Vegetable Soup For One

A hearty and satisfying meal for one, this Vegetable Soup comes together in just 30 minutes! It's loaded with plenty of chopped vegetables!

Vegetable soup is so easy to make and is the perfect dish when the weather begins to turn cool. This small batch soup recipe is made with hearty potatoes, carrots, corn, green beans, onions, and garlic in a delicious broth.

This is one of my favorite soup recipes. I like to serve this with french bread and a side salad.

Why This Recipe Works

• This is a very versatile recipe. You can use whatever vegetables are in season, or use up leftover vegetables from an earlier meal. You can also add in different seasonings like Italian seasoning or oregano and can even use different types of broth.
• There are no fancy ingredients needed.
• It's healthy and completely vegetarian, if you use vegetable broth.
• We cook the onions, carrots, and celery until they are lightly softened before adding the broth which gives them a deeper flavor.
• Vegetable soup can be ready in just 30 minutes and is absolutely delicious!
• This is an easy "base recipe" that can be used along with beef stew meat or ground beef to make a vegetable beef soup or a beef stew.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts.

• Olive oil: I always use extra virgin olive oil in my healthy vegetable soup recipe. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed form of olive oil. It is an unrefined oil and the highest-quality olive oil you can buy. Because of the way extra virgin olive oil is made, it retains a more true olive taste. It also contains more of the vitamins and minerals found in olives. It's my favorite type of olive oil to use but you may use light olive oil instead.
• Onions and garlic: These two ingredients add so much flavor to the soup. Definitely don't leave them out.
• Carrots: I use one medium-sized carrot, peeled and sliced.
• Celery: Use one celery stalk, chopped.
• Tomato: Use one small tomato. I find that a Roma tomato is the perfect size to use in this recipe. You can also substitute ½ of a drained (15-ounce) can of diced tomatoes, which is about ½ to ¾ of a cup of diced tomatoes.
• Potatoes: Two small baby red potatoes, diced is the perfect amount.
• Green beans and corn: Use frozen or canned green beans and corn.
• Vegetable broth: You may use chicken or beef broth instead.
• Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, and dried thyme.

See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.

How To Make This Recipe

1. In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat oil for 30 seconds.

2. Add the chopped onions, carrots, and celery, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garlic and salt, and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.

4. Add chopped tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, corn, broth, dried thyme, and black pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

5. Taste the soup as it finishes cooking. If it tastes bland to you, add additional salt. If the soup is too salty, add additional broth.
6. Pour into a medium sized bowl and enjoy immediately.

Finishing Touches

You can enjoy this vegetable soup as is, or you can add any of these ingredients to make your soup a bit more indulgent:

• Crème Fraîche: This ingredient is a richer and thicker version of sour cream. It will make your soup creamy, slightly tangy, and a bit richer.
• Crispy Prosciutto: Prosciutto adds a rich crunch to your soup. To make, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat; add a slice or two of prosciutto and cook for a couple of minutes until the edges begin to curl and the bottom is lightly browned; flip and cook another minute or so; transfer to a paper towel to drain and, once cool, crumble and add to your vegetable soup.
• Cheese: Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
• Fresh herbs: Chopped fresh herbs add so much flavor.

Expert Tips

• Nearly any vegetable can be used in this simple vegetable soup recipe. Consider using sweet potato, zucchini, mushrooms, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, or broccoli instead of the vegetables listed in this recipe. Keep in mind that while most vegetables work, the cooking time may change. Some vegetables need more time to cook and soften.
• If using canned green beans and corn, rinse the vegetables in a colander under cool running water to get rid of the salt.
• Cut your vegetables roughly the same size so that the vegetables cook evenly.

My Favorite Variations Of This Soup

There are so many delicious additions you can make to this easy vegetable soup recipe. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Add protein by adding cooked or canned beans. I love adding kidney beans, white beans, chickpeas, or black beans.
• For a vegetable soup with pasta, add the uncooked pasta to the soup about 8 minutes before the soup has finished cooking. I like using elbow macaroni, rotini, penne, or just about any other type of small to medium-sized noodles.
• Stir in cooked and crumbled ground beef or ground turkey, cooked and diced chicken, or add a few shrimp to cook along with the soup about 5 minutes before the soup has finished cooking.
• Make a creamy vegetable soup by adding a splash of milk, cream, or a dairy-free milk like coconut milk.
• Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, a ½-teaspoon (or more) of diced jalapenos or a pinch of red pepper flakes to make this soup spicier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this single serving vegetable soup recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

• Onions: Vegetarian Chili, Vegetable Casserole, Beef Enchiladas, Crustless Spinach Quiche
• Garlic: Spinach Manicotti, Pork Stir Fry, Pasta Primavera, Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Carrots: Citrus Glazed Carrots, Mini Carrot Cake, Beef Stew, Lentil Stew
• Celery: Chicken and Dumplings, Tomato Sauce,  Baked Stuffed Fish, Red Beans and Rice
• Potatoes: Colcannon, Smashed Potatoes, Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus Crustless Quiche
• Green beans: Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, Minestrone Soup
• Corn: Chicken Pot Pie, Fried Rice, Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl, Edamame Salad
• Tomatoes: Broiled Tomatoes, Caprese Salad, Fresh Tomato Salad, Portobello Mushroom Pizza
• Vegetable Broth: Chickpea Curry, Pumpkin Soup, Lentil Stew, Rice Pilaf
• Dried thyme: Mini Meatloaf, Baked Chicken Tenders, Ratatouille, Tuna Casserole
• Olive oil: Carne Asada, Chicken Tagine, Pesto, Croutons

Other Single Serving Soup Recipes

If you like this "Vegetable Soup For One", you might also like to try these single serving soup recipes:

• Potato Soup
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Curried Carrot Soup
• White Bean Soup
• Clam Chowder
• Zuppa Toscana
• Cioppino
• French Onion Soup

If you’ve tried this vegetable soup or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.

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