Creamy Vegetable Soup – Immaculate Bites

How to Make a Flavorful Creamy Vegetable Soup

While many vegetable soups taste bland, this soup is super flavorful. The secret? Be generous with the garlic and ginger, as well as the spices. That alone will take your soup from boring to delish.

However, the addition of coconut milk elevates this soup further. The coconut flavor pairs beautifully with the squash, adding an unexpected flavor profile and creamy mouthfeel. Friends and family always give it rave reviews. 

Recipe Ingredients

1. Flavors – Onion, garlic, and ginger add plenty of aroma and flavor to this rich soup. Bay leaves, thyme, oregano, curry powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper create a robust earthy flavor profile. Feel free to use fresh or dried herbs and add more of what you love.
2. Veggies – My soup includes the following vegetables: celery, carrot, green beans, zucchini, kidney beans, tomato, corn, and cubed butternut squash. Of course, you can always customize this list to include what you love or have on hand.
3. Liquid – For a rich and creamy broth, you’ll use both chicken broth and coconut milk.

How to Make Creamy Vegetable Soup

• Saute – Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, celery, and thyme and saute for 3-4 minutes. You want the onions to wilt. (Photos 1-3)
• Veggies – Then add the diced tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, kidney beans, carrots, corn, and butternut squash. (Photo 4)
• Simmer – Pour in chicken stock or broth. Cover, bring it all to a boil, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the veggies are tender (20–30 minutes). (Photo 5)
• Serve – Finally, add the coconut milk and cook for 5 more minutes. Taste the soup, adjust seasonings, and serve hot with bread or cornbread. (Photo 6)

Recipe Variations

1. Add meat. Add some chicken, beef, or other protein for a hearty one-pot soup.
2. Easy vegetable soup with frozen vegetables. Grab a couple of bags of frozen vegetables (your choice of soup mixes) and simmer until tender. And red bell peppers add more color.
3. Make it vegan. Swap the chicken broth out with vegetable broth, and you’ve got a vegan version of this spectacular soup. Add some red pepper flakes for more spice.
4. Add extra carbs. You could also incorporate some Jamaican spinners, dumplings, or gnocchi to make it extra hearty. 💪

Tips and Tricks

1. Please don’t rush the first step, which is sauting onions, garlic, celery, and thyme, for the foundation of this flavorful vegetable soup. Cook them long enough for them to soften and release their flavors.
2. Consider the cooking time of each ingredient. Stagger the addition of vegetables so they all cook through as close as possible.
3. Since most stock has high sodium levels, and so do some canned beans, salt sparingly, especially at first. Give it a taste test towards the end of the cooking time, and add more salt then if needed.
4. As soon as the soup comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Prolonged boiling will make your vegetables mushy.
5. Use less broth and more coconut milk if you want a thicker soup. A squeeze of lemon juice adds a balancing acidity if you think something is missing when you do the taste test.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

Making this soup ahead of time is a breeze. Cook the vegetables just until tender, but they still have some crunch, and remove them from the heat. Once cooled, store the soup in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days or the freezer for up to six months.

The same goes for leftovers. Reheat your delicious vegetable soup on the stove over medium heat or pop individual servings in the microwave.

What Goes With Creamy Vegetable Soup

Try vegetable soup with a crusty baguette, homemade garlic bread, or some garlic knots. Sometimes, I like to serve tossed salad for a side and follow up with some pecan pie cobbler for dessert. 😋

More Cozy Soup Recipes to Try

1. Jamaican Chicken and Pumpkin Soup
2. Chicken Cabbage Soup
3. Sweet Potato Soup
4. Lentil Soup
5. Okra Soup

Watch How to Make It

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This blog post was originally published in January 2018 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video