Home » Blog » Recipes » » How to Make Soup from Scratch in 15 Minutes Without a Recipe
Updated: | 9 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. Click here for our full disclosure.
I pin the deliciously fancy and complicated soup recipes with weird ingredients and high hopes for the future, but there they remain, in digital lockdown. Sometimes you just need something a little more simple, amen? Since I don’t do chicken fingers and fries from the frozen food aisle anymore, I was grateful to put this little concoction together one day.
Simple + nourishing + quick = perfection for those seasons or days where everything seems to be in chaotic disarray around you. Don’t we all just need a little break every now and then? A homemade – from scratch, nonetheless – soup that simmers on the stove, wafting a warm aroma over to your busy little nose is a beautiful and merciful thing.
I was recently in one of those nutty seasons (okay, who am I kidding – we’re knee-deep in Crazy Town days around here) and whipped up this soup for lunch one day.
I was craving a homemade turkey stew, but didn’t feel I had the time or energy that day to stand in the kitchen for an hour, chopping and dicing and so forth.
Then… it occurred to me: I have my homemade bone broth, frozen in the most convenient possible way, and could probably have soup ready in just a few minutes.
I’m actually recovering right now from a severe case of antibiotic-resistant strep throat, and I am certain that this “recipe” will be going on my menu plan for next week! Perfect timing.
I got out my broth and threw it in a pot with some water and turned on the burner. Throw in half a cup of lentils and half a cup of rice, get them to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Toss in some dried herbs. I used dried onion flakes, summer savory, and marjoram. And of course some good sea salt – homemade bone broth is very bland until you add enough salt. Add veggies of your choice – I tossed in some frozen veggie bean/carrot mix.
Wait until rice and lentils are cooked – maybe 10-12 minutes. The frozen veg will be cooked, the seasonings will have mixed and mingled, and the whole thing will fill your belly with warmth.
Boom. Done. Faster than ordering a pizza – can’t beat that! When I used my homemade broth and intentionally skipped the ingredients that required lots of prep – chopping and dicing and peeling and such – the whole process was ridiculously fast!
Even though this is like a total duh and you probably were all already cooking up your little 10-minute soups every day for lunch, I’m calling it a win.
Any little trick that fills my diet with better real food without taking forevvvvvver to make is worthy of a happy dance.
Have you ever made soup from scratch in 15 minutes or less?
About Beth
Beth is the creator here at . Mom of four, wife of one, and proud redhead. Sushi and tex-mex lover, fan of adventure, books, natural health talk, and pyjamas. INFP and Type 4 enneagram. Allergic to small talk. And, if you haven't figured it out already, #nerd. Read more posts by Beth.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THESE POSTS
DIY Mosquito Repellent with Essential OilsQuick Healthy Meals Ultimate Guide (101 Tips, Recipes, and Strategies)Cheesy Chili Lentils (30 Minute Meal)How to Start a Compost Pile in Your Backyard (For Nutrient-Dense Soil)Easy 30-Minute Upcycled Baby Sweater Pants (By Hand or Machine)Ten-Minute Homemade Strawberry Jam (Honey-Sweetened) in the Instant Pot
Reader Interactions
9 Comments
SIOBHAN
I make “leftover soup”. I freze small amounts of leftovers (veggies, rice, pasta, chunked meat etc) and when my leftover container is full, I add it all to some stock and voila, instant soup! It’s alway differnt, so it enever gets old!
to SIOBHAN" aria-label='reply to this comment to SIOBHAN'>reply to this comment
Chewing Crayons And Delaware
I love soup. My kids will even eat it! (Yay!)
I’ve never tried adding lentils and I think it’s a brilliant idea. I keep homemade stock in my freezer for times when I want an easier soup. I like the idea of keeping some frozen veg on hand for an even quicker meal.
to Chewing Crayons And Delaware" aria-label='reply to this comment to Chewing Crayons And Delaware'>reply to this comment
I agree with you….soup doesn’t have to be difficult. I usually focus on 5 ingredients. And frozen veggies speed up the process. I would just add to make sure you rinse the lentils and the rice before you throw them in the pot.
to Anna" aria-label='reply to this comment to Anna'>reply to this comment
Red & Honey
Glad to hear from another fan of quick and easy soup!
It may sound a bit strange and unusual for some, but vinegar is a common ingredient in some soup recipes, and there is a good reason for it. If you think about it, vinegar is really a flavor-enhancer (umami). That's why it is so often used in cooking, sauces, and salad dressings. The same is true with soups.
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.
You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.
Herbs and spices add aroma, flavor, and intensity to soup broth. "Use fresh or dried basil in tomato-based recipes or fresh parsley to add freshness to clear broth soups," says Sofia Norton, RD. You can also go with more heat and spices.
For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.
Water. This simple swap should suffice in most recipes that call for broth. To give H2O more depth, you may want to compensate by adding more spices like salt, pepper and bay leaves to your recipe and a tablespoon or two of olive oil to mimic the richness of broth.
Dark greens (spinach, kale, etc) can make a stock bitter and of course greenish in color. Cabbage also can impart a overwhelming bitterness. Potatoes can cloud a stock from their starchiness, so they are not good when you want clear stock for something like a soup or consomme.
The simple answer is yes, it's usually okay to substitute vegetable stock with water. In most recipes that call for vegetable stock, its main advantage over water is that it provides flavor, which is especially important if you're making vegetarian or vegan food that's missing the richness from meat.
To season it, we recommend starting with our Vegetable Soup Mix. It contains celery salt, parsley flakes, garlic powder, sea salt, summer savory, marjoram, thyme, black pepper, turmeric and sage, which are all excellent with root vegetables, so you can incorporate things like carrots or potatoes into the soup.
To make a good soup, you have to build flavours as you go. Vegetables like onion, garlic, celery and carrots — referred to as "aromatics" — are part of most soup recipes for this very reason, sautéed in oil or butter as a first step of flavour-making.
For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.
Adding an acidic component (foods we'd consider to be sour) almost always enhances the flavors of a dish. A splash of vinegar or squeeze of lemon adds a brightness to foods that often doesn't occur on its own.
It accentuates the taste and adds the right kind of tanginess to it. If you don't have white vinegar, you can easily substitute it with apple cider vinegar. It is safe to use and can be added to any kind of dish.
Hobby: Gunsmithing, Embroidery, Parkour, Kitesurfing, Rock climbing, Sand art, Beekeeping
Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.