Vegetable Stone Soup

This healthy, delicious, plant-based (vegan) soup—which is really a meal-in-one—is inspired by the story of Stone Soup, which I told my own children when they were younger. The classic 1947 French tale Stone Soup by Marcia Brown tells the story of three hungry soldiers visiting a village in search of food. When the soldiers were denied food by the villagers, they set about making a large pot of soup with three stones and water. The soldiers wondered if the soup might not be better with a few carrots. Hence, the villagers returned with an apron full of carrots. And what about, say, some cabbage…potatoes…barley? The villagers contributed step by step, eventually turning that pot of stones into a wonderful meal, along with bread and cider, for the whole village.

I love that story, as it highlights how a few rustic ingredients from the garden can nourish the mind, body and soul. After all, is there anything quite as good as a hearty, vegetable-based soup? Pair this Vegetable Stone Soup with a salad and some whole grain bread, and you have a satisfying meal packed with disease-protective nutrients.

This vegetable soup, filled with summer produce, lentils, barley, and herbs, is inspired by the classic Stone Soup recipe. Topped with home-made whole grain croutons and fresh herbs, it can be the centerpiece of your meal. Cook it up in a slow-cooker to make it even easier.

I made this recipe in my own kitchen during my Instagram Live Sustainability Series on cutting food waste here. Making soup is a great way to use up all of that produce at the end of the week and avoiding food waste.

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Sharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian talks about how you can trim food waste.

A post shared by Sharon Palmer | Dietitian (@sharonpalmerrd) on Jun 18, 2020 at 10:27pm PDT

Vegetable Stone Soup

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(10 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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4.5 from 10 reviews

• Author: The Plant-Powered Dietitian
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

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Description

This vegetable soup, filled with produce staples, lentils, barley, and herbs, is inspired by the classic Stone Soup recipe which is all about making something of nothing.

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Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, with liquid, reduced sodium
• 2 cubes vegetable bullion, reduced sodium
• ½ cup green lentils, uncooked
• ½ cup barley, uncooked
• 1 medium onion (red, yellow, or white)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced (purple, yellow, or orange)
• 2 small summer squash (i.e., zucchini, scalloped, yellow crookneck), sliced
• 4 small, thin-skinned potatoes, diced (i.e., Yukon gold or red potatoes)
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried mustard
• 6 slices whole grain bread
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ cup chopped fresh herbs (i.e., sage, parsley, basil, oregano, chives, marjoram)
• Sea salt (optional)

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Instructions

1. In a large pot, add water, tomatoes, and vegetable bouillon and stir together.
2. Add lentils, barley, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, squash, potatoes, mushrooms, black pepper, paprika, thyme, oregano, and mustard. Stir well and cover with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium and cook for about 1 hour, until barley and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Replace any water lost to evaporation (should make a thick, hearty texture).
3. Toast whole grain bread in the oven or toaster until brown and very crisp. Slice into small cubes.
4. Add lemon juice and fresh herbs to the soup, and season with a small amount of salt (if desired).
5. Ladle hot soup into soup bowls and garnish with whole grain croutons (1/2 slice of toast per serving). Refrigerate leftover soup and reheat as desired (add croutons just before serving to maintain crisp texture).

Notes

To make this recipe in a slow cooker, add all ingredients in steps 1-2 to the slow cooker, stir well, cover, and set to high for 4 hours. When done, follow step 3 as directed, add ingredients in step 4 to slow cooker, and serve soup as directed in step 5.

Instant Pot Directions: Steps 1-2 should be done in the Instant Pot by adding all of these ingredients and pressing the “Chili/Bean” setting. Follow steps 3-5 above.

To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute a gluten-free grain for barley (i.e., quinoa, brown rice, or sorghum), and use gluten-free bread.

• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup
• Calories: 155
• Sugar: 4 g
• Sodium: 197 mg
• Fat: 1 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 33 g
• Fiber: 6 g
• Protein: 6 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: vegetable soup, stone soup, vegan soup

For other delicious, plant-based soup recipes, check out some of my favorites:

French Wild Rice Vegetable Soup
Tortilla Soup
Instant Pot Vegetable Barley Soup

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