This delicious vegetable soup recipe with Bok choy is one of my favorites. It rocks tons of healthy veggies and herbs. It’s a go-to for the gut with over 18 grams of fiber and mountains of phytochemicals onboard. Paired with salad and croutons it’s a win.
This healthy veggie soup recipe with Bok choy is a mainstay in my kitchen year-round. I’ve been rocking it forever and here’s why:
It not only incorporates an exemplary duet when in tandem with a nutrient-dense salad, it’s a smorgasbord feast for your gut—over 18 grams of fiber and more.
And when it comes to stacking veggies, go all in.
One report notes that inadequate intake of vegetables is the fifth-leading cause of dietary risk, while another study found that “each daily portion of fresh vegetables reduced the overall risk of death by 16 percent.”
In fact low-fiber diets can lead to “cancers of the colon and breast, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and premature death in general.” And according to Harvard, leafy greens like Bok choy rock more bioavailable calcium than dairy:
“Plant foods like leafy greens contain less calcium overall but have a higher bioavailability than dairy. For example, bok choy contains about 160 mg of calcium per 1 cup cooked but has a higher bioavailability of 50%, so about 80 mg is absorbed.”
In addition voluminous studies tout organic vegetables and greens as the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet (contrary to the carnivores’ claim that meat is the most nutrient-dense).
This homemade vegetable soup recipe is organic, vegan, and gluten-free.
Vegetable Soup Recipe
One of the best things about this homemade vegetable soup recipe is stacking it. And definitely with greens.
According to this report:
“Dark-green, leafy vegetables are the healthiest foods on the planet, which is why I recommend two servings each day. As whole foods go, they offer the most nutrition per calorie. Of all the food groups analyzed by a team of Harvard University researchers, greens turned out to be associated with the strongest protection against major chronic diseases, including up to about a 20 percent reduction in risk for both heart attacks and strokes for every additional daily serving.
Ingredients (full recipe below):
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Organic soup stock.
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Organic carrots.
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Organic onions.
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Organic celery.
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Organic potatoes (twice-baked).
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Organic kale.
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Organic spinach.
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Organic leeks.
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Organic chard.
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Organic baby peas.
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Organic corn kernels.
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Organic tomatoes.
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Organic beans.
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Optional organic tofu, vegan chorizo, or vegan ‘meat’ substitute.
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Organic parsley and\or cilantro.
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Organic garlic.
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Nutritional yeast.
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Bragg Amino Acids.
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Organic olive oil.
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Organic Italian herbs.
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Organic rosemary, sage, and thyme.
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Pink salt and pepper.
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Organic bay leaves.
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Organic stevia.
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Organic croutons.
For extra spicy add herbs like turmeric, curry, masala, cayenne.
For creamy try Vegenaise, vegan cheese, coconut cream.
Nutritional yeast will thicken it up.
Notes on Kitchenware
If you haven’t invested yet in high-quality non-toxic kitchenware, it’s well worth it. Properly cared for it lasts a long time and supports health.
You can also recycle glass jars and non-toxic containers from products you already buy and use them as food storage containers — which helps the environment and your wallet.
Look for conscientious packaging (BPA & phthalate free, etc.) that you can reuse.
Homemade Vegetable Soup
Naturally the veggies and greens you add to a vegetable soup recipe are a matter of taste, though some are universally loved by most and common in all my soup recipes.
Such as carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, greens.
And among the greens there are tons of options — collards, chard, kale, spinach, arugula, bok choy.
I typically add them at the end so they’re minimally processed.
Enzymes and other nutrients are damaged at over 100 degrees.
In any case, I can’t think of a single soup I make that doesn’t rock greens.
Notes
- You can swap the veggie broth for potato, tomato, or any other soup base for a thicker, variant flavor, but you may have to dilute.
- For a thinner soup, liquefy some in the blender and pour it back in.
- The most nutritious potatoes are organic reds and purples, twice-baked.
Veggie Soup Recipe
Other ingredients you can add to this vegetable soup recipe are sweet peas, green beans, corn, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.
Here’s a word on broccoli:
“There’s a wonderful phytonutrient in broccoli that we think accounts for much of its cancer-fighting effects. This was done in a Petri dish this year. Cells exposed to carcinogens, essentially just had broccoli dripped on them, and that alone protected their DNA from being mutated. Some new wonder drug? No. Broccoli. There’s another phytonutrient in broccoli that may reduce our fatal heart attack risk by a third.”
And don’t forget croutons.
They’re always a win.
You can find the recipe here.
And if you don’t have time to make a full homemade soup recipe from scratch, here’s a tip:
Quick Soup Recipes
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Lightly saute your favorite veggies in a saucepan.
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Add an organic pre-made soup such as potato, sweet pea, pumpkin, etc.
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Season similarly to above, loading greens at the end.
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Top with croutons.
How to Thicken Soup
Aside from swapping broth for thicker vegetable soup recipe bases, you can thicken a homemade soup by adding more nutritional yeast, vegan cheese, or by creating a thickened base in a saucepan with melted organic Earth Balance/olive oil and enough cornstarch or flour to absorb it, and then adding liquid—stirring constantly on high heat—to achieve a gravy-like texture, which you then add to the soup.
Vegetable Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups organic soup stock adjustable and/or 1 or 2 boxes organic veggie broth (Pacific, Imagine, etc.).
- 1/2 cup organic carrots.
- 1/2 cup organic onions.
- 1/2 cup organic celery.
- 3/4 cup diced unpeeled organic potatoes.
- 1 cup organic kale.
- 1 cup organic spinach.
- 3/4 cup organic leeks.
- 1 cup organic chard or other leafy greens.
- 3/4 cup organic baby peas.
- 3/4 cup organic corn kernels.
- ½ cup chopped organic tomato.
- 1 cup cooked organic beans kidney, black, your faves.
- 1 cup optional organic extra-firm tofu, vegan chorizo, or vegan ‘meat’ substitute.
- ½ cup fresh organic parsley andor cilantro.
- 2 tablespoons chopped organic garlic.
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast.
- ¼ cup Bragg Amino Acids.
- 2 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil.
- 1 tablespoon organic Italian herbs.
- 1 tablespoon mixed rosemary sage, and thyme.
- 1 tablespoon Himalayan/Celtic salt and ground organic pepper to taste.
- 2 organic bay leaves.
- ½ teaspoon organic stevia.
- Organic vegan croutons.
- Other additions that make this vegetable soup recipe spicy include turmeric, curry, cayenne, garam masala, coriander, etc.
- To make it creamy add either Vegenaise, vegan cheese, coconut cream, or vegan cream cheese.
Instructions
- Pick and prep your favorite vegetables.
- If you’re using tofu or vegan ‘meat’ substitutes, pan fry in organic oil until crisp and firm, seasoning directly, then set aside, saving the oil.
- Bring liquid to a boil in soup pot.
- Add all ingredients except leafy greens, nutritional yeast, beans, Bragg, and obviously croutons.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until veggies are tender but firm, about 15-20 minutes. Watch the potatoes closely, lightly piercing with a fork because they’re easily overcooked. Best practice, though, is to cook them in advance, cool them, and then add. It ramps prebiotics for your gut. I also don’t peel them because a lot of the nutrients and fiber are in the peels.
- Remove soup from heat.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, using a spatula to capture the oil and herbs in the saute pan.
- Sample and adjust to taste.
- Stir and serve, topping with croutons, vegan bacun-bits, faux parmesan, etc.
Notes
Nutrition
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