We’ve all had days when there doesn’t seem to be enough time to do anything; the workout goes on hold, all thoughts of makeup fly out the window (ha — who am I kidding? This is almost every day for me!), and even eating gets back-burnered.
The end of the day rolls around and there’s less than an hour until dinnertime; you’re famished and looking for some quick inspiration – here it is!
This soup is perfect for that kind of day. It’s on the table in under an hour (and even faster if you take advantage of pre-chopped produce at the grocery store), full of healthy things, and completely customizable. It’s vegetarian, but you could make it vegan by omitting the Worcestershire sauce, or beef it up a bit (pun intended ;) ) by adding browned ground beef or even cooked, shredded chicken.
I like to serve this with crackers or crusty bread, but you could add cooked noodles to the soup if you like. And of course, feel free to swap out the veggies for any you have on hand.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 oz cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 4 medium carrots, sliced
- 3 large stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves)
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 5 cups (1.2 L) hot water
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (see Note)
- 2 soft vegetable-flavored bouillon cubes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (16 oz) can dark red kidney beans (no salt added), rinsed and drained
- 1 (16 oz) can cannellini beans (no salt added), rinsed and drained
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a lidded 5-quart pot; add the mushrooms and cook until browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the onion, carrot, and celery; cover the pot and cook until the onion is softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the diced tomato, water, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon cubes, salt, and pepper; turn heat up to high and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn heat down slightly, cover the pot, and cook until the veggies are tender, about 7 minutes.
- Add the beans and cook until warm throughout, about 2 minutes more.
- Serve.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
This is exactly my kind of soup; quick, easy, and highly adaptable to whatever you have on hand. It looks like the perfect meal to warm you up on a cold day, too. :)
i like the herbage in your soup, faith, and the very presence of beans makes it worth my while. lovely!
A quick hearty soup made in 30 min? Sounds wonderful especially on these cold days. Love the beef pun.
I could literally eat soup every single day… this sounds like another great quick option to add to my repertoire!
This soup is so healthy and comforting!
Hi Faith, seriously I wish I had a bowl of your soup for breakfast right now, it would be perfect and so healthy;-)
LOVE the soups crocks, and the soup looks amazing! I don’t make soup as often as I should, I’ll need to work on that!
Wow..what a wonderful array of ingredients, Faith! Would love to sip this sip this soup on a rainy day with homemade bread.
Simple, customizable, and delicious. Perfect way to end a busy day.
This soup looks great. Warm comforting and delicious
I made this last night, it’s really amazing. Great recipe!!!
Chiara, That’s awesome, I’m so glad you liked it!!
A delicious soup! So comforting and warming.
After day upon day of roasting hot weather, today we got a crazy, wild storm and I am bundled up parked in front of a heater trying to get warm. :-) On such a night I would absolutely love this perfectly comforting soup. :-)
This sounds delicious and looks very hearty and satisfying! I very much heart the pedastal bowl you are serving it in–another purchase during your vacation I’m guessing! I love the ethnic look to most of your tableware.
What beautiful color this soup has! It makes me want to grab a bowl to eat on a cold day like this!
What a pretty soup tureen Faith! And a wonderfully nourishing soup to make when you’re short on time! I just moved to WordPress – still ironing out the kinks – thanks for updating your feed.
Oh that looks soo good – it’s cold and rainy here so just perfect for this weather.
It is super cold here today – I would love a bowl of that soup! and a day where it seems I have enough time ;)
This soup would go over well in our mostly vegetarian household. As we move into the rush-rush of the season, it’s good to have a healthy hearty soup like this one–quickly made!
Mmmm that sounds really good and filling especially as the weather is now getting colder. Diane
Looks delicious! Your recipe reminds me of a soup I make that’s very similar, but I never add mushrooms. That sounds like a delicious idea, I can’t wait to try it next time, I can’t believe I never thought of trying them. We have the perfect “soup” weather right now that’s making me crave soups like this :D
The snowflakes flew here last night and i am dreaming of soup to chase the chill! Faith would this work in a Crockpot??
Terri, I think this would be great in a crockpot! I’d hold off on adding the beans until toward the end though, since they really only need to be heated.
I’m jealous of your snow! I heard that it’s in the forecast for us here, so fingers crossed! :)
Fantastic soup. Perfect right about now.
You are a special talent Faith.
I know what you mean about those hectic days. My life lately is something like this. So, I would be more than happy to enjoy a bowl of this beautiful and heart-warm soup! Looks delicious!
This is proof that healthy delicious food doesn’t have to be complicated! I’ve been loving veggie soups lately and this definitely needs to make it into the rotation!
Perfect soup for Ben!
I just made minestrone soup this past week which is very similar but I really like the addition of the red kidney beans and mushrooms in your recipe. What a delicious bowl of soup!
I love the thought you put into your presentations, Faith. I often forget to mention it. You have a real talent for table setting! And the perfect serving pieces too.
The soup looks delicious AND easy to make!
Barbara, Thank you so much for your sweet comment. That really means a lot to me, especially from you — I’ve seen your stunning tablescapes!
I love soup season. This looks like a filling and tasty soup!
A great soup! Fulfilling, comforting and nourishing.
Cheers,
Rosa