After over a week of being sick here, I really wanted ramen today. You know: Real, spicy, noodle-filled, veggie-packed ramen, not the quarter-a-packet stuff. Alas, I didn’t have the right ingredients to make it (the lack of ramen noodles was kind of a serious stumbling block, just for starters). I did, however, have the ingredients to make a pot of vegetable soup, which I tend to like on the spicier side anyway — and I also had some leftover green onions and cooked rice in the fridge from the Korean style ground beef & spinach rice bowls I made the other day.
Looking at all of these things, I thought: What if I just tried to mash up a little of that ramen broth flavor I’ve been craving with a more traditional vegetable soup recipe? From these strange thoughts, Kicked Up Rainbow Vegetable Soup was born.
If you liked it then you should’ve put an egg on it
Lacking noodles, I served my kicked up rainbow vegetable soup over that leftover cooked rice — and don’t skip the egg; it provides a nice balance in both flavor and texture and adds a welcome pop of protein to your meal. (I know that it looks like a weird combination with the more traditional vegetable soup veggies, but it goes really nicely with the flavors in the broth.)
A note on carrots
I also wanted to incorporate these pretty rainbow carrots that I impulse-bought at ALDI this week, but you could use any old carrots if you lack the rainbow variety. 🙂
Give this kicked up rainbow vegetable soup a try on your next Meatless Monday — or really any day you’re craving a big old bowl of spicy, veggie-packed comfort food. And, if you’re looking for other vegetarian dinner recipes, take a few minutes to browse through the Meatless Monday category for more ideas.
Kicked Up Rainbow Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
– for the soup
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional, but recommended)
1/2 a medium yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1.5 Tbsp minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
12 oz chopped rainbow carrots (about 2 cups; use regular if you don’t have rainbow)
1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
32 oz vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (mine were petite diced with garlic & olive oil)
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp Sriracha (if you’re sensitive to spice, start out with 1/2 Tbsp and adjust to taste)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
– for the serving
2 cups cooked rice
Six eggs, poached
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Directions
Start rice cooking, if not using leftover cooked rice.
Heat olive and sesame oils over medium heat in Dutch oven or soup pot until shimmering, then add carrots and saute for 15 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add onion, garlic and celery and saute for another ten minutes, adding a little more olive oil if necessary.
Add mushrooms and green beans and saute for another three minutes or until green beans turn bright green, then stir in all other ingredients up to (but not including) rice and bring soup to a boil.
Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes until veggies are tender and flavors have blended. When soup is almost done, poach your eggs and chop your green onions.
To serve, add 1/3 cup cooked rice to the bottom of each bowl and ladle the vegetable soup on top. Top each bowl with a poached egg (see note) and garnish with chopped green onions. Add more Sriracha to taste, if desired.
Note: Since I initially made this soup for lunch and just wanted a poached egg for one at this point, I quick poached mine in the microwave (in my higher powered microwave it takes exactly 47 seconds). If you’re poaching all the eggs at once, here are easy instructions for how to poach an egg. You’ll want to cook the eggs right before serving the soup.
So much flavor!
Kicked up rainbow vegetable soup is not ramen by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s spicy, savory, and good — and it hit the spot with just enough of that spicy-savory ramen-type flavor I was craving. Try it for a different twist on your usual vegetable soup recipe. (This vegetarian soup recipe can also easily be made gluten free, if you use GF soy sauce.)
Kicked Up Rainbow Vegetable Soup, printable recipe
Kicked Up Rainbow Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- for the soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional, but recommended)
- 1/2 a medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1.5 Tbsp minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
- 12 oz chopped rainbow carrots (about 2 cups; use regular if you don't have rainbow)
- 1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
- 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (mine were petite diced with garlic & olive oil)
- Sea salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 Tbsp Sriracha (if you're sensitive to spice, start out with 1/2 Tbsp and adjust to taste)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- for the serving
- 2 cups cooked rice
- Six eggs, poached
- Chopped green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Start rice cooking, if not using leftover cooked rice.
- Heat olive and sesame oils over medium heat in Dutch oven or soup pot until shimmering, then add carrots and saute for 15 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add onion, garlic and celery and saute for another ten minutes, adding a little more olive oil if necessary.
- Add mushrooms and green beans and saute for another three minutes or until green beans turn bright green, then stir in all other ingredients up to (but not including) rice and bring soup to a boil.
- Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes until veggies are tender and flavors have blended. When soup is almost done, poach your eggs and chop your green onions.
- To serve, add 1/3 cup cooked rice to the bottom of each bowl and ladle the vegetable soup on top. Top each bowl with a poached egg (see note) and garnish with chopped green onions. Add more Sriracha to taste, if desired.
Notes
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