Parmesan Veggie Soup (Printable)

Hearty vegetable soup with Parmesan cheese, fresh vegetables, and Italian herbs. Ready in just 50 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 2 medium carrots, diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 1 medium zucchini, diced
07 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
08 - 1 cup green beans, trimmed and chopped
09 - 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
10 - 4 cups vegetable broth

→ Dairy and Cheese

11 - 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
12 - 1 Parmesan rind, optional

→ Seasonings

13 - 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
14 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
15 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
16 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

# Directions:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sautéing for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and translucent.
02 - Add carrots, celery, zucchini, potato, and green beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
03 - Stir in diced tomatoes with juice, vegetable broth, dried Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Add Parmesan rind if using.
04 - Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes until vegetables are tender.
05 - Remove Parmesan rind. Stir in grated Parmesan cheese until melted and soup achieves a creamy consistency.
06 - Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
07 - Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and extra Parmesan cheese.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The Parmesan doesn't overwhelm, it whispers its way through every spoonful and makes you feel like you're eating something elegant even though you threw it together in under an hour.
  • It uses vegetables everyone has lying around, so you're never hunting through specialty shops or feeling like you need fancy ingredients to impress yourself.
  • The soup is forgiving and flexible, so you can skip what you don't have and add what you love without worrying you've ruined it.
02 -
  • The Parmesan rind is optional but worth hunting for, because it transforms the soup from pleasant to memorable in a way nothing else quite does, so ask your cheesemonger or neighbor to save you one.
  • Never let the soup boil hard once it's all together, because that's how vegetables turn to mush and the whole thing tastes like heat instead of flavor, so keep that simmer gentle and patient.
03 -
  • Keep your Parmesan rinds in the freezer and toss one into almost any soup or stew you make, because it's essentially free flavor that nobody else is using.
  • The difference between good diced vegetables and rushed choppy ones shows up in every bite, so take thirty seconds to cut them evenly and your soup rewards you for it.
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