This chicken vegetable soup recipe checks all the boxes. Thanks to lots of veggies, this soup is hearty, healthy, and perfect for a cozy night in.

You’ll love how this chicken and vegetable soup is loaded with tender chicken, five different veggies, and just the right amount of pasta to make it really satisfying. I’ve made it so many times, I’ve lost count.

It’s similar to our chicken noodle soup, but with even more vegetables and a few slices of lemon added to brighten the flavor. I can’t wait for you to try it!

Key Ingredients

• Chicken: Use leftover or rotisserie chicken, or cook chicken specifically for this soup. I’ve included instructions for easy roasted chicken thighs in the recipe, which I love chopping up and stirring in.
• Vegetables: I use five veggies in this chicken soup. You’ll find onion, carrots, fennel, zucchini, and kale. Feel free to add more if you have them on hand.
• Herbs and Spices: Garlic, thyme (or rosemary), a bay leaf, and a touch of ground turmeric add flavor and a beautiful golden color to the broth.
• Broth: Use your favorite store-bought chicken or vegetable broth. Bone broth is another great option and adds extra protein. For homemade options, try our chicken broth, bone broth, or vegetable broth recipes.
• Pasta: I love a small amount of pasta. It’s optional, but adding just under a cup of dry pasta to the pot makes the soup hearty and dinner-worthy. Potatoes would do the same!
• Lemon: Just before serving, slide in a few lemon slices. It brightens everything up. I use this trick in our lentil soup and ham and cabbage soup as well.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make the Best Chicken Vegetable Soup

Tip 1: Start with flavorful chicken. If you don’t already have leftover cooked chicken, bake a few chicken thighs with herbs in the oven. Roast them at 400°F until cooked through. This method keeps the chicken juicy and adds a lot of flavor. You can even pour a little of the roasting juices into the soup for extra richness.

Tip 2: Cook the hearty veggies first. This soup comes together in two stages. Start by cooking the onion, carrot, and fennel until they’re soft and smell sweet. Then add the garlic, herbs, and broth, and let everything simmer for about 20 minutes.

Tip 3: Add the delicate veggies with the pasta. Zucchini and kale cook quickly, so add them near the end along with the pasta, which only needs about 10 minutes to cook. This is also the perfect time to stir in your chicken and any pan juices, adding a lot of flavor.

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This easy creamy vegetable soup recipe is incredibly delicious and made in one pot with a short list of healthy ingredients.

I’ve been making this creamy vegetable soup for over 15 years. It’s a staple soup for my family, the one we turn to when we need a little comfort or an easy meal.

Our recipe below is for a blended vegetable soup. For a brothy veggie soup, see this Easy Vegetable Soup.

Key Ingredients

• Vegetables: I keep this vegetable soup really simple with onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. If you have other veggies in the fridge that need to be used up, feel free to add them. I’ve added zucchini, summer squash, and even winter squash cubes to this and loved it.
• Potatoes: Instead of using a roux made with butter and flour, we add a pound of potatoes to make this soup thick and creamy. I prefer thin-skinned potatoes like Yukon Gold and don’t peel them. You can substitute sweet potatoes.
• Broth: This recipe calls for vegetable broth or chicken broth. You can make your own or buy it. When looking for store-bought veggie broth, I go for the brands that include mushrooms (these tend to have more flavor).
• Thyme and Bay Leaves: I love these for their classic flavor. You can use fresh or dried.
• Something Creamy: When the soup is blended, I stir in something creamy to make things extra delicious. I love cream or half-and-half, but you can use dairy-free coconut milk or this homemade cashew cream.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make the Best Creamy Veggie Soup

Tip 1: Cut all the veggies to the same size. So that everything cooks quickly and evenly, chop your vegetables into similar sizes. Remember that this soup is eventually blended, so there’s no need for perfect cuts, though. I cook onions, carrots, and celery in a big pot until softened. Then, I add potatoes, garlic, broth, and herbs.

Tip 2: Remove your bay leaf before blending. The vegetables will be soft after simmering for 15 minutes. Then you will blend. Before you do, remove the bay leaf and thyme stalks (the leaves will have fallen off into the soup). Then, blend the vegetables into a creamy soup. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve forgotten a bay leaf before blending soup. The thyme stalks and bay leaf don’t soften well enough to blend in, so it really is best to remove them!

Tip 3: Finish with something creamy. The potatoes really make this soup thick and creamy, but I still love adding a splash of cream or half-and-half just before serving. You can skip it or use a dairy-free option like coconut milk. It’s amazing all by itself, but I love topping it with some homemade croutons.

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I love this vegetable soup recipe! It’s made with a light tomato broth and packed with healthy veggies. It’s so comforting and satisfying!

I’ve been making this simple recipe for years. It’s light, nutritious, and genuinely makes you feel good! I make it all year round and love that the recipe is adaptable to whatever veggies are sitting in your fridge or the season.

This cozy soup comes together in just one pot, making it perfect for a fuss-free, flavorful meal. I love making a big batch and keeping it in the fridge for easy lunches or dinners throughout the week! If you love creamy soups, see our creamy vegetable soup.

