Forget the canned stuff and bring this comforting soup back into your life with this healthy version of the childhood classic. With no added sugar or questionable ingredients, this soup is quick and easy to prepare. You can usually find the alphabet shaped pasta in larger grocery stores, sometimes in the children’s section. You can also substitute any other small pasta, such as orzo, stelline or ditali. Make a pot of this vegetable soup for your lunches this week and have a perfectly delicious, nostalgic week!
HEALTHY ALPHABET SOUP
Time: 40 minutes Servings: 6-8
- 8 cups of low sodium chicken broth, homemade or store bought
- 1 cup of chopped onion cut in small dice (about 1 medium cooking onion)
- 1 cup of celery cut in small dice (about 2 large stalks)
- 1 cup of carrots cut in small dice (about 2 medium carrots)
- 1 cup of green beans cut in small dice
- 1 cup of potato or sweet potato, cut in small dice (about 1 small-medium potato or sweet potato)
- 1/3 cup of tomato paste
- 1/2 cup of dried alphabet pasta
- 1/2 cup of frozen corn or canned whole kernel corn
- 1/2 cup of frozen peas
- Kosher salt, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the chicken broth in a Dutch oven or other large, deep pot. Add the onion, celery, carrots, green beans and potato, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and the pasta, and continue simmering for 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked, stirring frequently to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the corn and the peas, and simmer for 2 minutes until heated through. Taste the soup and add salt if needed.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
This soup is the perfect light meal all by itself. If you need something more substantial, serve it with crusty bread and a grazing platter of cold meats, cheese, olives and sliced fruit.
RECIPE NOTES
- Any extras will freeze well for up to 3 months. Cool the soup to room temperature, then freeze in airtight containers.
- You can easily make this a vegetarian soup by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
- How much salt you will need to add (if any) will depend on the original salt content of your broth and personal preference. I usually use homemade broth that contains very little salt, and add about 1 tsp of salt to the soup. If using commercial low-sodium broth I usually don’t add any extra salt as the salt content can still be more than enough. Taste your soup and add a little salt at a time, until it tastes just right to you!
- What exactly does “small dice” mean and will it matter if I don’t get it just right? Small dice means cutting the veggies into pieces that are about 1cm cubes. If your pieces are bigger, it won’t matter but you may need to cook them for a little longer. Whatever size you choose, aim to cut all your veggies into approximately the same size so they cook evenly.
