A great way to easily eat a lot of vegetables is to make a soup or stew that you can then keep for days and eat when you feel hungry. This hearty vegetable soup hits the spot!
Combine that with a salad every day and you’re rockin’ your plant-based diet.
This soup was inspired by a recipe from Dr. Fuhrman’s 2-volume book, “Eat for Health.” I didn’t have all of the ingredients that it called for so this is modified. But, it is still high in fiber and protein.
Luckily I discovered, quite by accident, a new addition that I think you’re gonna love. I didn’t have carrot juice on hand so using unsweetened pumpkin puree was a perfect substitute.
Canned pumpkin – which, by the way, is quite nutritious. I opened a can that I thought was just plain pumpkin, but it turned out to be pumpkin pie mix. Yes, it contained some sugar, but the spices were just perfect – cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg – no milk or cream. I decided to use it anyway.
Looking for more soup recipes? Try one of these:
- Curried Coconut Lentil Yam Soup
- Mulligatawny Soup
- Moroccan Stew with Kale
- Thai Carrot Soup
- Creamy Vegan Sauerkraut Soup
What a pleasant surprise. It was excellent. I would just add the canned pumpkin next time instead. This soup was a bit more aromatic and lightly spiced, so plain pumpkin wouldn’t have these characteristics.
Though, the original recipe called for 2 cups of carrot juice which is sweet, too (although more natural). Give it a try. It was a delicious flavor surprise.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Hearty Vegetable Soup! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
This recipe is Certified Plantricious because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- Sodium (mg) to Calories ratio, 1 ≤ 1
- Total Fiber to Calories, 2g ≥ 100 calories
Hearty Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 4-6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or homemade broth
- 1/2 head cauliflower florets bite-sized
- 2 medium bell peppers coarsely chopped
- 1 cup carrots cut 1/2 inch thick
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bunch kale washed, removed from stems and chopped
- 1 (14-oz.) can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
- 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin puree unsweetened
- 1 (15-oz.) can red or pinto beans (no salt added) drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Place lentils and water or vegetable broth in a large pot and begin to simmer over medium heat.
- Add all of the prepared vegetables to the pot and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add more water or broth if necessary.
- Add the beans and pumpkin and stir to incorporate. Heat through.
- Serve with a large green salad.
Notes
and Organic Pumpkin
It would be so much better if your recipes showed how big a serving is. 1 cup, 1/2 cup etc
Hi Jeanne, thanks for your feedback! I can see how this would be helpful and it is something I’d like to add. Sorry, I won’t have a quick answer. It’s a matter of making the recipe, dividing it into number of servings and then weighing or measuring. I’ve noticed that many sites do not offer serving size and one actually just got around it my saying that the serving size was “1/4 of the recipe” which doesn’t help much. Of course, the number of servings is on each of my recipes… While it might take me some time, I will post serving size as I make each recipe again.
Love this soup!!!! I like my spices so I added cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, and just a dash of clove. Definitely will be making this one again!
So glad you enjoyed the soup! ???? And, I’m so glad you spiced it up to your preferences. I love cinnamon and nutmeg! ????
Where does the Cholesterol come from?
Yes, good question, There shouldn’t be any and I will recalculate the nutritional values asap to make sure. Thanks for noticing!
Love the substitution of pumpkin. Carrot juice is a little pricey for me.
Yep, it was a pleasant surprise!
Just made this soup, to have for the week and to share with my elderly Mom.
It smells delicious and looks yummy.
I swapped out the kale for swiss chard and spinach. Added more veggies.
Thanks for sharing
Switching up the greens is a great idea and it’s easiest to use what you have on hand, right? I hope your mom enjoyed it! The more veggies, the better!