other varieties of sweet onions are fine, too. Cut each peeled onion in half vertically (from root to stem), then slice it crosswise as thinly as possible, using an extremely sharp knife, a mandoline slicer or a food processor with a fine slicing blade (you can quarter Vidalia onions if necessary to make them fit your food processor's feed tube). Stir the onions into the pot and stir to coat all the slices lightly with the oil.Note: Usually I use my mandoline slicer or my food processor with a fine slicing blade disc, either of which gives me perfectly even, paper-thin onion slices every time. For the batch I photographed I ended up slicing the onions by hand and, as you can see in the photo above, the slices weren't as thin or even as I wanted.
A Mandoline Slicer or Food Processor with Slicing Discs Gives You Heaps of Paper-Thin Vegetable Slices.... in Practically No Time!
Because my mind wandered a bit while I was slicing the onions for the photograph, I ended up slicing them by hand with a knife instead of using my food processor with the thinnest slicing disc or my mandoline V-slicer the way I usually do. As you can see in the photo, even with a sharp chef's knife I didn't get the slices as thin or even as I wanted.
Although I'm fairly proficient (if rather slow) in wielding a sharp chef's knife, cutting paper-thin slices from a huge Vidalia onion by hand is one kitchen technique I've never managed to master. Fortunately, using a food processor with a thin slicing disc or a super-sharp mandoline slicer lets me cut really thin, perfectly even slices AND get the job done MUCH faster, which also minimizes the amount of time my eyes are exposed to onion juice vapors (and reduces the amount of onion juice released because the blades are so sharp that they slice through the onion without crushing the cells that hold the juices, which release a gas that turns into an acid when it comes into contact with the water in your eyes. That's a really important benefit for me because I inherited my father's extremely sensitive eyes, so chopping or slicing onions by hand leaves my eyes stinging, burning, and with tears rolling down my face like crazy! Being able to slice all the onions paper-thin in seconds with a food processor and a thin slicing blade disc or with a mandoline slicer and then throwing them in to cook right away lets me
Although I'm fairly proficient (if rather slow) in wielding a sharp chef's knife, cutting paper-thin slices from a huge Vidalia onion by hand is one kitchen technique I've never managed to master. Fortunately, using a food processor with a thin slicing disc or a super-sharp mandoline slicer lets me cut really thin, perfectly even slices AND get the job done MUCH faster, which also minimizes the amount of time my eyes are exposed to onion juice vapors (and reduces the amount of onion juice released because the blades are so sharp that they slice through the onion without crushing the cells that hold the juices, which release a gas that turns into an acid when it comes into contact with the water in your eyes. That's a really important benefit for me because I inherited my father's extremely sensitive eyes, so chopping or slicing onions by hand leaves my eyes stinging, burning, and with tears rolling down my face like crazy! Being able to slice all the onions paper-thin in seconds with a food processor and a thin slicing blade disc or with a mandoline slicer and then throwing them in to cook right away lets me
Why Peeling, Crushing or Cutting Onions Makes Our Eyes Tear — And How to Prevent or Minimize the Reaction
Photo credit: By ericaogrady [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Flickr
Just peeling onions is enough to make my very sensitive eyes sting and tear, and the stinging becomes a painful burning sensation when I'm slicing or, worse yet, chopping onions, and I can't see what I'm doing because my eyes are filled with tears and I have to squeeze them shut and leave the room to get some relief before I can go back to chopping or slicing and then running out to give my eyes another break. So as you can imagine, I've researched the cause of the reaction and have tried out quite a few different techniques to minimize it. Here's what I've learned about the chemical reactions that cause the eye irritation, burning sensation and "onion tears" and themethods for preventing or minimizing those reactions that have worked best for me.
Why peeling, crushing or cutting onions makes us cry and feel a burning sensation in our eyes:
Onions belong to the genus Allium. One of the key properties of Allium vegetables is that they contain volatile oils that contain a group of chemicals (called amino acid sulfoxides). When an onion is peeled, cut or crushed, it releases enzymes that convert those chemicals into acids (called sulfenic acids) that spontaneously rearrange themselves into another chemical (syn-propanethial-S-oxide) that triggers our lachrymal (tear) glands and causes a burning sensation in the eyes. When the body senses the irritant, it automatically sends a signal to the eyes to create more tears to wash the irritant away.
