Soup, soup, and more soup! That's what is on my menu at least once or twice each week. Soup is one of those comfort dishes that doesn't necessarily have to be filled with things that are bad for you. In fact, the opposite! Like this Loaded Veggie Soup, much like the Roasted Squash Soup, this one is chock full of veggie goodness.
However there is something a little different about this one. It is also full of warming spices like cinnamon, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
Cinnamon? In a savory dish? Yes! It is extremely common in savory Lebanese dishes to have cinnamon in the recipe and in my opinion it completely elevates them! Cinnamon is such a cozy spice in general and to add it to this soup just takes it over the top!
Also, according to my husband it really isn't a meal unless there is meat. So when I make this I usually brown up some ground turkey or ground beef and toss it in for him. I find that all the tender sweet potato, celery, and chickpeas are more than enough for a meal for me!
How To Make Loaded Veggie Soup
Honestly, take this recipe as a guideline. What veggies do you have on hand? Toss them in! By using the warming spices and a little tomato base to pull it all together you can't go wrong!
It's also a one-pot dish, so that is less clean up for you!
Substitutions
Feel free to add any other veggies you may have on hand. The more the merrier, in my opinion for this loaded veggie soup!
I think some butternut squash, mushrooms, or kale would be amazing in this. It's a great end of the week meal, you know, when you have tons of produce you didn't use throughout the week that needs to miraculously get eaten before it goes bad.
How does that happen every week? Oh well, here is your delicious solution to that problem! So grab your wine and let's cook!
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato diced
- 3- or 4 stalks celery diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 14.5 oz canned tomatoes
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 cups spinach chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp cumin
- pinch of cayenne
- 4 cups of vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot and add chopped onion, bell pepper, carrot, and celery. Sautee for 2-3 minutes
- Add the spices and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes to warm up the spices
- Pour in canned tomatoes, drained chickpeas, sweet potatoes, veggie broth, and water.
- Add salt and pepper to taste then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. Check to make sure that your sweet potatoes are tender.
- Stir in chopped spinach. Enjoy!