Using Frozen & Canned Veggies to Make Easy Soups
If you believe, anything can be a soup!
But for real! Soups can have veggies, proteins, grains...1 ingredient or 20.
Use frozen, canned, or fresh ingredients to make them...
Cook up in minutes or simmer for hours...
The perfect home made meal on a busy weeknight!
Especially now that its chilly...well its chilly by me...not sure where you live.
Whether your a working mama, currently home schooling, or a stay at home momma...
…your busy with other errands, managing the kiddos schedules, and maintaining your sanity…
…truthfully you have better things to do than spend hours cooking!
Quick & Easy are the goal when it comes to weeknight meals...
instead of reaching for a pre-made meal from the freezer…nuggets again
rolling through the drive thru for fast food…and more nuggets
...try making a soup that comes together in MINUTES!
Ingredients to have at Home
The best items to have on hand are frozen veggies & canned veggies!
Both of these types of foods require no prep…meaning that you wont have to
take out a cutting board
get a knife dirty
spend 20-30 minutes slicing and dicing
have to clean up…
With canned veggies & frozen veggies you’ll just have to use a can opener (or pop the lid) and a sheet tray! Minimal clean up!!!!
diced onions
diced or sliced bell peppers
mixed veggies (green bean, peas, carrots) or those veggies on their own
carrots
sweet potatoes
butternut squash
canned items to have
beans (every and all varieties)
tomatoes (whole, diced, puree, paste, crushed, fire roasted)
corn
green beans
mushrooms
artichoke hearts
sun dried tomatoes
mixed veggies
diced potatoes
canned chicken (truthfully I’ve never had it, but it could work for a quick tortilla soup!)
Yes some canned and frozen are repeated...buy what you have room for in your freezer or pantry.
Oh & a key pantry item…not technically a veggie though…is pre-made veggie or chicken stock — this can be store bought or you can make it at home.
If you're trying to save time I recommend pre-made stock...just be sure to read the label and make sure it actually has veggies or chicken as the second ingredient! 💁♀️ Obvi water will be the first!
They aren’t sponsors, but some of my fave stock brands are Pacific, Great Value Organic, Kitchen Basics & Kirkland Brand Organic.
Pro-Tip: Quick note about pre-made stock & canned foods...try to get them with no salt added or low sodium...the soups can get really salty really quick if you are using items with added salt.
ADD IN fresh veggieS
cabbage (whole & DIY it or pre-shredded)
onions, celery, carrots (sometimes you can find these precut in the produce section)
any greens
zucchini & summer squash
Whether you make a soup from frozen, fresh, or canned foods…or a combination of all three...it can be quick, easy, and delicious!
Dump Soup
First up...the dump soup....yeh I know it sounds schmutzy, but until I figure out a better name I'm going with it.
Like it sounds ...you open up packages and "dump" the contents into a pot. Easy Right?
Cans are perfect for this!
Quick Chili
2 cans of beans of your choice with the liquid
1 can of diced tomatoes with the liquid
1 can corn
1 tiny can mild or hot diced green chilies
1 tiny can diced pineapple
Toss in about:
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp oregano
Bring it to a boil and simmer for 15-20 min. It will thicken and taste like its been cooking all day!
* If you have a protein you want to add, go for it! Try adding leftover ground turkey or beef. Rotisserie chicken or a drained can of chicken.
Serve it with a sliced avocado, cheddar cheese, sour cream or with a hunk of crusty bread...that's how I like it.
You can make a "dump" soup out of whatever cans you have!
Pro-Tip:
To make sure the flavors go well together...choose a country or region and then choose flavors that way!
Italian Inspired — combine cannellini beans, roasted peppers & artichoke hearts, top with chicken stock and bring to a boil. - Its ready to serve in 7 min or less!
You can serve it over tiny pasta (called pastina in Italian), rice, potatoes or any kind of grain or starch
I recommend cooking your grain or starch separately, especially if you know you made a lot and will have leftovers....if you cook the pasta in the soup it will get mushy as it sits in the fridge.
Classic Way of Making Soup
Start by sautéing veggies (traditionally — onions, carrots, celery) and sometimes garlic....you could add sliced or diced peppers into that as well…we’re building flavor here!
Okay now add herbs & spices — go back to episode 28 to learn more about spice combos and what country flavor profiles are.
soup can become anything at this point! choose your spices & you'll choose a country
Italian spice blend - rosemary, oregano, basil, & parsley
Add hearty veggies — potatoes, winter squash, uncooked beans halved or quartered mushrooms and sauté!*
add flour at this point, if you want a thick soup*
Add a flavorful liquid like stock, a can of tomatoes, water...
Boil, then bring down to a simmer.
Add a protein
uncooked mini meatballs
cooked chicken
ground beef
can of beans
Add in more veggies! - fresh zucchini, fresh spinach, any drained frozen or canned veggies you'd like
Pro-tip: If you want this soup to have more body without adding flour, blend a small portion of the first couple of ingredients with the liquid (before you add your protein).
*Optional
The Blended or Cream Soup
This is probably my fave type of soup, because it is sooo easy and soo tasty!
You can start with fresh, frozen, or canned veggies.
Remember building flavor is optional, but it will impact the taste and make it seem like you spent hours on it!
Start by sautéing onions & garlic at the very least, or use onion and garlic powder if you want to do it real quick!*
Tomato Soup — Add in a can of tomato purée to make a quick tomato soup, just add half the amount of water and bring it to a boil
Butternut Squash Soup — start with frozen butternut add stock boil and blend with an immersion stick blender or in your actual blender. You can finish it with some good EVOO to keep it vegan but add a richness to it or finish it with heavy cream, butter, yogurt or cheese for a little something extra
use this method with sweet potatoes, pumpkin, any winter squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, corn...almost anything!
you can even combine veggies like butternut & cauliflower with curry!
or add a fruit like an apple or pear!
*Remember you can bloom your herbs & spices which just means cook them in the oil before adding more ingredients.
You can mix & match any of these soup methods...add cream or yogurt to a dump soup or use cans in a blended or classic soup.
Let the kitchen be a place to have fun & try new flavors! Yeh sometimes it make be just okay...but other times you may discovered an amazing combination!
I hope I've inspired you to make some soups!
Get those canned products out of the pantry & start cooking!