How to minimize the burning sensation and tears when cutting onions:
As you can see in the photo above, cooks will try all sorts of things to try to protect their eyes from the chemicals that make their eyes burn and water...with varying degrees of success! Here are some of the methods that have worked for me.- Use the sharpest blade possible when slicing or chopping onions. This minimizes crushing of the cells and, thereby, reduces the quantity of volatile oils that are released into the air.
- Complete the task as quickly as possible. The faster you finish cutting, the shorter your exposure to the chemicals that cause the stinging and tears and the sooner you can start cooking the onions, which will kill the enzymes that cause those chemicals to be created. A mandoline or a food processor fitted with a slicing disc use a very sharp blade and lets you slice a large pile of onions paper thin much faster than you could with a sharp chef's knife. In fact, when I use a food processor for this task I don't need to do anything to protect my eyes because everything is sliced and in the soup pot in just seconds!
- Partially freeze the onions before slicing or chopping them. By partially solidifying the onion juices, less of the volatile oils are released. Just don't freeze them too long or they'll be difficult to cut.
- Wear a pair of onion goggles or swimming goggles. The goggles may look silly, but they are very effective in protecting your eyes from the chemical gases.
Smash and Mince the Garlic Cloves
If you're using elephant garlic, whack it once with the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Because cast iron is so heavy, you won't need to use much force...the weight of the skillet does the work for you!
The garlic cloves don't need to be completely smashed, just flattened enough loosen and split the skin so it's easy to remove.
Pull off and discard the loosened skin from the smashed garlic cloves, trim the ends, mince, and stir the minced garlic into the pot with the onions and olive oil.
How to Smash, Peel and Mince Garlic Cloves
Different chefs prefer slightly different methods for smashing, peeling and mincing garlic cloves. Watch these three videos to see slightly different options for accomplishing this essential kitchen skill.
Handy Kitchen Tools for Smashing, Slicing, Dicing, Cubing and Chopping Garlic and Other Vegetables
Here are my picks for vegetable cleavers, knives and meat pounders that you'll find invaluable for much more than just smash garlic!
“An old-fashioned vegetable soup...is a more powerful anticarcinogen than any known medicine.”
— James Duke M.D. (U.S.D.A.)
Roll Cut the Carrots
This technique also is called "oblique cutting"
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Roll cutting is a technique for cutting carrots, parsnips, Asian eggplant and other long, narrow vegetables.In addition to making the vegetable pieces more attractive, roll cutting maximizes the exposed surface area of the vegetable pieces so they will cook faster and more evenly and also absorb more flavor from the cooking sauce or broth. The roll cutting technique is used frequently in making Chinese stir-fry dishes.Scrub the carrots with a vegetable brush under cold running water and trim the ends. I prefer not to peel them in order to keep in as many nutrients as possible. To roll cut them, start at the wide end of the carrot. Hold the knife blade perpendicular as usual, then angle the blade at a 45-degree angle to make a diagonal cut, making sure the blade is straight up and down and not tilted. Rotate the carrot toward you 1/4 turn so that the cut edge faces up, then make another diagonal cut straight down. Continue to rotate and cut, keeping the pieces fairly even in size.
Stir the carrot pieces into the soup pot with the onions and garlic, then turn the heat up to medium.
Tip: Roll cutting is hard to describe but easy to do! Check out the video demonstrations below.
Learn the Roll Cutting Technique for Carrots, Parsnips and Cylinder-Shaped Vegetables
Watch these video demonstrations to see how quick and easy it is!
Knowing how to roll-cut carrots, parsnips and other cylindrical vegetables is one of the more valuable kitchen knife skills for any chef or home cook. Unlike slicing, roll cutting maximizes the number of surfaces on each piece of vegetable, which allows it to cook significantly faster and absorb more of the flavors surrounding it. In my vegetable soup recipe, I'm taking advantage of both those benefits so that the root vegetables (carrots and parsnips) don't take too much longer than the other veggies to soften and so that they absorb more of the wonderful flavors of the remaining ingredients that infuse the broth.
The roll cutting technique for cutting carrots is especially useful when you are making a stir-fry dish because exposing multiple surfaces lets the carrots become crisp-tender during the short cooking time.
Here are some video demonstrations of roll cutting — also called oblique cutting — carrots, parsnips, etc. Be sure to use the sharpest knife you can for both efficiency and safety!
The roll cutting technique for cutting carrots is especially useful when you are making a stir-fry dish because exposing multiple surfaces lets the carrots become crisp-tender during the short cooking time.
Here are some video demonstrations of roll cutting — also called oblique cutting — carrots, parsnips, etc. Be sure to use the sharpest knife you can for both efficiency and safety!
