Spring Vegetable Soup
on Apr 09, 2024, Updated Jan 18, 2025
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This is a very flexible vegetable soup recipe, beautiful, simple to make, and a great way to use all of those long-awaited vegetables of spring.
If you’re looking for a flexible recipe to make the most of the produce that is popping up at markets all over the country, this simple vegetable soup may be your answer. By nature, soup is highly flexible. It’s the perfect dish to turn to if you’ve had the pleasurable experience of collecting various enticing spring vegetables at a family trip to the farmers market….and then unloaded them onto your kitchen counter and said, “Uh, yeah…now what?”
Spring Vegetable Soup is what! The vegetables in this soup recipe are all merely suggestions, and you should feel very comfortable swapping them with whatever filled your basket (or is lingering in your fridge). Here are some spring vegetables you may want to play around with. The optional finale is a dollop of fresh basil pesto, which, when swirled into the soup, gives everything a wonderful herby punch. And it reminds us that summer is not all that far away!
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Table of Contents
Spring Vegetable Soup Ingredients
- Olive oil – Everything gets sautéed in olive oil before adding the liquid in order to create a strong flavor base.
- Leeks – Leeks can get sandy inside, so clean them thoroughly.
- Carrots – Add sweetness and bring a nice orange pop of color to the soup.
- Celery – Brings a subtle savory flavor to this soup.
- Garlic – Mince the garlic finely.
- Vegetable or chicken broth – Use vegetable broth if you’re aiming for a vegetarian soup.
- Canned puréed tomatoes – Bring sweetness and acidity and thicken up the texture of this soup.
- New potatoes – Use the smallest ones you can find.
- Spring vegetables – In this version, I use frozen peas for sweetness, asparagus for earthiness, and napa cabbage for texture. Feel free to swap these out for other seasonally appropriate vegetables. Go for a variety of colors and textures!
- Thyme leaves – Use fresh thyme if possible.
- Red pepper flakes – Add a little bit of heat, the amount is up to you.
For the Pesto Swirl (Optional, but recommended!)
- Basil leaves – Fresh basil is the star ingredient in this super-fresh pesto.
- Parsley leaves – A nice companion to the basil, adding a different herby fresh flavor to the pesto.
- Garlic cloves – Don’t worry about mincing the garlic, it will get blended up in the food processor of blender.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – This is a great place to use your special fancy olive oil. The flavor really comes through.
- Lemon juice – Adds acidity and brightens up the whole sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – Adds a salty, nutty flavor that brings the pesto and the soup to another level. If you want a vegan soup, you can omit this.
Vegetable Soup Add-Ins
- If you wanted to add some cooked pasta or rice or another grain towards the end of the cooking process and skip the potatoes, that would be another great way to go.
- The optional pesto adds another bump of great flavor, and you could work in whatever fresh herbs are on your horizon.
- You could also think about a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice just before serving, which brightens up the whole soup.
- And no one (except for vegans) has ever been sad to see a sprinkle of Parmesan atop a vegetable soup. And there is even vegan Parmesan if that’s the direction you’re heading.
How to Make Healthy Vegetable Soup
- Sauté the vegetables: Cook the leeks, carrots, and celery in olive oil until beginning to soften. Then add in the garlic, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
- Simmer: Pour in the broth and tomatoes and bring it up to a simmer. Add in the potatoes and continue to simmer.
- Make the pesto: Blend up the basil, parsley, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor, then add the Parmesan and combine.
- Finish & serve: Add the peas, asparagus, cabbage, or any other quick-cooking spring vegetables you choose to use. Also, add in the thyme leaves at this point. Simmer until the veggies are tender and serve.
FAQs
It is very important to sauté your vegetables before simmering them into the soup. This will create a flavorful base for the soup. Another tip is to make sure you use a flavorful broth base, so that anything cooked in the broth soaks up all that flavor, while infusing the soup with its own flavor. I find using broth instead of water really adds to the depth of flavor of the soup.
Vegetables need seasoning and spices, just like meats do. I add a good amount of salt, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes to this vegetable soup to bring out the natural flavor of the vegetables. It’s also nice to have a super-flavorful garnish option, like a dollop of pesto or a sprinkle of cheese. This ensures every bite will be really flavorful, not boring or bland bite.
What to Serve With Spring Vegetable Soup
More Seasonal Vegetable Soups
- Simple Vegetable Soup
- Spicy Roasted Root Vegetable Soup with Parmesan Croutons
- Vegetable Udon Noodle Soup
- Escarole and Spinach Soup
- Minestrone
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Spring Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 leeks (cleaned, trimmed; white and light green parts diced)
- 4 medium carrots (peeled and diced)
- 3 stalks celery (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups less-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (use vegetable broth for a vegetarian soup)
- 1 28-ounce can pureed tomatoes
- 1 pound very small red new potatoes (quartered or cut into eighths, or regular new potatoes; cut into 1-inch dice)
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1 ½ cups trimmed and sliced asparagus
- 2 cups chopped Napa cabbage
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
For the Optional Pesto Swirl
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the leeks, carrots, and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and sauté for another minute, then add the broth and tomatoes, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes and lower to heat to medium, keeping the broth at a simmer, and cook the potatoes until they start to soften, about 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto if using. Place the basil, parsley, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor or blender. Puree until well blended. Add the Parmesan and pulse to combine.
- Add the peas, asparagus, cabbage, and thyme and simmer until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Ladle into bowls and serve hot or warm, with a dollop of the pesto swirled in if desired.
Notes
- If you wanted to add some cooked pasta or rice or another grain towards the end of the cooking process and skip the potatoes, that would be another great way to go.
- The optional pesto adds another bump of great flavor, and you could work in whatever fresh herbs are on your horizon.
- You could also think about a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice just before serving, which brightens up the whole soup.
- Additional fresh Prmesan is another great garnish.
I could eat soup year-round honestly. This is such a great recipe
Love the flavors in this vegetable soup, especially with the asparagus – which I think I’ve only used to make creamed soups before now. The dollop of pesto is a great addition! I served this with cornbread and it was a big hit. i’ll be making it again, and agree that it’s a great recipe for spring veggies.
What an excellent recipe for getting our vegetables in! This was hearty and delicious – will be making again!
This soup is perfect to make when I have veggies in the fridge that I need to use up but don’t have a plan. This is now the plan! Thank you