Hearty Vegetable Soup

A throw-everything-in-one-pot vegetable soup that builds on pantry ingredients and a single hour of simmering. Canned tomatoes form the broth backbone, while sliced carrots, celery, onion, and green bell pepper deliver the vegetable bulk. Chicken bouillon cubes deepen the broth without the work of stock, and a teaspoon each of sage, lemon juice, and hot sauce keeps it from tasting flat the way pantry soups sometimes do.

The cooking method could not be simpler: dump everything into the pot, bring to a boil to dissolve the bouillon, then cover and simmer for an hour. Stirring occasionally breaks the canned tomatoes into bite-sized pieces as they soften.

This is the soup to make on a sick day, a leftover-cleaning day, or a cold afternoon when the pantry is the only grocery store within reach. Naturally low-calorie and diabetic-friendly with the listed ingredients.

Kitchen Tips

• Use unsalted bouillon and reduced-sodium canned tomatoes to lower the sodium load if needed
• Add the lemon juice at the end of cooking, not the beginning; long simmering dulls citrus brightness
• Stir less often if you want bigger tomato chunks, more often if you want a smoother soup
• Frozen mixed vegetables can sub for the carrot, celery, and pepper in a pinch
• Reheats and freezes well; flavor improves the next day as ingredients mingle

Variations

• Add a half cup of cooked rice, barley, or small pasta in the last 15 minutes for a more filling meal
• Stir in a can of drained white beans or chickpeas for plant-based protein
• Top each bowl with a handful of grated Parmesan and a drizzle of good olive oil