Always Use Very Sharp Knives for Cutting, Chopping, Slicing, Dicing and Mincing
Using a very sharp knife actually is SAFER (as well as much easier) than using a dull one!
To prepare the vegetables and sausages for this hearty, healthy vegetable soup, you'll need a very sharp chef's knife, a very sharp paring knife, and cutting boards. Sharp knives not only make your job easier, they also are safer to use because they are less likely to slip or slide while you are cutting, so you have more control over where the blade goes and you're less likely to get cut. (Of course, because they are very sharp, it's also important to pay attention so you don't cut yourself!)
You'll also want to have multiple cutting boards, preferably color-coded for preparing different types of foods (vegetables, meat, poultry, etc.) to avoid cross-contamination and dishwasher-safe for easy clean up and high heat (to kill bacteria).
You'll also want to have multiple cutting boards, preferably color-coded for preparing different types of foods (vegetables, meat, poultry, etc.) to avoid cross-contamination and dishwasher-safe for easy clean up and high heat (to kill bacteria).
How Well Do You Know Your Soup Trivia?
Take this fun and informative 10-question quiz and find out!
When I started coming up with questions and researching soup facts, quotes, and other trivia for this quiz, I was surprised by how many fascinating and unusual things I learned. I love the fun of learning things unexpectedly, so I decided to share that experience with you rather than trying to make this quiz easier but less interesting. So don't worry how many right or wrong answers you get — just relax and enjoy adding to your store of arcane knowledge with which you can amuse, impress (and perhaps bore) your friends! ;)
Sources: www.foodreference.com, Wikipedia's Soup page
Roll Cut or Slice the Parsnips
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Scrub the parsnips under running water but don't peel them (to preserve the most nutrients) and trim the ends. Then roll-cut them and stir them into the soup pot.If you prefer, you can slice the parsnips (and/or carrots) approximately 1/3" thick. However, if your parsnips are very wide at the root end and taper sharply, like the ones I bought, you'll need to cut them into three sections first and then cut each third a bit differently to keep the slices roughly the same size (volume and thickness, not shape) so they will cook in the same amount of time. Slice the third from the tip end into regular, round slices, slice the center third in half lengthwise and then into half-circle shaped slices, and slice the widest third into quarters lengthwise and then into wedge-shaped slices (see photo below).
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
“I live on good soup, not on fine words.”
— Molière
Dice the Potatoes (Optional)
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Potatoes add fiber and also nutrients if you leave the skin on, and they definitely make this soup more rib-sticking. If you decide to include them, scrub the potatoes well under running water and then cut them into roughly 1/3-inch dice. Stir them into the Dutch oven or stockpot.Slice the Celery Stalks and Leaves
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Remove the three celery stalks, wash them thoroughly, and trim the ends. Slice them (including the leaves) into medium-thick slices and stir them into the pot.Tip: Celery leaves have a lot of flavor as well as nutrients, so don't discard them!
Chicken Noodle, Corn Chowder, Beef Barley, Hot and Sour? Vote With Your Taste Buds and Tummy!
What's Your Favorite Type of Soup?
How Am I Doing So Far?
If you are finding this soup recipe interesting and these cooking tips helpful, please give me a thumbs-up to let me (and others) know. Thanks! :)
Cut the Zucchini into Large Dice or Wedges
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Wash and dry the zucchini and trim the ends. Either dice the zucchini 1/2" thick or cut it lengthwise (from blossom to stem) into quarters and then slice into 1/2" wedge-shaped slices as shown. Stir the zucchini into the soup pot.Peel and Shred the Apples
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Peel the apples, cut them into quarters with a chef's knife and then use a very sharp, small paring knife to remove the core and seeds while retaining as much of the apple flesh as possible.Place as many quartered apples as will fit into the feed tube of a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, then maintain light pressure on the pusher as you turn on the machine to shred them. Turn off the processor and without removing the apple shreds from the food processor bowl, add more apple quarters to the feed tube, then shred them into the same bowl. Repeat with the remaining quarters.
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Stir the apple shreds into the pot, where they will lend a very subtle touch of sweetness that unobtrusively brings out the natural sweetness of the savory vegetables in this soup.
Use a very small, very sharp paring knife to trim the core and seeds from the quartered apples
“A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting.”