Key Ingredients

• Vegetables: We use a lot of veggies for this soup, but feel free to use what you have on hand. I love onion, carrot, celery, potato or sweet potato, cabbage, and peas. You can customize this recipe with your favorite seasonal vegetables! In the summer, add fresh zucchini or corn. In the winter, try hearty root vegetables like parsnips or turnips. The possibilities are endless! I use a similar list of veggies for this easy cabbage soup.
• Tomato Paste and Tomatoes: Make the base of our deliciously light broth. If you have fresh tomatoes, use them! I’ve shared how many you’ll need to substitute canned in the tips section of the recipe.
• Garlic, Fennel Seeds, Bay Leaves, & Red Pepper Flakes: Add a lovely flavor to our soup. I love fennel with vegetables and use either ground or crushed whole fennel seeds in this soup. Pepper flakes add a hint of heat (use as much as you like for your preferred spice level).
• Broth: You can use your favorite broth in this recipe. I love this homemade vegetable broth when I have it on hand (it also makes this soup vegan and vegetarian). Use chicken broth, homemade bone broth (or store-bought) for a higher protein soup.
• Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice: I love adding a bit of vinegar or fresh lemon juice before serving this soup. It brightens all the flavors and makes them pop. Fresh herbs do the same, so if you have some fresh parsley or other green herb in the kitchen, chop and add it just before serving.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Vegetable Soup

Tip 1: Build a solid flavor base: Start your soup with a classic mirepoix (a mix of sautéed onions, carrots, and celery). Adding tomato paste at this stage helps to deepen the flavor and give your soup a richer color.

Tip 2: Layer your aromatics: Don’t just dump all your spices in at once. After the initial sauté, stir in aromatics like garlic, fennel, salt, and pepper, and cook for a minute. This way, they get a chance to release their flavor into the soup, but won’t burn before adding the liquid.

Tip 3: Simmer until tender: Simmering for about 20 minutes is key to getting the vegetables tender. There’s no need to cook much longer than that.

Tip 4: Add quick-cooking ingredients last: Ingredients that cook quickly, like frozen peas or spinach, should be added at the end to prevent them from becoming mushy and maintain their bright color and texture.

Tip 5: Finish with a pop of flavor: Before serving, taste your soup and adjust the seasonings. A splash of apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice at the end can brighten up the flavors and make the soup taste less one-dimensional (a problem I’ve had with veggie soups).

My Favorite Veggie Soup Variations

• To add protein, stir in cooked or canned beans. Try white beans, chickpeas, lentils, and black beans. See our lentil soup or this white bean soup with vegetables for inspiration.
• To add pasta, stir in pasta 10 minutes before the veggies soup has finished cooking. I love smaller pasta shapes like orzo in soup or adding tortellini (like in this veggie tortellini soup).
• To make it creamy,  add a splash of cream, milk, or unsweetened dairy-free milk at the end. You can also stir in a little bit of unsweetened yogurt or sour cream. Or blend all the ingredients like we do with this creamy veggie soup.
• Or, add more veggies! You can add as many vegetables as you like to this veggie soup recipe. Feel free to toss in a handful of other vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli, summer squash, or corn.

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This vegetable risotto recipe combines two of our favorite things: fresh veggies and super creamy risotto rice. It’s fun to make and with our tips to guide you, it’s easy!

We’re excited to share this recipe developed with our chef friend, Richard Hattaway. Thanks to Richard’s restaurant trick, making risotto at home is now easier than ever. Instead of the usual continuous cooking, this recipe breaks the process into two stages. You can do most of the cooking up to 4 days ahead, then finish it in just 10 minutes right before serving.

Of course, you can still make the recipe all at once if you prefer, but this two-stage method makes risotto much more convenient for busy schedules. For another risotto recipe, see our mushroom risotto.

Key Ingredients

• Rice: The best rice for risotto are Arborio, Carnaroli, and Vialone Nano since they are all short-grain rice varieties with a high starch content. We use Carnaroli in our kitchen since it makes creamy risotto and is more forgiving when it comes to overcooking.
• Broth: A good vegetable broth and even chicken broth work perfectly well in this recipe, but we love our easy tomato broth for a summery tomato risotto base (that is what we have used in our photos).
• White Wine: Whenever you cook with wine, the most important thing to remember is to use something you enjoy. We use a light, dry white wine like Pino Gris, Albariño, Grüner Veltliner, or Sauvignon Blanc for this veggie risotto. Wine adds flavor and some acidity. If you prefer to leave it out, replace it with more broth and sprinkle a little fresh lemon juice over the risotto before serving.
• Veggies: We love risotto with veggies. You have some leeway when it comes to the vegetables. We use yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, and fresh herbs. These are the same veggies we use to make our reader favorite veggie lasagna.
• Butter: There’s no cream in this risotto (thanks to the rice, it is creamy enough), but a generous pat of butter adds to the creamy, luxurious texture. For vegan risotto, use plant-based butter.
• Parmigiano-Reggiano: I’m generous with the cheese and recommend you do the same. For a vegetarian risotto, swap the Parmigiano-Reggiano for a vegetarian-friendly cheese like mozzarella, ricotta, or vegetarian parmesan. For vegan risotto, swap for a bit of nutritional yeast.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Vegetable Risotto

