Vegetable Noodle Soup

5 from 2 votes

With just a handful of simple ingredients, you can make this cozy Vegetable Noodle Soup to share with the kids in under 30 minutes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 283kcal

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
½ cup minced onion (about 1 small onion peeled and ends discarded)
½ cup minced celery (about 1 stalk, ends discarded)
½ cup minced carrot (about 1 carrot, ends discarded)
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup minced zucchini (from about 1 small)
2 quarts reduced-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 cup thin noodles or small pasta
½ cup frozen petite peas
Parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, fresh lemon zest, or fresh herbs (optional to taste)

Add the olive oil to a medium pot over medium heat. When warm, add the garlic, onion, celery, and carrot. Stir to coat and cook for 6 minutes, or until just starting to soften.
Add 1 quart of the broth and raise the heat to high. When the broth starts to boil, turn down the heat to medium so it simmers.
Add the zucchini and pasta. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the peas. Add any of the optional flavorings as you like.
As the soup sits, the noodles will continue to absorb more of the broth. Add additional broth as you like to make it more or less brothy. (And save the broth to add for when you reheat leftovers.)
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Warm in a small pot or in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave, adding more broth if desired.
Use my Vegetable Broth to make this vegetarian.
Make this easier by starting with pre-cut mirepoix from the produce aisle of your supermarket. Or make homemade mirepoix and stash it in the freezer.
Simmer Parmesan rind in the broth for extra flavor.
Gluten-free: Make the soup as directed and cook the gluten-free pasta separately according to package directions. Add to the soup. Or, you can add fully cooked rice.