Winter Veggie Soup {Vegan, Gluten Free Option, Paleo Option}

Brrr! It’s COLD! I miss the summer nights, wearing tank tops and flip flops, frozen smoothies and the SUN! But what I do love about the winter is that I am able to make endless pots of hot soup to warm my bones!

I made this soup last weekend and it was the perfect batch to kick off my soup making season! Full of flavor and veggies, I ate this for lunch and dinner until it was gone!

The great things about soup is that you can sub different veggies or herbs and it will alter the flavor of the soup. But in a GOOD way! Is there such a thing as a bad soup? I think not!

Ingredients:

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped into small pieces
3 carrots, chopped into small pieces
1 head of collard greens or kale, chopped into small bite size pieces
1 Japanese sweet potato, chopped into bite size pieces
2 regular size cans of unsalted chopped tomatoes with the juice
herbs of choice – I used salt, pepper, dried basil, dried thyme, sage powder
Handful of noodles (optional – omit for paleo and use GF noodles for GF) – I used spaghetti noodles that were broken in half. Only a handful as I didn’t want a lot.
4-6 cups of water or stock – I always use water in my soups and they turn out great!

In a cast iron pot or a soup pot, add a few swirls of EVOO. Once hot, add your onion, celery and carrots. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir until the veggies are soft.

Add your potato and tomatoes and seasonings. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Then add your water – add 4 cups a the beginning and save the remaining cups for later, if needed.

Turn the pot up to a boil. Once at a boil, turn back to medium-low and add your greens. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Check to see if you need to add more spices, salt, pepper and/or water. Your soup should be ready to serve at this point!

If you are using noodles:

Turn the pot back up to a boil. Add your noodles. Cook until the noodles are done.

Serves 6-8