— Abraham Maslow
Seed and Dice the Red Bell Pepper
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Dicing a bell pepper can be a bit unwieldy (and frustrating!)... unless you know a few simple tricks that make it a piece of cake. Here's the easiest, most efficient way to slice or dice a bell pepper.First, thoroughly wash and dry the bell pepper. Use a sharp chef's knife to slice off and reserve both ends, exposing the ribs inside. Stand the pepper on end and slice straight down through one wall with the tip of the chef's knife. Turn the pepper on its side and gently pry the cut edges apart up a bit, then carefully run the blade of the chef's knife along the inside of the pepper's wall, using a slight sawing motion to separate the wall from the whitish ribs, center core and the seeds. If the ribs don't all come off easily or cleanly; just trim them afterward with a sharp paring knife. Turn the pepper over (skin side up) and flatten it on the cutting board. This gives you a nice, flat rectangle of trimmed bell pepper that's easy to slice into strips or dice. Then diced the reserved ends.
Now you can stir the diced red bell pepper into the stock pot.
I spent many, many years slicing and dicing bell peppers the hard way until I finally learned about this simple technique on a cooking show. It was a major "aha!" moment, and now I wouldn't dream of cutting a bell pepper any other way. It's much easier to learn it by seeing someone do it than by reading about how to do it, I've found you a video demonstration that shows just how quick and easy this cutting technique is.
Chef's Technique for Cutting Bell Peppers Into Strips or Dice
Slice the Cooked Chicken Sausage Links into Thick Coins
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
The chicken sausage adds a huge amount of flavor without a lot of fat or sodium, so I highly recommend including it if it doesn't interfere with your dietary restrictions. Cut the links into 1/3" thick slices and stir them into the pot with the veggies and shredded apples.For this recipe I chose cooked chicken sausage that just needs to be heated through, since it has less fat than uncooked sausage as well as significantly less sodium than most pork sausages. (I also don't have to worry about cooking the poultry to a safe internal temperature.) I prefer Aidells and Al Fresco brand chicken sausage. I've tried Aidells Chicken & Apple sausage and Al Fresco chicken sausage in both Sweet Italian Style and Chipotle Chorizo (with Mango and Adobo). They've all been delicious. I think just about any flavor from either of these two brands should work well in this soup recipe, so feel free to choose your favorite!
Stir In Half of the Broth of Your Choice
Reserve about half of the broth or stock to make the bean purée and stir the rest of the liquid into the soup pot.
Purée the Beans with the Reserved Broth
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Rinse and drain the canned cannellini beans very thoroughly several times. Place half the beans (approximately 1½ to 2 cups) in a blender or food processor with a metal chopping blade along with the reserved broth or stock and process to a very thick purée.Stir the purée along with the remaining rinsed and drained whole beans into the pot.
Using Dried (vs. Canned) Cannellini Beans
To make 4 cups of cooked dried cannellini beans, put 1-1/3 cups of picked-over and rinsed dried beans into a large bowl or food storage container and cover with 8 cups of cold water. Cover the bowl or container and leave it on the counter overnight. In the morning the beans should have swelled significantly. Drain and rinse them and transfer them to a large pot. Add enough fresh cold water to cover the beans by at least 1". Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook the beans, uncovered, for approximately 45–90 minutes or until tender, adding more cold water in small amounts if necessary to keep the tops of the beans under water. Drain them, then rinse and drain them again several times before puréeing them with the reserved broth.
Use a Blender, Not a Food Processor, to Puré the Beans!
There are some jobs that a good blender simply does better than a food processor. Puréeing the beans and broth is one of them. If your food processor is anything like my trusty old Cuisinart and you try to purée this mixture in it, you are likely to end up with a significant portion of your mixture seeping around the blade and over the bowl's center tube that surrounds the motor spindle!
For many years after I got my first food processor, my blender sat on the shelf gathering dust. But after a number of failed attempts to use a food processor when a blender was the right tool for the job, my blender regained a place of honor in my kitchen. In fact, I'm trying to persuade my husband that we should upgrade our blender to a larger, more powerful model! Here is my "short list" of blenders to consider if he agrees.
For many years after I got my first food processor, my blender sat on the shelf gathering dust. But after a number of failed attempts to use a food processor when a blender was the right tool for the job, my blender regained a place of honor in my kitchen. In fact, I'm trying to persuade my husband that we should upgrade our blender to a larger, more powerful model! Here is my "short list" of blenders to consider if he agrees.
Add Cilantro, Simmer, Season and Chill Overnight
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
Stir in the fresh cilantro and turn the heat up to medium-high. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender.Taste the soup and, if desired, season to taste with Kosher salt and pepper. I don't add any salt at this point because I think the sausage adds enough, especially if I'm going to top the soup with some shredded cheese, but it's up to you. Cover and refrigerate it overnight.
