Chunky Vegetable Soup with Smoked Paprika – fresh hearty vegetables are the stars of this flavorful soup seasoned with balsamic vinegar and a dash of smoked paprika.
Leeks, carrots, zucchini, celery, onion, and green beans are just a few of the fresh ingredients that make this heart healthy soup a perfect meatless Monday meal. I cooked this soup just until the vegetables were tender, not soft. The canned butter and kidney beans are already cooked so they only needed warmed. Heavily garnished with fresh herbs and finished with balsamic vinegar and smoked paprika, this soup is both satisfying and delicious.
With just a little prep work this soup comes together quickly. The entire dish cooks in about 30 minutes so if you have minimal knife skills the rest is a breeze. I find it very comforting that if we take the time to use fresh ingredients, the end result will be worth every minute of preparation.
Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot. Add the celery, carrots, leeks, garlic, zucchini and red onion. Saute for just a few minutes until the olive oil no longer pools on the bottom of the pan. We’re not trying to soften the vegetables so this should only take 3-4 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, green beans and tomato paste to the pot. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are just barely tender. Add the vinegar, paprika, butter beans and kidney beans. Stir until well mixed and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and add fresh chopped parsley and basil.
Serve immediately garnished with additional herbs and freshly ground pepper, with a nice hunk of whole grain bread on the side. This recipe may not win the most decadent, sexy award of the week, but it will satisfy while keeping us on track – eating a “mostly vege/plant based diet” for at least 5 days a week!
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Here are a few of our favorite healthy soup recipes you might also like:
Winter Minestrone Soup ~ enjoy the rich, flavorful broth loaded with fresh seasonal vegetables, white beans and pasta This soup is super easy to make, it’s filling, healthy, hearty and delicious. Click HERE to get the recipe for Winter Minestrone Soup.
Vegetable Soup with Lentils & Seasonal Greens – a delicious, hearty and rustic soup with vegetables simmered in a rich flavorful broth with wilted seasonal greens & lentils. Click HERE to get the recipe for Vegetable Soup with Lentils & Seasonal Greens.
Kitchen Essentials: Dutch Oven Casserole
Dutch ovens are perfect for cooking soups, stews, braising meats and even baking bread. We own two Martha Stewart brand Dutch Ovens and have been very happy with them. Check out this more affordable brand by clicking on the photo.
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- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 large leek, white only, sliced
- 7-8 cups vegetable broth, approximately 2 (32 ounce) cartons (low sodium)
- 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, low sodium, do not drain
- 6 ounce can tomato paste, low sodium
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, to taste
- 1 16 ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15.5 ounce can butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 8 ounces fresh green beans, sliced in 2" pieces
- 2-3 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, rough chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, rough chopped, plus more for garnish
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven or soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, zucchini, carrots, celery and leeks. Saute for 3-4 minutes or just until the olive oil is no longer visible on the bottom of the pan and well distributed on the vegetables.
- Add the vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, green beans and tomato paste. Stir and cook for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
- Stir in the smoked paprika, butter beans, kidney beans and balsamic vinegar.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the fresh chopped herbs.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish each bowl with fresh chopped parsley and basil and ground black pepper.
(adapted from a recipe by Belinda Williams in Delicious Soups)
Happy Monday friends! The weather is cold, rainy and another bowl of this soup may be just what I need! I have one more post with photos of Ireland to share this week then I hope to get back to a few desserts – because well, I just love dessert. And I have been saving room for dessert! Have a terrific week and thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
This is most definitely the kind of soup I enjoy.
Have a happy day Tricia.
🙂 Mandy xo
It is chunky, filling and so full of flavor!
Soup is my favorite dinner from now until springtime, and this one looks really fresh and flavorful. We frequent Smyrna as well- the owners are so friendly and the food is good. (Love the carrot dip!)
The owners of Smyrna sold the restaurant and moved back to Turkey. The new people seem very nice and the food is still great!
I’m always looking for new soup recipes, and yours looks great. I could eat this kind of soup any day of the week!
I ate it all week long for lunch. It’s very filling and tasty! Thanks for stopping by.
Tricia this soup looks incredible, the photos are insane. I hate it when soups turn out all muddy and monotone, yours has vivid color and texture — pinning and sharing today!
Thanks so much Sue! I’m not always a big fan of brothy soups but this is the exception. The balsamic really seals the deal giving it a robust flavor. Have a great weekend!
i just love soups but my husband makes fun of the fact that i really don’t like the soupy part of soups as much as I do the big ticket items in the soup. I can’t make a soup that isn’t chunky. I just have to have big bites of meat or something in the soup to fill me up. I am not just a drink broth kind of girl. I love this chunky soup. it looks rich and warm and hearty for these cold wintery days we are having here in Texas.
I agree Jessica! I just can’t drink broth – unless I put a whole sleeve of saltines in the bowl!
Look at all that veggie goodness in a bowl. It’s beautiful and delicious!
Thanks Susan – gotta love a simple vegetable soup!
Looks great!! We have had rain since Sunday and your soup would be good for these rainy days!!
I will be in touch with you this week, probably tomorrow evening!!
Michael
http://instagram.com/michaelswoodcraft/
Looking forward to it Michael. Hope things are going well. Sorry you’re having all this rain too – I would prefer a pile-o-snow!
Smoked paprika and balsamic vinegar are two of my favorite things… This looks PERFECT for the cold, gray days we are enduring! Ha! Thank you, Tricia! blessings ~ tanna
You would love this soup Tanna – the balsamic and paprika really shine. Have a great week!
The soup sounds and looks really tasty and flavoursome, Tricia. This is a simple yet great meal.
Thanks Angie – we are really enjoying it. Have a great week!
This sounds WONDERFUL Tricia! JUST what we have been wanting too! 🙂 (It’s cold & drizzly here too)
I wish it would just snow – haha. Getting tired of the cold rain. Soup is perfect not matter what kind it is!
What a beautiful soup! this is just the food I love to live on – wonderful ingredients and your photos are gorgeous:)
Mary
I adore these vegetables too – it’s hard to beat a rich flavorful soup made with vegetables and beans – yum!
wow Tricia you have been reading our minds. Your soup sounds so delicious – can’t wait to try it!
Soup is the in-season meal to make and we need to make some right now. Have a great week and hope you are staying warm. xoxo
I love the soup you posted – I just with zucchini grew in our garden all year 🙂 Have a great week!
This looks sensational! I love a hearty soup with beans. It’s filling enough to make a meal with some good bread on the side. Glad you were inspired by that local restaurant and I bet you’d give them quite a run for their money. We’re having a messy day weather wise and it’s just perfect soup weather right now.
Soup is a perfect meal in our house too Monica. Hope the weather gets better soon. Have a great week!