Mediterranean Vegetable Soup (Printable)
A vibrant veggie-packed Mediterranean bowl with herbs, olive oil, and cannellini beans in tomato broth.
# What You Need:
→ Vegetables
01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 large yellow onion, diced
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 2 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
05 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
06 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
07 - 1 medium zucchini, diced
08 - 1 medium eggplant, diced
09 - 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
→ Broth & Beans
10 - 5 cups vegetable broth
11 - 1 can (14 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
→ Herbs & Seasoning
12 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
13 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Garnish
16 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
17 - Lemon wedges, for serving
# Steps:
01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and minced garlic, sautéing for about 2 minutes until softened and fragrant.
02 - Add the sliced carrots, celery, diced bell pepper, zucchini, and eggplant to the pot. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.
03 - Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices, vegetable broth, and cannellini beans. Add dried oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper, stirring well to combine.
04 - Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are fork-tender.
05 - Remove and discard the bay leaf. Taste the broth and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
06 - Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls. Sprinkle each portion with fresh chopped parsley and serve alongside lemon wedges.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The vegetables basically cook themselves into something rich and deeply satisfying while you hardly touch them.
- It freezes beautifully so you can make a double batch and have comfort food ready on the laziest of evenings.
- Every single spoonful tastes like summer vacation even when your window shows nothing but gray.
02 -
- Do not skip removing the bay leaf before serving because biting into one is an unpleasant surprise I learned about the hard way.
- Salt your broth gradually and taste as you go because canned tomatoes and beans both carry hidden sodium that sneaks up on you.
03 -
- Sweat the eggplant pieces a minute longer than you think they need because any remaining chalkiness will haunt the final texture of every spoonful.
- Use a vegetable broth you genuinely enjoy drinking on its own because it is the quiet backbone of the entire soup.