The next day, reserve some of the soup to reheat and eat. Divide up the rest into serving-sized freezer bags or freezer-safe food storage containers, label and date them, and then freeze them to enjoy on another day.
Reheat and Serve
with an Optional Topping of Freshly Shredded Gruyere and Parmesan Cheese
Photo credit: Margaret Schindel. All rights reserved.
The next day (or any time in the next few days), reheat the soup slowly over medium heat. As soon as it reaches a simmer, take the pot off the heat and ladle the soup into deep bowls. Serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions
I highly recommend topping the hot soup with freshly grated or shredded cheese. At the table, use a Microplane zester/grater to grate or finely shred some good-quality Gruyere cheese over the hot soup in each bowl. Then do the same with a little imported Parmigiano-Reggiano (high-quality, authentic Parmesan cheese). Each diner should stir in the cheese right away so that it melts evenly into the soup.I like serving this wonderfully filling and healthy soup with toasted and lightly buttered whole-grain bread or English muffins (Food for Life brand Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain English Muffins are hearty and nutritious) and a tall glass of ice-cold milk or apple cider.
Bon appétit!
Important Tips About the Finely Shredded Cheese
Also, please don't use already-grated Parmesan cheese...especially not the canisters of non-refrigerated stuff, which is bland, often contains up to 15% fillers, and tastes a bit like grated soap...especially compared to freshly grated imported Parmigiano-Romano! If you think the difference isn't that significant, taste them side-by-side and see for yourself. I guarantee you'll never go back to pre-packaged, non-refrigerated, grated Parmesan cheese again!
Microplane Graters — My Absolute Favorite Grater/Zester!
My sister is a talented cooking enthusiast who has an extremely well-equipped kitchen and therefore rarely buys new kitchen gadgets or appliances. She invested in really good quality equipment, knives, etc., many years ago that continue to perform well decades later. So I was quite surprised when she raved to me about her then-new Microplane graters. I mean, how different could they be than my trusty old box grater that I've been using practically forever?
She encouraged me to try her Microplane graters for myself, and that was all it took for me to realize that they were completely different than, and far superior to, traditional hand or box graters! Microplane graters resemble the rasps used for woodworking, with a handle attached to a single grating surface. Instead of having sharp-edged holes, like traditional graters, they have fine teeth all in the same plane, like a sheet of tiny razor blades. (You do need to be careful to keep your fingers away from the blades!) As a result, its teeth shave off fine shreds, and the food (especially cheese!) doesn't get gummed up in the holes the way it would with a traditional box grater. You'll be amazed at how quickly and easily it shaves through food! It also gives you better control, making it the perfect tool for grating every bit of zest from citrus fruit without any of the bitter white pith.
I own several different Microplane graters including the fine zester/grater shown below that is perfect for finely shredding the cheeses to top off this soup. Each model comes with a sturdy, clear cover to protect both the blades and your fingers when not in use. Just fantastic!!!
She encouraged me to try her Microplane graters for myself, and that was all it took for me to realize that they were completely different than, and far superior to, traditional hand or box graters! Microplane graters resemble the rasps used for woodworking, with a handle attached to a single grating surface. Instead of having sharp-edged holes, like traditional graters, they have fine teeth all in the same plane, like a sheet of tiny razor blades. (You do need to be careful to keep your fingers away from the blades!) As a result, its teeth shave off fine shreds, and the food (especially cheese!) doesn't get gummed up in the holes the way it would with a traditional box grater. You'll be amazed at how quickly and easily it shaves through food! It also gives you better control, making it the perfect tool for grating every bit of zest from citrus fruit without any of the bitter white pith.
I own several different Microplane graters including the fine zester/grater shown below that is perfect for finely shredding the cheeses to top off this soup. Each model comes with a sturdy, clear cover to protect both the blades and your fingers when not in use. Just fantastic!!!
Vegetarian and Vegan Recipe Modifications
Making this a vegetarian or vegan soup is easy!
If you wish, you can make up somewhat for the flavor of the omitted chicken sausage by preparing some meatless sausages (such as Morningstar Farms breakfast sausage links) while you are reheating the soup. Cook only enough meatless sausage links for the amount of soup you are serving, then slice them into "coins". After you ladle the soup in to bowls, distribute the sausage slices among the bowls and immediately grate the cheese over the top.
