This Vegetable Noodle Soup Recipe is full of delicious and nutritious vegetables and protein-packed beans and ditalini pasta. It's simple to make and is a kid-friendly vegetable soup that will be loved by the whole family.
Jump to:
My kids love soup and homemade vegetable noodle soup is a true winner in my house! It's perfect for cold winter nights when all you want to do is cozy up on the couch with a blanket and your favorite television show. This recipe makes a big batch to eat not just for dinner, but for lunch throughout the week or to freeze for an easy meal later on.
It's not just a fantastic way to get your whole family to eat a lot of vegetables in one sitting, but to eliminate a whole lot of processed ingredients you get from canned soup. It's also inexpensive to make this large pot of soup, so it's economical and budget-friendly too. It's a quick and easy soup that takes about 2 hours from preparation to serving.
You can also opt for Instant Pot version if you want your soup done quicker- in about 30 minutes.
MORE HEALTHY KIDS RECIPES
Why You'll Love This Vegetable Soup
- There are endless possibilities for customization. Change the vegetables, the beans or seasonings to suit your preferences.
- It's highly nutritious!
- This recipe is chock full of rich flavors and coziness. The combination of different vegetables, herbs, and spices creates a harmonious blend of tastes and depths.
- It's easy to prepare.
- Soup is an excellent way to use up leftover vegetables, minimizing food waste.
Ingredients
- Ditalini pasta: or other short pasta.
- Broth base: the broth is made with a combination of vegetable broth and vegetable juice. You can also use vegetable stock or chicken broth for a non-vegetarian version.
- Vegetables: canned corn, canned tomatoes, canned green beans, carrots and celery.
- Aromatics: garlic and onions.
- Herbs and spices: thyme, parsley, basil, salt and black pepper.
- Legumes: cannellini beans or other cooked beans.
Other Vegetables and Beans That Work
Other vegetables and legumes that your kids might find satisfying in their soup are:
- Cabbage
- Chickpeas
- Kale
- Leeks
- Peas
- Peppers
- Potatoes
- Red kidney beans
- Shallots
- Spinach
- Sweet Potatoes
- Zucchini
How To Make Vegetable Noodle Soup
STEP 1: In at least an 8 quart stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onions, celery and carrots. Saute until tender crisp, about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
STEP 2: Turn the heat to low and add the can of diced tomatoes and their juices, can of sweet corn, can of green beans, dried parsley, dried thyme, dried basil, salt and black pepper to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and V8 vegetable juice. Stir and simmer for 75 minutes with the lid on stirring occasionally.
STEP 3: Add the can of cannellini beans and uncooked ditalini pasta. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes more without the lid.
STEP 4: Remove soup from the heat, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Vegetable noodle soup is great served with crusty bread for dipping, like garlic bread, cheesy bread or Italian bread.
Storing Vegetable Soup
Store leftover soup in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer using freezer safe storage bags for up to 6 months.
Reheating Vegetable Soup
Reheat soup in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or on the stovetop until it begins to boil. To reheat frozen soup, thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Recipe Tips
- Use your kids' favorite vegetables and beans.
- Instead of ditalini pasta, use a fun shape like dinosaurs, alphabets, princesses or animals.
- Before adding the pasta at the end, blend the soup as much as needed so the vegetables become blended into the broth.
- Chop the veggies as small as necessary to trick your kids into eating them. For instance, my 4-year old doesn't like celery. But if I roughly chop them into little squares and odd shapes rather than the classic U shapes, she has no idea they are there.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! This soup has only 67 calories per 8 ounces and it's full of calcium and potassium while being low in fat.
When it comes to making vegetable soup for kids, it's important to choose vegetables that are mild in flavor, easy to eat and visually appealing. Here are some vegetables that are generally well-liked by kids and work well in soups:
Carrots: Carrots are sweet and colorful, making them a popular choice for kids.
Potatoes: Potatoes add a hearty texture to soups.
Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are slightly sweeter than regular potatoes and are packed with nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, and fiber.
Corn: Corn kernels add a touch of natural sweetness and vibrant color to the soup. Kids often enjoy the slightly crunchy texture.
Peas: Peas are small and soft, making them easy for kids to eat.
Green beans: Green beans are mild in flavor and are soft when using canned beans.
Zucchini: Zucchini has a mild flavor and a tender texture. It can be diced or sliced thinly to blend into the soup easily.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes add a tangy and slightly sweet flavor to the soup.
In this vegetable noodle soup, V8 is my secret ingredient to giving it a big boost in flavor.
My 2 tricks for getting the kids to eat their vegetable soup are first, using the vegetables that I know they like or the vegetables that easily break down and turn soft. I also cut the vegetables up into very small pieces or partially blend the soup before adding in the pasta so that most of the vegetables become unrecognizable as such. Second, I use a lot of pasta in fun shapes like mini bow ties, elbows, alphabet shapes or wagon wheels. There are even fun noodles like dinosaurs and princesses!
Recipe
Vegetable Noodle Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 8 quart stock pot
- wooden spoon
- soup ladle
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 small onions, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 celery stalks, diced
- 5 large carrots
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups vegetable juice, such as V8
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz
- ½ can green beans, 15 oz
- 1 can sweet corn, 15 oz
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ can cannellini beans, 15 oz
- 3 oz uncooked ditalini pasta, or other short pasta
Instructions
- In at least an 8 quart stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onions, celery and carrots. Saute until tender crisp, about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Turn the heat to low and add the can of diced tomatoes and their juices, can of sweet corn, can of green beans, dried parsley, dried thyme, dried basil, salt and black pepper to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and V8 vegetable juice. Stir and simmer for 75 minutes with the lid on stirring occasionally.
- Add the can of cannellini beans and uncooked ditalini pasta. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes more without the lid.
- Remove soup from heat, taste, and adjust seasonings as needed.
Sharon says
This vegetable noodle soup was an easy lunch to make and the kids loved it. I really like that you can freeze leftovers to have on hand for quick meals.
veenaazmanov says
This soup is a total filler and a burst of delicious flavors. Best soup for winters. My family to love it for sure.
Kathryn says
This vegetable noodle soup was so comforting and delicious! I loved all the different types of veggies and so did my 2 year old 🙂
Mikayla says
Wonderful soup, I added some zucchini to it as well. I love that it made enough to freeze for later. The flavors and richness of the broth is a true winner.
Ramona says
Soup is my number one comfort dish and this looks like a new one I need to make! I’ve made soup which has pasta in it before and I am definitely going to try this one out too. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Veronika says
I'm such a big fan of soups, even when the temperatures are high! Nothing beats a comforting bowl of soup and this one is a classic! So good.
Tristin says
Great soup even for summer! It was cooler today so made this with the kids for dinner.
Jacqueline Debono says
This is a super veggie soup recipe. I made it with all fresh vegetables and herbs, only the sweet corn was canned. It is very similar to an Italian minestrone! Yum!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
I feel like folks should eat soup all year round, not just in the winter. This was so flavorful and so easy to make! Definitely a keeper!
Claire says
The littles absolutely loved this kid-friendly vegetable noodle soup. We'll definitely be making this again.
Vysturbed says
Delicious and comforting. This recipe was how I found out about ditalini pasta and it's so cute! I added frozen vegetable mix for the veggies and Beyond ground beef to add some protein (and still vegetarian/vegan!)