One pot

One-Pot Vegetable Soup

A pot for the onion, the carrot, a potato if you have one, and a can of beans. It can take leftover cooked chicken at the end. Bread on the side makes the bowl feel like dinner.

Prep: 10 minutesCook: 25 minutesServes: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 potato, diced, if you have it
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or Italian herbs
• 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (15 ounces) white beans, drained
• 4 cups water
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 cups spinach, kale, or frozen vegetables
• Optional: 1 cup leftover cooked chicken, added at the end

Instructions

1. Warm the oil in a soup pot. Cook the onion, carrots, and potato with a pinch of salt about 6 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and dried herbs. Stir for half a minute.
3. Add the tomatoes, beans, and water. Simmer uncovered about 15 minutes, until the potato and carrots are tender.
4. Stir in the greens. Spinach needs about 2 minutes. Kale needs closer to 5. Add cooked chicken now if you are using it, just to heat it through.
5. Taste for salt and pepper. If the broth tastes thin, mash a spoonful of beans against the side of the pot and stir them back in.

Substitutions

• White beans: chickpeas.
• Water: broth. Salt more carefully if the broth is already salty.
• Potato: leave it out, or use leftover cooked potato added near the end.
• Greens: frozen peas or mixed vegetables.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days, or freeze about 2 months. The soup thickens in the fridge. Add water when you reheat it.

Related: Tomato chickpea skillet, Sheet-pan chicken and potatoes.