Easy Vegetable Soup Recipe for Beginners
This easy vegetable soup recipe is a lovely place to start if you are learning to cook. It uses affordable, everyday vegetables and produces a warming homemade soup without requiring any complicated techniques.
Soup was one of the first things I learned to cook as a teenager. One winter, my sister and I decided to teach ourselves how to cook, as our mother, bless her, wasn’t the best cook (she just really hated cooking!) So we started with an Irish classic, ‘Funeral Soup’. Funeral soup is essentially a smooth vegetable soup made from root vegetables and you could literally make buckets of it for a few quid.
At first, we worried that we would never get the flavour right. With practice, my sister and I discovered that a good vegetable soup does not need to be complicated. This is the simple, forgiving recipe I would have found helpful when I was learning.
A simple vegetable soup for new cooks
The vegetables are cooked gently before the stock is added, giving them time to soften and develop flavour. Potato thickens the soup naturally, while carrots and swede add sweetness and make it more substantial.
There is some flexibility in the finished texture. You can blend the soup until it is smooth or leave a little texture if you prefer a more rustic vegetable soup. If it becomes thicker than you like, simply loosen it with a small amount of boiling water.
The complete ingredients, quantities and step-by-step method are in the recipe card below.
Preparing to make your first soup
Cooking is much easier when everything is ready before you begin. Chop the vegetables, prepare the stock and clear your workspace before turning on the hob. This means you can work calmly without trying to prepare the next ingredient while something else is cooking.
A stick blender is useful for producing a smooth soup, but it is not essential. You can use a potato masher instead if you prefer a chunkier texture.
What to serve with vegetable soup
A bowl of vegetable soup makes a comforting light lunch. Serve it with toast, crusty bread or my Irish brown soda bread recipe for a more filling meal.
Can I use different vegetables?
Yes. Once you are comfortable with the basic recipe, you can adapt it to use vegetables you already have. Parsnip can replace some of the potato or swede, and leftover vegetables can be added before they go to waste.
Keep the changes simple the first few times you make it. This will help you learn how the original soup should taste and make it easier to adjust the seasoning confidently.
Storing and freezing vegetable soup
Cool leftover soup and place it in the fridge within two hours. Keep it refrigerated and use it within 48 hours. Reheat it until steaming hot throughout and only reheat it once.
Vegetable soup also freezes well. Divide the cooled soup into individual portions so you can defrost only what you need. Defrost it safely before reheating and use defrosted food within 24 hours. Food Standards Agency guidance
[WP RECIPE MAKER CARD]
Equipment Needed for This Beginners Vegetable Soup Recipe
- Large saucepan or soup pot
- Cutting board and sharp knife
- Measuring cups or kitchen scale
- Wooden spoon
- Potato masher or stick blender
- Stick blender (optional – for very smooth soup) but if you don’t have one, a masher works perfectly well and keeps the soup a little more rustic.
Vegetable Soup- Beginner Step by Step
Ingredients
Method
- Chop all of the vegetables before starting to cook
- Make up the stock with the boiling water and stockpot. Leave the make up stock to one side for now.
- Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan.
- Cook the onions on a low/medium heat for about 10 minutes. Do not allow to brown.
- After that add the celery and garlic and cook those for 7-10 minutes on a medium to low heat.
- Following that, add all the remaining vegetables into the pot.
- Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and stir into the butter and cooked vegetables.
- Pour the stock into the pot.
- Cover and allow the soup to come to a boil.
- Once it comes to a boil turn it down to a low medium heat and cook with the lid on until the vegetables are fork tender. Check the soup and stir it occasionally during this time.
- Once the vegetable are nice and soft add the thyme and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
- Take the soup off the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Then blend with a stick blender till smooth. If your soup is too thick add a little boiling water to loosen it a bit. See the video for the optimal consistency.
