Garden Vegetable Soup – Preparing And Canning - Stacy Lyn Harris

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Every year, I look forward to making my grandma’s homemade vegetable soup with fresh produce from our garden. You don’t have to grow your own vegetables to enjoy it, though. Whether your veggies are fresh or frozen, this is the best vegetable soup recipe you’ll ever try!

My granny made the best soup around. I’ve never tasted any better. I get pretty close with my recipe, though. You can watch me make it and can it in the video.

How can I get more flavor in my vegetable soup?

This soup recipe is my answer to this often asked question. It includes onion, garlic, fresh herbs, pepper, lemon juice, and a few dashes of hot sauce. These seasonings make it anything but bland. The option chuck roast also adds rich, beefy flavor.

Do I have to put okra in my vegetable soup?

You may be tempted to leave the okra out, but it makes this vegetable soup recipe sing. The okra thickens the soup and brings all the flavors together.

Personally, I love okra, especially as a thickening agent for a vegetable broth. But if you don’t like the texture, you can use a few pieces of whole okra and remove it from the soup once it cooks. You can also thicken the soup by stirring a little butter and flour together to make a slurry and then mixing it into the soup.

Can you use frozen veggies for this soup?

Yes! Your homemade vegetable soup still will be delicious with veggies from the freezer. Try to find white corn if you can. You can use either whole or cut-up frozen okra. I use the cut-up kind because it’s easier to eat. You may know butter beans as lima beans. If you don’t like lima beans, you can substitute white beans. A good vegetable soup recipe adapts to what you like and have on hand!

However, if you have a little extra time, I do believe using fresh vegetables makes a difference in the flavor.

Can you add meat to this soup?

This is incredible vegetable soup on its own, but absolutely, you can add meat for protein. A pound of chuck roast cut into 2-inch cubes adds so much flavor. My grandmother always added it and the juices straight from the pressure cooker. Watch the video to see how to do that.

NOTE: If you plan on canning your vegetable soup, you do need to take extra care about adding meat to it. Meat has to be canned with a pressure canner to ensure that it gets heated to a high enough temperature.

What to Serve with Vegetable Soup

This homemade vegetable soup goes with many different sides. For a simple but hearty lunch, you can serve this soup with warm, fresh bread such as my No-Knead Artisan Bread or just your favorite crusty bread from the store.

For a real treat, though, try serving vegetable soup with this Fried Cornbread. It’s truly amazing. Beware…you’ll need to make a triple batch. The minute you make it, it disappears. It’s just that good!

How to Make Vegetable Soup

Here is a close variation on my grandma’s homemade vegetable soup recipe. I make it with tomatoes fresh from my garden or canned from the last harvest, but grocery-store tomatoes will work just fine, too. You can also use canned peeled and crushed or diced tomatoes.

Fresh herbs like basil, thyme, and the other seasonings are key to this soup’s flavor. You can also add bay leaves. Of course, you can omit the dashes of hot sauce if spiciness doesn’t agree with you. Or you can add some red peppers or red pepper flakes for extra spiciness!

Feel free to improvise and adjust this recipe to your family’s taste and what you have on hand, as my Granny often did. Leftover green beans, carrots, peas, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, kale, and chicken broth all are fair game. Her soup was never exactly the same, but it was always delicious with a savory vegetable broth and tender vegetables.

For more garden-fresh recipes, check out Stacy Lyn’s Harvest Cookbook. From Fried Green Tomatoes to Duck Meatballs and Cinnamon Pear Buns, you’ll find many time-tested southern recipes. I also give my best advice on keeping bees, raising chickens, and so much more. Read what people are saying about Harvest HERE.

Granny’s Garden Vegetable Soup

My granny made the best vegetable soup around. I've never tasted any better. I get pretty close with my recipe. You may be tempted to leave the okra out, but it makes this recipe sing. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Course SoupCuisine American, Southern Servings 8

Ingredients 1x2x3x

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 2 pounds okra sliced 1/4 inch thick rounds
• 8-10 tomatoes peeled and crushed
• 3/4 cup butter beans
• 4 ears corn (1 cup) cut off the cob
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
• 3 dashes hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 lemon for lemon juice
• 1 lb. chuck roast cut into 2-inch cubes (optional)

Instructions

• Briefly sauté onions, celery, and garlic: in a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add celery, onions, and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Add okra, tomatoes, beans, corn, basil, thyme, hot sauce, salt, and pepper to the pot. Squeeze the lemon over soup. Add enough water to just cover the soup.
• Bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce to simmer. Cover and let simmer for 1 hour.
• Serve immediately in bowls with a side of jalapeño cornbread (page 56 of Harvest Cookbook). Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese over the soup if you like. You can store this vegetable soup in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze it in airtight containers. If you are canning your vegetable soup, use the pressure canner method for this recipe.

Notes

Be sure to practice good canning safety when canning meat.  Courtesy of Stacy Lyn Harris If you like this recipe, please give it a star rating to help other cooks find it! Follow me on Instagram and tag #stacylynharris so I can see all the SLH recipes you make. ♥ Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

For more garden-fresh recipes, check out Stacy Lyn’s Harvest Cookbook. From Fried Green Tomatoes to Duck Meatballs and Cinnamon Pear Buns, you’ll find time-tested southern recipes plus my best advice on keeping bees, raising chickens, and so much more. Read what people are saying about Harvest HERE.