This Spring Vegetable Kitchen Sink Soup is the ultimate B R A I N F O O D!! And I need all the brain food I can get right now guys. I’m in the middle of finishing up my FINAL Master’s thesis which is why I haven’t been posting as many recipes lately. I took the week “off” recipe posting for the last several days to write my brains out and try to finish my entire thesis by May.
I can’t wait to finish because my mind is FILLED to the brim with recipes right now as the weather gets warmer and the produce in stock just looks that much brighter and fresher. Yum.
But surely you didn’t come here to hear about my boring ol’ thesis though, did you?! I didn’t think so ;). I’m sharing with you today one of those recipes that I always have in my back pocket. I haven’t shared this Vegetable Kitchen Soup with you yet because it is also one of those recipes that is always changing and evolving based on what is in my fridge.
If you are anything like me by the end of the week you have some veggies in the fridge that you haven’t used up. This is basically me every week. Probably because I go crazayy in the produce section every time we go grocery shopping, LOL! J constantly reminds me, “Ceara, you realize we are only buying food for the two of us, right?!” A girls gotta get her veggies in, amiright?
Introducing the Vegetable Kitchen Sink soup. This recipe is pretty much customize-able based on whatever is left in your fridge. It always come out perfect and slightly different every time I whip it up. Feel free to add in baby pasta, beans, quinoa, lentils or really whatever you have on hand or feel like. That’s the magic of this soup – chop, toss, saute, simmer add in some herbs and you really cannot go wrong. Make this soup your own, friends! Happy Cooking 🙂
- 2 medium red onions
- 4 - 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon herbes de provence
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 medium zucchini
- 5 roma tomatoes
- 4 cups white button mushrooms OR 1 head broccoli
- 5½ cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 large potatoes (with red skins)
- 1 cup lentils (green, brown or red)
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- ¼ tsp ground cumin (optional)
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
- Fresh Cilantro
- Fresh Parsley
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Cut all your vegetables into bite size soup pieces. Warm up a large pot over medium heat. Toss the chopped onion, garlic and herbes de provence into the pot with ¼ cup of the vegetable broth and sautee for a couple minutes until they start to brown and the liquid starts to evaporate.
- Add in the chopped red bell peppers, zucchini, roma tomatoes, mushrooms (if using) and sautee in the pot with the garlic and onions, adding in a bit of extra vegetable broth to sautee when necessary.
- Add the low sodium vegetable broth, chopped potatoes, broccoli (if using) and lentils into the pot. Season with the additional herbs (smoked papprika, ground cumin, cayenne) and leave to simmer until the lentils are soft. Taste test and add additional spices if necessary. Add the juice of half a lemon to the soup.
- Serve warm and garnish with fresh herbs or spices. Soup tastes even better the next day!
2) Replace herbes de provence with 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano
3) Can replace the tomatoes with caneed tomatoes but reduce the vegetable broth by a cup.
4) After making this soup with both broccoli and mushrooms, I prefer it with the mushrooms but both are delish.
If you try this Spring Vegetable Kitchen Sink Soup, it makes my week seeing your amazing #CearasKitchen creations. Share your photos with me on Instagram @CearasKitchen (and remember to tag #CearasKitchen so I don’t miss it!) or share it on my Ceara’s Kitchen Facebook page. Happy a wonderful weekend everyone!
27 comments
I do the same thing, Ceara! I go to the store with 2 or 3 recipes in mind and then I just want to buy all the produce and make like 20 different things! I have to remind myself that it will all still be there when I go back next week! I love recipes like this where you can literally just throw everything you have into a pot and cook it up! So good! Good luck on finishing up your thesis, so exciting 🙂
Those recipes that use up what vegetables you have are the best! And, soup is such a great meal that won’t make your uncomfortably full. Yes, soup is not just for winter! Best of luck with your studies!
normally I’m not much of a soup person because it’s too much broth BUT this looks amazing! lots of chunky good-ness in it! this is my kinda soup! delish 😉
Was yummy ! 🙂
I make veggie soups like this all the time and they are such a favorite and so healthy! I love how vibrant yours is and I’m drooling wishing I had a huge bowl of it right in front of me now!! Looks so hearty girl!! I need to make this after I finish off all my quesadillas..been eating them for days, LOL!
I love how nutrient dense this soup is Ceara! No doubt this “brain” food with get the juices flowing for an awesome thesis. Best of luck!!! Hope your week is off to an wonderful start =)
Funny. I made soup tonight that is incredibly similar to this. Not as many veggies…it was more just a tomato quinoa with zucchini (and a few basic veg for flavor)…but I used pretty much the same spices too in different quantities. I think we have very similar tastes! Which is why I always love your recipes! 🙂
I love that you made a similar soup to this recently, Jenn! 🙂 We do have such similar tastes! I think that whenever I read one of your recipes!! Looking forward to trying your blondies soon – YUM!
I love how full of veggies this soup is. It looks wonderful! Good luck finishing your thesis!
Thanks so much, Christin! 🙂
I love making every-veggie-in-the-house soups! They’re especially good right before going out of town to use up EVERYTHING…and then eat it for like 3 meals in a row 😉 And I love your massive produce haul! 😀 Having a fully stocked fridge is a good feeling because the cooking possibilities are so vast!
LOVE it, Natalie! This is SUCH a throw-every-veggie-in-the-house-kinda-soup!! 😀
I love this soup! I’m always trying to use up extra veggies as well and soup is ALWAYS the best place to just throw everything together. Looks amazing 🙂
God luck with the thesis, Ceara! Love this soup! It looks so comforting and delicious and the perfect way to use up all those odds and ends 🙂
<3 Thanks Kelly! This soup is my favorite way to use up those leftovers!!
This soup looks right up my alley! Best of luck with your thesis. I can’t imagine handling a blog + important things like that!
Thanks, Alyssa! 🙂 LOL, I know what you mean! haha!
All the best on your master’s thesis, Ceara! That is really wonderful! Your soup looks so good and I could live my entire life eating only soups, Ceara! I love that you added lentils to it! Pinning!
Thanks so much for the kind words and pin, Hadia! 😀 Hope you had a beautiful weekend!
I hope your thesis is going well, Ceara! I wish you the best of luck! This definitely looks like the perfect brain food. I love all of the fresh veggies in here and that flavor, too! I could eat soup year round, so this sounds just perfect! Pinned! Hope you have a wonderful weekend, friend!
Thanks for the good wishes, Gayle 🙂 I’m happy you know I’m not the only all year round soup eater!
Best of luck on your thesis Ceara! It will be brilliant, I have no doubt. 🙂
This soup looks like the perfect thing for you to be eating to keep up your energy. Yum!
Thanks, Linda!!! Fingers crossed it will brilliant, lol!! 🙂 I’m looking forward to finishing it up! 🙂 Hope you are doing great!
Love the name! And I make a similar one, but never thought of adding lentils! Thanks for the recipe Ceara, pinned to try it! Good luck with the thesis!
Thanks for the sweet words and pin, mira! <3 This is my go-to soup around here - I love that you make a similar one!
Good luck finishing your thesis! I bet you’re SO excited to have it done. Whenever I’m overwhelmed with school work, I can’t WAIT to get back to cooking and recipe creation! Something to look forward to!
This recipe looks delish! Love all the veggies!
Thank you so much, Christina!! <3 You are spot on - I can't wait to be DONE and get all my recipe ideas put into action 🙂