Copycat Campbell’s Vegetable Soup
This easy homestyle vegetable soup tastes just like the Campbell’s soup we grew up loving! It’s comforting and full of flavor but also healthy with no olive oil needed. Good comfort food like this is always in season and is always a crowd pleaser. This egg free and dairy free soup is no exception. It’s also easy to make and packed with fresh veggies and simple ingredients you probably have on-hand already either in your kitchen or in your garden! You’re going to absolutely love the end result of this homemade version!
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Way back in 1869 in the sleepy, little hamlet of Camden, NJ, a simple, small soup company was born.
Almost 100 years later, the red and white Cornell-inspired label would prove so iconic that a relatively unknown pop-artist from Pittsburgh would piggyback his fame on the soup label’s eminence and gain his international immortality from a silk-screened can of Campbell’s soup.
Many people know none of this… nor do they care. But what they do know is that Campbell’s soup is, quite possibly, the most well-known soup in the country… if not the world. It’s sold under the Campbell’s name in over 120 countries.
And while they may not know of the company’s humble origins, people can easily recall days and nights in their youth spent with a delicious, warm bowl or cup of Campbell’s Vegetable Soup warming their hands and their hearts.
I have ALWAYS been a fan of their Vegetarian Vegetable soup, so I was pretty upset when I realized it was not suitable for vegans: it contains egg in the pasta.
Why We Love This Soul-Warming Vegetable Soup
- Nostalgia. It reminds me a lot of my early childhood, of snow-days off from school and building snowmen, but also summer lunches with grilled cheese and iced tea between rounds of wiffle ball.
- Flavor. This vegan homestyle vegetable soup is PACKED with corn, peas, potatoes, and beans and SO MUCH FLAVOR! If you like delicious soups, you will not be disappointed.
- Easy. This homestyle vegetable soup is incredibly easy to put together and is certain to put a smile on your face as it warms your insides. For those who need to hide the vegetables from their children (or their significant other), this soup can be easily pureed.
- Family favorite. It’s an absolute family favorite, and it’s not just for winter. It’s also a great way to use up garden veg like green beans and tomatoes, etc
Ingredients in Vegan Vegetable Soup
High-quality ingredients are always the start of great recipes. And what better ingredients than those that come right from your own garden? You’ll need 10 ingredients + water and spices to make this vegetable soup.
We’ve also included fresh and frozen options as well as some substitutes below. Remember, the full recipe card with ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card the bottom of this post.
- Hot water
- Can of white beans – Do not drain the liquid. These are going to be blended up and added to the base of our soup to help create that thick and hearty vegetable broth base.
- Tomato paste
- Diced tomatoes – Canned or fresh will work.
- Potatoes – peeled and diced
- Diced carrots – peeled and diced
- Onion – finely minced
- Corn – Frozen, canned, or fresh will all work well in this soup.
- Frozen green peas – Use fresh if you don’t mind shelling them all!
- Green Beans – Fresh or frozen. We’ve included directions for each.
- Seasoning: Salt, fine black pepper, Italian seasoning
- Small form pasta – This is optional. Not everyone wants pasta in their vegetable soup, I get that. But small pasta like ditalini or small macaroni or shells can be a nice way to bulk up the soup and make it even more filling. For a fun kid-friendly twist, you can add alphabet pasta to make homemade alphabet vegetable soup! You can also try your favorite gluten free pasta to keep the recipe gluten free.
Substitution Options
If you don’t have or can’t tolerate one of the above ingredients, here are our best substitution tips. Remember though, substituting any of the ingredients may lead to a varied degree of difference in the final product. Let us know in the comments if you try any subs and how they work out for you!
For the white beans: You can use other beans. I’d recommend chickpeas, pinto beans, or red kidney beans. I’d avoid using black beans though. The pureed black beans might make the base too dark, but I’d love to hear if you try.
For the tomato paste: This helps thicken the broth a bit, but tomato sauce can be used in a pinch.
Veggie options: You can mix and match ALL the veggies in this soup! Some green or yellow squash, diced red pepper, even lima beans would be a great addition.
For the seasonings: I tried to keep the seasonings very simplistic for this recipe. If you want to can try a variety of other herbs and spices to flavor this soup. I think some fresh thyme would be a very nice addition or substitute. If you need a little more savory flavor, add our vegan chicken bouillon powder.
