Recipe: Detox Vegetable Soup [Simple and Easy]

If you are trying to eat clean, this delicious, low-fat detox soup is the perfect recipe for you! Plus, it’s really a beautiful soup due to all the colorful vegetables.

The vitamin-rich, fiber-filled, low-sugar detox vegetable soup recipe is vegetarian, but if you’re looking for additional protein, you can easily add a can of garbanzo beans or cooked ground turkey. This rich and flavorful detox soup is a great way to naturally detoxify the body, so make a big batch and eat healthy all week!

What Does a Detox Soup Do?

At Get Healthy U, we’re not big on “detox diets” in the way of companies selling cleanses that promise a six-pack using pills and potions. Instead, we believe in aiding the body’s already existing detoxification processes naturally. Making healthy soup like this detox vegetable soup is a great way to do that.

The liver, kidney and colon function as elimination organs and when functioning properly, naturally rid the body of toxins and waste. Eating real food and eliminating processed foods is going to be the best way to ensure that they can carry out their functions most efficiently.

We love this vegetable soup because it contains eight different vegetables – that’s a lot of nutrition in one meal. This veggie soup packs a major health punch and gives your body exactly what it needs to naturally detoxify.

What is the Best Soup For Weight Loss?

Soup can also be a great choice for weight loss. You just need to know what to load it up with.

For a weight loss soup, you’re going to want to steer clear of higher-calorie ingredients like heavy cream, cheese, and sausage for example.

Instead, look for a healthy base like vegetable broth or chicken stock, load up on the veggies (who has ever gained weight from eating too many veggies?!), and give it some added flavor boost through fresh and/or dried herbs. All of these ingredients are not only helpful aids for weight loss, but are super healthy and delicious.

What To Put In Detox Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soups are incredibly easy to customize which makes it a wonderful recipe to make with whatever you have on hand. However, there are a few staple ingredients that you’ll be sure you’ll want to use.

Vegetables

The secret to detox soup is loads of vegetables. I always make this recipe with carrots, celery, and onion. This is called a “mirepoix” and it’s often the base to many soups, stews and casseroles. This will give you lots of delicious flavor and nutrition.

Add in another favorite veggie or two (or three!) – cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, or green beans are what I typically use but feel free to use peppers, mushrooms, peas or leeks too!

You can also add detoxifying greens. I like to use cabbage but spinach or swiss chard are delicious options as well.

Meat

If you would like to add an animal protein, you certainly can. Ground chicken or turkey are great additions that are low in fat. Otherwise, you can keep this soup vegetarian.

Beans

If you want to keep your soup vegetarian but still up your proteins try adding canned beans or lentils. We love cannellini beans or another white bean in this detox vegetable soup, but yet again, you are free to use what you have on hand.

Herbs

Herbs are a great ingredient to bring extra flavor to your recipe. There are many herb combinations so you can’t really go wrong. These are the most common herbs used in vegetable soups. Pick 2-3 and you should be good!

• parsley
• bay leaves
• thyme
• oregano
• rosemary
• red pepper flakes
• ginger
• turmeric
• sea salt and black pepper

Broth

For any vegetable soup, you’ll need to use a liquid most often in the form of broth. Homemade broth is wonderful but you can also buy storebought. Feel free to use bone broth, chicken broth, or vegetable broth instead based on your preferences.

To change things up a bit, you can also use a can of crushed tomatoes as a substitute for a portion of your broth.

Carbohydrates

Similar to the meat, adding a carbohydrate is optional. This can be a low carb soup, or if you’re looking for a more hearty soup, add in pasta, potatoes, or gnocchi. Just note that these additions are going to up your calories and overall carbs for the dish.

How To Make Detox Vegetable Soup

You will love how easy to make this vegetable soup is. To start, we love to use an enamel-coated cast iron dutch oven. It’s the perfect vessel for a big batch of vegetable soup, however, you can use whatever large pot you have.

If you’re using meat, I like to cook this first using your favorite cooking method. We recommend using a healthy oil like olive oil. You can then set it aside and saute your vegetables. Start with your firmer vegetables and let them cook until tender. If you’re using softer vegetables like mushrooms, wait to add those in until the other vegetables have had time to soften.

If you’d like a thicker soup, add flour to your base once the vegetables have softened. You can find gluten free options for flour if necessary. Allow the flour to cook 1-2 minutes before proceeding. Another option is to create a roux or add gelatin to your detox soup as it simmers.

Next, you’ll add in your chicken broth (or other broth you prefer), any canned diced tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. You can also add the meat back in at this point.

If you’re adding carbohydrates such as pasta, you can either choose to cook this in advance at which point, you’ll add at the end, otherwise, you’ll add your dry carbohydrates in at this point to let them cook in the broth.

Allow to simmer for as long as possible – at least 20 minutes, but the key to any good soup is giving the flavors time to come together.

How To Freeze Vegetable Soup

Soups are a great option to freeze! There are just a few things to note. If you’re planning to freeze your detox soup, skip the carbohydrates. Pasta and potatoes tend to turn to mush when re-heating after being frozen.

It’s also a good idea to leave out any dairy when you’re freezing soup, which is why this detox vegetable soup, which doesn’t include any dairy, is a great option to freeze.

Also, be sure to cool your soup before putting it in the freezer to avoid uneven freezing and ice crystals.

Use your frozen soup within 3-6 months for best quality.

How To Cook Vegetable Soup In the Crockpot

This recipe can also be made in the crockpot. Toss everything into the pot and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.

If you’re using meat in your soup, saute it in a pan before adding into the pot or slow cooker.

How To Cook Vegetable Soup In the Instant Pot

If you thought a slow cooker was convenient, wait until you try it in an instant pot. This detox vegetable soup can also be made with an instant pot in less than an hour.

Here’s how we recommend you make this soup in the instant pot. First, we recommend you make your meat or protein first so it’s ready to go.

1. Start by heating olive oil in saute mode then add onion until soft.
2. Turn off instant pot saute setting and add seasonings, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.
3. Cook for 1 minute longer as the heat dissipates.
4. Add your broth to the pot, stirring as you add.
5. Add your preferred vegetables and stir, being mindful that they’ll cook fast in the instant pot.
6. Put the instant pot lid on, seal, and set to cook for 2 minutes. The manual or pressure cook settings work for this.
7. The instant pot will pressurize for about 15 minutes and then start counting down.
8. When the instant pot time is up, allow the pressure to release for about 10 minutes.
9. Stir in any greens like spinach, check the flavor, add a bit of salt and pepper and olive oil to taste and your detox soup should be ready!

Try Our Other Healthy Soup Recipes

• Low-Calorie Southwestern Chicken Soup
• Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
• Tuscan Tomato Soup
• Way Too Easy Black Bean Soup
• Split Pea Soup
•  Lentil Ham Soup with Vegetables