You’re going to fall in love with this healthy, skinny detox vegetable beef soup. And being that it is so flavor friendly, you can take out or add more of any of the listed ingredients I give you. This recipe is packed with fat burning veggies, and the added spice and fiber will curb your appetite with just one bowl. And you can just throw away those cans in your pantry because you won’t ever want to go back.
The greatest thing about creating soup is that you can never do wrong in making it. The trick is in how much time you put into it. And ideally, this recipe is not that expensive – giving you days of leftovers or freezer meals. All you need is a big, tall, soup pot and you’re ready to go!
FIRST, you must decide whether you are going to cook and immediately serve the soup, or allow the soup to ferment overnight. In my opinion, by quality and taste, the soup is 1000% better by allowing it to sit in the fridge overnight. So decide, then let's get started!
You are welcome to use other substitutes for meat such as chicken, but I used pre-cut stew meat for this recipe to give it a wholesome flavor. I placed the stew meat in the crock pot with 1 cup of water. Allow to cook on high for 1 hour while you prep veggies and starches. Chop your onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, green beans (snip the ends and in half if they're long) and potatoes. I used roughly 2 1/2 cups of each in making this recipe - you are welcome to add more or less, depending on how soupy or chunky you desire. This amount is perfectly in between.
In a large, tall, soup pot, pour in 1/2 cup of EVOO and pour in all of your chopped veggies and potatoes. Saute them on medium/low heat for approximately 15 minutes, continually stirring for even distribution. If you plan on eating the soup immediately, you need your veggies to be tender - so you may have to saute them a little longer than 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, turn down the heat to simmer and pour in your carton of low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock. Then add 7 cups of warm water to the pot. By now, 1 hour should have passed and you can transfer your crock pot meat and the stock it produced into the soup pot.
Add in the canned beans, and the amount of the spice ingredients listed above, as well as the parsley. DO NOT add the pasta just yet (if you are going to use it). Allow the soup to simmer for 2 hours (lid on) - stirring every 30 minutes or so.
If you are going to serve immediately, you will need to taste test - the veggies should be Al Donte, if not tender all the way through before serving. Allow more time to simmer if not to your liking. Â Add in your choice of pasta at least 10-12 minutes before serving. Sprinkle graded Parmesan over top once served.
If you are going to allow your soup to ferment overnight (best choice!), place the soup pot in your fridge after the 2 hour simmer mark. You can leave the soup in the fridge up to the maximum of 2 days before planning to serve, but no more. Place pot back on the stove for warming. Allow to sit on medium/low heat (lid on) until soup comes to a light boil, stirring occasionally. By now, the soup base should be thicker, not watery. But if you need to add a little more water you may do so in 1 cup increments.
Add in your choice of pasta 10-12 minutes before serving. Then, sprinkle graded Parmesan over top once served.
