This soup is another one of our family favorites that we've been making for years. It's not real pretty but it's so delicious! It is nice and thick and full of great flavors. I've made so many different variations of this recipe but the simple base is really just good on its own. I like this soup as an alternative to chili because the tomato juice and spices are hard on my stomach. Sometimes I will make this with some ground turkey or turkey sausage in it and crumbled cornbread on top. Yum!

This is an easy vegetarian/vegan recipe, hello "meatless Monday". The beans are a great source of iron, fiber, protein and potassium. It is also a very cheap recipe if you are looking to make your grocery budget go farther. You can easily make a larger batch of this soup for a crowd by using 1 cup of liquid per can of beans. Also feel free to use a little water in place of the stock to reduce sodium. Lots of options, people.

Ingredients:

1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4-1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
1 t minced garlic
24 ounces vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you prefer)
3 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.
Add diced carrots and cook for about 3 minutes to soften. Add onion and celery and cook another 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Add broth and beans to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.
With a potato masher, mash a good amount of the beans to thicken soup. Alternatively you could blend part of the soup in a blender and return to pot.
Serve with cracked pepper on top. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this soup and can add it in to your easy weeknight routine. There are definitely lots of options if you want to jazz it up a bit like adding meat, some different spices or throwing your cornbread right on top.

Feel free to comment if you have a different variation that you love or with your go-to weeknight soup.

Lin