Mostly Veggie Soup. A hearty and comforting winter soup loaded with an abundance of vegetables, a little bit of meat and a touch of rice!
Well, Happy New Year! 2017 is finally here and I couldn’t be more excited. 2016 was a bit of strange year in so many ways and I love nothing more than a clean slate and a fresh start.
Last year I was plagued by not enough sleep, not enough self-care and overall, just not enough time for me. I left that in 2016 and this year, I am making myself a (high) priority.
Something that I find nourishing is soup. Especially soup loaded with veggies. My family tends to prefer soups with sausage, meat or chicken so this Mostly Veggie Soup is basically a happy compromise in a bowl.
It’s a big batch of soup, loaded with a wide variety and textures of vegetables and just enough sausage to make the boys and my husband happy. I wound up adding some rice to give this soup that nice thickness that is so comforting in the winter and cold weather.
I used mild Italian sausage but you could swap ground chicken, ground turkey, ground pork, ground beef or even crumbled chorizo as this recipe is pretty flexible.
What about you? What is the thing that you are working on for 2017?
NOTES:
- Sorry there are no in-process photos for this recipe. I lost them during a winter break-toddler-using-my-small-camera-episode.
- If you want this to be vegetarian, I recommend adding 1/4 cup additional rice and adjusting the seasonings before adding the rice and then again after.
- Sweet potatoes will work but I recommend white sweet potatoes as they are firmer and don’t get as mushy as yams or garnets.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Mostly Veggie Soup. A hearty and comforting winter soup loaded with an abundance of vegetables, a little bit of meat and a touch of rice!
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 pound uncooked mild Italian sausage crumbled
- 2 medium yellow onions halved and thinly sliced
- 2 large stalks celery thinly sliced
- 3 medium carrots cut into 1/2" half-moons
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound eggplant cut into 1/2" squares
- 1 pound russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2" squares
- 12 cups broth or stock
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup jasmine rice rinsed
- 1 large red bell pepper seeded and cut into 1/2" squares
- 3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
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Peel and halve onions, thinly slice and set aside.
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Thinly slice celery.
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Peel carrots and cut into 1/2" half-moons.
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Wash eggplant and cut into 1/2" squares (leave skin on).
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Peel potatoes, cut into 1/2" squares and soak in cold water until ready to use (drain before adding to soup!)
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Wash bell pepper, remove seeds and ribs and cut into 1/2" squares.
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Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat.
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Once hot, add olive oil and crumbled sausage. Saute 4 to 5 minutes, or until pink is gone from sausage.
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Add onions, celery, carrot, turmeric, salt and pepper. Continue cooking, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are fragrant and tender.
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Add cubed eggplant and potatoes. Toss until coated and add broth along with crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
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Once boiling, add rinsed rice, cubed bell pepper, fresh thyme sprigs and cover. Lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.
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Add cubed bell pepper.
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Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Serve and Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Oooh this looks perfect for the cold weekend we are about to have!
It’s sooo cold here – wish I had more of this in the freezer. Time to make another batch!
I constantly struggle with making time for me with 3 busy kids, but it’s so important or you get burned out! I’m with you and leaving that behind in 2016. Cheers to a fantastic hearty looking soup and taking better care of ourselves in 2017!
Man, it’s so hard Brenda. By the end of the day, I am just exhausted with doing everything for everyone else!
That soup sounds delicious and just enough sausage to give it a great flavor!
Exactly Kimberly! Everyone’s happy 🙂
This is loaded with so much goodness. Love the veg to meat quantity.
Thanks Heather!
It’s cold here! So that definitely means soup, and lots of it. We’re making it at least once a week, so we need recipes! This looks excellent — thanks. And Happy New Year!
Same here John! Happy New Year 🙂
This soup sounds so healthy and cozy and perfect! I can’t wait to slurp this one up!
Right!? I am all about this soup right now Amanda!
This is the best looking veggie soup ever! Looks so comforting.
Thanks so much Ashley!
Thank you for sharing your soup. Sorry about your photo-toddler mishap! Oops! A suggestion: Covington sweet potatoes would work well here, as they are like the Russets of the sweet potato world and would stand firm during cooking.
Is a covington sweet potato similar to Hana or Japanese sweet potatoes? If so, I mentioned using those in my Notes section above the recipe 🙂
No, Covingtons are yellow orange fleshed sweet potatoes and are creamy, whereas Japanese are white and a little drier.
I need to make this over the weekend so I can eat it all week.
Hope you love it Theresa!
I’m sure I will!
This would totally hit the spot! It’s been so cold here!
Same here – soooo cold this week!