How to Make Copycat Campbell’s Vegetable Soup
If you’re using an immersion blender: Add the water, beans, tomato paste, and 1/3 cup of the diced tomatoes to a large pot and use your immersion blender to puree until smooth.
If you do not have an immersion blender: We recommend putting the beans, tomato paste, and 1/3 cup diced tomatoes in your Vitamix or other blender / food processor with 4-6 cups of warm water and add that to the rest of the hot water in your pot after pureed.
Once your puree is ready and in the large soup pot, cover it and bring to a full boil. Then, add the potatoes and carrots first to give them some extra time to cook through.
If you are adding uncooked pasta, now is the time as well. Let them cook on their own for about ten minutes while you gather the rest of your ingredients to go in the pot.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to a boil for about 5 minutes. Then, turn down the heat and simmer loosely covered over low heat for 20-30 minutes (until potatoes and carrots are soft).
Yes, it is that easy; and mmm, mmm, mmm is it good.
How to Serve Vegetable Soup
The perfect bowl of soup is the perfect start to a meal. It’s also a great meal on its own.
Serve this as a starter or a main meal with some crusty bread slathered with vegan butter or a nice hearty sandwich and wax nostalgic as you sip – or slurp – some simply sensational soup.
How to Store Leftover Veggie Soup
This recipe makes a lot of servings – approximately 12 very large bowls. The good news is leftovers taste better the longer it sits! Here are our best tips for storing leftover vegetable soup:
In the fridge: Store leftover vegetable soup in a sealed airtight container. Use within a week for best results.
In the freezer: Fresh vegetable soup will keep in the freezer for 3-4 months when stored properly. If freezing, we recommend leaving out the optional pasta and instead adding it to each bowl as it’s served for best texture. We like to freeze this soup in our Souper Cubes silicone trays for easy portioning and defrosting. We like to use the 1 cup Souper Cube to create single-serving portions. You can also use the 2-cup tray to freeze a family or party-sized portion.
To defrost: Defrost in the fridge for about 24 hours for best results, or on the counter (covered to avoid contact with air) for 8-12 hours depending on room temperature conditions. You can also defrost this soup in the microwave at about 75% power in 40-60 second bursts until the desired temperature is reached.
More Vegan Campbell’s Soup Copycats
- Vegan Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
- Vegan Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
- The Best Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
- How to Make Vegan Condensed Soup Substitutes
And if you’re looking for a vegetable soup recipe without tomatoes, check out our Vegetable Barley Soup!
When you make this vegan homestyle vegetable soup, let us know all about it!
We would SO appreciate it if you left a star rating and review on this post in the comments section below. It helps our recipes get to more people like yourself!
Enjoy!
Copycat Campbell’s Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 3 quarts 12 cups hot water
- 1 15.5-oz can white beans (do not drain the liquid)
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes (This is equal to about 3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups of fresh tomatoes)
- 2 cups fresh green beans – trimmed and cut 1/2 – 3/4 “ length*
- 2 large potatoes – peeled and diced to about 1/2 “
- 1.5 cups diced carrots – peeled and diced to about 1/4 “
- 1 medium onion – finely minced
- 2 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 2 cups frozen or fresh peas
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon fine black pepper
- 1.5 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- Small form pasta optional, see notes**
Instructions
- If you’re using an immersion blender: Add the water, white beans, tomato paste, and 1/3 cup of the diced tomatoes to a large pot and use your immersion blender to puree until smooth.
- If you do not have an immersion blender: We recommend putting the white beans, tomato paste, and 1/3 cup diced tomatoes in your Vitamix or other blender / food processor with 4-6 cups warm water and add it to the rest of the hot water in your pot after pureed.
- Â Once your puree is ready and in the large soup pot, cover it and bring to a full boil. Then, add the green beans, diced potatoes, and carrots first to give them some extra time to cook through. (If you are adding uncooked pasta, now is the time as well.) Let them cook on their own for about 10 minutes while you gather the rest of your ingredients to go in the pot.
- Â Add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to a boil for about 5 minutes.Â
- Then, turn down the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes (until potatoes and carrots are soft). Enjoy!!
Video
Notes
- *You can also use frozen green beans, but add them with the second round of ingredients rather than with the potatoes and carrots.
- **If you're adding small-form pasta like ditalini, macaroni, and alphabet pasta, you’ll need to add about one extra cup of water to one cup pasta, unless you cook the pasta separately. Note, pasta will continue to soak up the liquid, so this may make the soup a little thicker than desired if left too long
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