To make this into a vegan recipe, simply omit the chicken sausage and the cheese. Another option is to substitute dairy-free vegan cheese for the Gruyere and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Daiya makes extremely good vegan cheese varieties that can be shredded finely, and there are several good recipes for vegan Parmesan cheese substitutes online, including this Vegan Parmesan Cheese Recipe from Madison at Veggieful.
Soup's on — enjoy!
Vegetable Soup Recipe with Cannellini Beans and Chicken Sausage
A PDF of the basic recipe that you can save and print!
- Serves: 12-15
Making this soup a day ahead allows the flavors to meld and mellow. It's worth the wait!
Feel free to substitute your family's favorite vegetables and cheese varieties.
To make this into a vegetarian recipe, use vegetable broth and omit the chicken sausage. For a vegan soup recipe, also omit the optional cheese or substitute dairy-free cheese (e.g., Daiya brand) for the Gruyere and Parmesan cheese.
Feel free to substitute your family's favorite vegetables and cheese varieties.
To make this into a vegetarian recipe, use vegetable broth and omit the chicken sausage. For a vegan soup recipe, also omit the optional cheese or substitute dairy-free cheese (e.g., Daiya brand) for the Gruyere and Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 large Vidalia onions (or 4 large sweet onions of another variety)
- 2 cloves elephant garlic or 4 cloves of regular garlic
- 2 large or 3 medium carrots
- 2 large or 3 medium parsnips
- 2 large or 3 medium potatoes (optional)
- 2 large or 3 medium celery stalks with unwilted leaves
- 2 zucchini
- 2 medium-large apples
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 2 12-oz. packages (4 links each) of fully cooked chicken sausage - I like Aidells or Al Fresco brand
- 61 to 64 oz. broth of your choice - reduced-sodium or low-sodium broth is recommended
- 2 or 3 15-oz. cans of cannellini beans (white kidney beans) or 4 to 6 cups soaked and cooked dried cannellini beans
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Kosher salt (optional) and black pepper
- Block of good quality Gruyere cheese
- Wedge of imported Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (best-quality Parmesan cheese from Italy)
Instructions
- Pour about 3 Tbsp. of olive oil into a Dutch oven and turn the heat to medium-low.
- While the oil is heating, cut the onions in half from root to stem and then slice them crosswise as thinly as possible. Stir the onion into the pot until the slices are thinly coated with oil.
- Partially flatten the garlic cloves. Remove the skin, then trim and mince the peeled cloves. Stir the minced garlic in with the onions.
- Scrub the carrots and parsnips under cold running water and trim off the ends. Roll-cut the carrots and parsnips or slice them approximately 1/3" thick. Stir them into the pot and turn up the heat to medium.
- If using potatoes, scrub the skins under cold running water but don't peel them. Cut them into 1/3" cubes and stir them in with the other vegetables.
- Wash and trim the celery stalks, including the leaves. Cut them into medium-thick slices and stir them into the pot.
- Wash and trim the zucchini, cut them into approximately 1/2" dice or 1/2" thick wedges and stir them in.
- Peel and quarter the apples, then trim away the core and seeds. Shred the apples and stir them into the vegetables.
- Dice the red bell peppers and stir them in.
- Slice the chicken sausage into 1/3" thick slices and stir them into the pot.
- Reserve half the broth and add the other half to the pot.
- Rinse and drain the cannellini beans several times. Place them in a blender, add the reserved broth, process to a very thick purée and stir it into the soup.
- Stir in the fresh cilantro and turn up the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup just to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Season to taste with Kosher salt, if desired, and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, freeze the soup in meal-size portions and label and date the containers. If desired, reserve some of the soup to eat within the next few days.
- Reheat the soup (after defrosting it if it was frozen) over medium heat or in a microwave. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve immediately, with hot, toasted and lightly buttered whole-grain bread, rolls or English muffins, if desired.
- If desired, grate some fine shreds of Gruyere cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over each bowl at the table and have each diner stir the cheeses into the soup while it is still hot.
Bookmark this Healthy Vegetable Soup Recipe for yourself and to share with others!
"Souper" Deep Bowls for Serving Your Healthy Vegetable Soup!
I recommend serving this soup in nice, deep bowls rather than in shallow rimmed soup plates, which allow the soup to cool off too quickly and don't leave enough headroom to stir in the shredded cheese without spilling soup over the sides. This soup is good enough for you and low enough in calories and fat so that you can indulge in a generous portion guilt-free (I certainly do!). That's why I recommend getting some nice, large 18–20-oz. capacity bowls.
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