Tip 1: How to make risotto (a quick overview). Making risotto gets a bad rap for being complicated and fussy, but with a reliable method, it’s very doable. Here’s what happens step-by-step:

1. Cook aromatics (onion, bell pepper, garlic).
2. Toast the rice.
3. Add wine and simmer until it reduces.
4. Add broth gradually, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking.
5. Finish with quick-cooking vegetables (like zucchini and yellow squash).
6. Stir in butter and cheese, and serve.

Tip 2: Use a heavy-bottomed pan and a wooden spoon. Choose a wide, heavy-bottomed pan so you have room to stir. A wooden spoon is ideal for risotto (a tip from Richard, who says it helps create a creamier texture).

Tip 3: Continue adding broth as the rice cooks. Let the rice absorb liquid slowly. When the broth is mostly absorbed, add more. Stir occasionally, not constantly. Just enough to keep the rice from sticking. When the rice is almost tender but still firm in the center, it’s about 75% cooked.

Tip 4: Use the two-part method (excellent for entertaining). When the rice is tender but still firm in the center (about 75% done), you can finish and serve, or pause and store the risotto for later.

1. Part 1, store for later: Spread the partially cooked risotto on a baking sheet and cool quickly in the freezer. Transfer to containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
2. Part 2, finish when ready to serve: Return the rice to your wide pan with chopped zucchini/yellow squash and a splash of broth. Stir often, adding more broth as needed, until the risotto is creamy and the rice is just tender. Season with salt and pepper, stir in chopped tomatoes, then finish with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Tip 5: Add the optional eggplant puree. Roasted eggplant adds even more savory flavor and extra creaminess. We’ve included instructions below if you’d like to use it.

Serving Suggestions

This dish works really well on its own, but you can always add more to round out the meal. Consider a simple green salad with lemon vinaigrette or a homemade Caesar on the side.

You can add some protein with poached shrimp, simple baked salmon, or these lemon chicken thighs. And, I love a nice slice of roasted garlic bread or focaccia with this olive oil bread dip.

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This homemade vegetable broth recipe turns out so hearty, rich, and savory that you can sip it on its own. It’s so much better than store-bought!

After trying our recipe for vegetable broth, you will never want to buy boxed broth again! It’s simple to make, takes much less time to make than chicken stock, and packs in so much flavor.

This soothing and delicious veggie broth is perfect for all of your recipes. It’s also so flavorful that you can sip it like tea or bone broth. It’s simple to make, and I’m confident you’ll love it.

Key Ingredients

• Onion, Carrots, and Celery: This classic trio forms the aromatic base of the vegetable stock.
• Tomatoes: They add both rich flavor and a beautiful color.
• Garlic and Dried Mushrooms: These develop even more flavor. I love dried shitakki mushrooms, which I find in my local grocery store in the same aisle as international ingredients like specialty soy sauces.
• Herbs: I go heavy on the herbs, using fresh parsley, thyme, and bay leaves.
• Vegetable Scraps: This is the perfect time to use up those scraps you’ve been saving in the freezer, like kale stems, leek tops, carrot peels, and mushroom stems.
• Salt and Filtered Water: I love sea salt for this, and make sure to use filtered water for the best flavor.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make the Best Vegetable Broth

Tip 1: Roast your vegetables. For the most savory and satisfying broth, roast the onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and garlic until nicely browned. This simple step intensifies the stock’s flavor and adds color.

Tip 2: Don’t leave out the tomatoes. Tomatoes add sweetness, color, and umami to this broth. Tomatoes are naturally high in glutamate, which means they contribute to that “fifth taste” or umami. Simply put, umami makes things taste good, adding that super delicious quality. Using tomatoes makes it rich and crave-worthy.

Tip 3: Use dried mushrooms. Even though we didn’t add any bones or meat to this recipe, we still wanted some “meatiness” in the stock. Mushrooms are the solution. Just one ounce of dried mushrooms transforms this veggie broth from merely okay to something you wonder if it’s even vegetarian.

Tip 3: Use it in your favorite recipes. This is perfect anytime a recipe asks for broth (even if it’s asking for chicken broth or beef broth). I often use it to make the soup recipes on Inspired Taste, like this potato soup, French onion soup, butternut squash soup, lemon turmeric lentil soup, and this veggie tortellini soup. It’s also great for cooking rice or quinoa. Use it in my quinoa recipe or to make this cilantro lime rice.

Tip 4: Sip it like tea. This veggie broth has so much flavor, it’s lovely in a mug and sipped like tea. Any time I’m under the weather, I crave this broth. It’s so comforting. I highly recommend making a double batch of our broth and freezing some for a rainy day! It’s magic.

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