Alphabet soup is a fun and easy way to get more vegetables onto your kids’ plates! This soup is so quick and easy to make using a bag of frozen vegetables and some pantry staples, that you won’t mind making it for them all the time.
A delicious and hearty vegetable soup with tiny alphabet noodles is both easy to make and super fun to eat! Your kids will love homemade Alphabet Soup, and I bet you’ll enjoy the nostalgic meal too.
Maybe you’re wondering why we’re making alphabet soup from scratch when it’s readily available in a can from the grocery store? We’re making alphabet soup because homemade soup is always better than the canned stuff, in more ways than one!
This healthy soup recipe is vegetarian and vegan! For more vegetarian soup recipes, you should try my 15 Bean Soup, Roasted Carrot Soup or Broccoli Cheddar Soup (it’s better than Panera’s!).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A Healthy Option: Homemade alphabet soup is made with real ingredients and made from scratch in your own kitchen, without any preservatives or added artificial ingredients. You can feel good about serving this soup to your family.
- Easy to Make: Vegetable alphabet soup takes less than 20 minutes to make! All you need to do is saute some of the vegetables, then add in the rest of the ingredients and cook for a bit on the stove. So simple!
- Convenient Ingredients: Frozen mixed vegetables and canned tomatoes are easy to find and store. You can have everything you need to make this veggie packed soup any time you like.
- Kid Friendly: Adding letters into the soup makes it a fun and veggie-packed meal to serve to kids! ABC soup can be a delicious lunch and a learning opportunity at the same time.
Key Ingredients
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Onion, Celery, and Garlic: These aromatic vegetables create the base flavor for our soup.
- Diced Tomatoes: One standard can of tomatoes is the perfect amount for this recipe. Don’t drain them, as we want the juice from the tomatoes for the broth.
- Tomato Paste: This concentrated tomato product adds a ton of extra flavor to alphabet soup.
- Vegetable Stock: I make my own homemade vegetable stock and keep it in the freezer for soup making. You can use canned or boxed stock as well. If you aren’t concerned about making this recipe vegetarian, beef broth can be used instead.
- Frozen Mixed Vegetables: Typically, this mix includes carrots, peas, green beans and corn.
- Potatoes: You’ll need one large potato diced into ¾ inch pieces. Feel free to leave this out if you want, but I like that it makes this vegetable soup nice and hearty.
- Alphabet Pasta: This is the key ingredient to making alphabet soup! If you like, you can also make this soup using any other small soup pasta.
- Italian Seasoning, bay leaves, salt and pepper: This soup is perfectly seasoned with these dry spices. If you have some fresh herbs on hand, feel free to use those instead.
How to Make Homemade Alphabet Soup
- Sauté Vegetables: In a dutch oven, over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and sauté the onion and celery until soft and translucent. Then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
Tip!
Garlic only needs to sauté for 30 seconds. Make sure not to let it burn!
- Add Ingredients: Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and vegetable stock. Stir, then add in the frozen vegetables, potatoes, and bay leaves. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Simmer with Pasta: Add the pasta, and cook according to the package directions (usually about 7-8 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, tasting to be sure that the seasonings are adjusted to your preference.
- Serve: Discard the bay leaves, and serve alphabet soup with grated parmesan and crusty bread. Use a non-dairy cheese, or nutritional yeast to keep this recipe vegan-friendly.
Tip!
Simmer the vegetables for a few extra minutes if you want them to be soft. The timing in this recipe gives you crisp-tender veggies.
Recipe Tips
- Use Fresh Veggies if you Like: Frozen vegetables make this recipe super easy, but if you have fresh vegetables you’d like to use, you can certainly use them instead.
- Add Meat: If you want to add protein to your soup, try adding cooked chicken or ground beef. You can also add kidney beans to keep this recipe vegan.
- This is a Chunky-style Soup: Add more liquid if you want to thin it out.
- Leftovers are Yummy, but keep in mind that the pasta will absorb the broth as the soup sits in the fridge. Add a bit more broth when reheating.
- Can’t Find Alphabet Noodles? See below for some shopping tips, but you can use any small pasta such as acini de pepe or ditalini.
What to Serve With Alphabet Soup
Bread: A Soup like this one needs a side of bread, and if you can make it homemade that’s even better! My Olive Garden Breadsticks are delicious with soup, or you can make bread in your breadmaker.
Sandwiches: Soup and Sandwich is a classic combination that makes for a filling meal. Kids will love Cucumber Sandwiches, Peanut butter and Jelly or Banana Fluffernutter sandwiches.
Where to Buy Alphabet Noodles
If you’re really lucky, you may have a store near you that carries ABC pasta. For most, it won’t be that easy though, as it’s kind of a specialty item. If you have a Mexican grocery store nearby, you can sometimes find alphabet pasta there, or in the Mexican food section of the grocery store. Luckily, we have the internet, and alphabet pasta is available on Amazon!
More Kid Approved Meals to Make for Dinner
FAQs
I’d suggest using another small soup pasta, such as orzo, pastina, or rings in place of the alphabet noodles.
Your leftover soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. You can also freeze portions of this soup in an airtight container for up to 2 months. The pasta will be softer after freezing.
It doesn’t appear that you can buy the Alphabet vegetable soup that we ate as kids anymore, so if you’re craving it, you’re probably glad you found this easy recipe! There is a Tomato A to Z’s soup available now, but it’s not the same.
I hope this recipe gets your kiddos excited about eating their vegetables! I have a feeling that they are going to love it, so be sure to pin this recipe and make it soon.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Alphabet Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 rib celery diced (about ½ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 x 15 ounce can diced tomatoes do not drain
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 4 cups mixed frozen vegetables
- 1 large potato diced into ¾ inch pieces (about 1-1.5 cups), optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup alphabet pasta dry
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a dutch oven, over medium high heat heat olive oil and sauté the onion and celery until the onion is soft and translucent. About 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add a can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and vegetable stock. Give everything a stir.
- Add the frozen vegetables, diced potato if using, bay leaves and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the pasta, and cook according to the package instructions (small pasta usually takes 7-8 minutes but larger shapes take longer so be sure to check the package). Season with salt and pepper. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
- Discard the bay leaves, and serve with grated parmesan (or grated hard cheese if vegetarian, or vegan parmesan), and crusty bread.
Notes:
- Keep it Vegan: Use a non-dairy cheese, or nutritional yeast.
- Use Fresh Veggies if you Like: Frozen vegetables make this recipe super easy, but if you have fresh vegetables you’d like to use, you can certainly use them instead.
- Add Meat: If you want to add protein to your soup, try adding cooked chicken or ground beef. You can also add kidney beans to keep this recipe vegan.
- This is a Chunky-style Soup: Add more liquid if you want to thin it out.
- Leftovers are Yummy, but keep in mind that the pasta will absorb the broth as the soup sits in the fridge. Add a bit more broth when reheating.
- Storing: Your leftover soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. You can also freeze portions of this soup in an airtight container for up to 2 months. The pasta will be softer after freezing.
- Alphabet pasta can be substituted with any small pasta such as acini de pepe or ditalini.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Julia says
One of my kids favorite soups!!! I always add chicken into mine and a little heavy whipping cream. I do find it difficult to find alphabet pasta, when I do, I stock up! Where do you usually get yours?
Journa Liz Ramirez says
I had fun with this alphabet soup! It is flavorful and rich. Excited to have this again. Thanks Diana for this wonderful recipe!
Allyssa says
This is a great recipe! It turned out really delicious and very easy to follow! Thanks a bunch for sharing this amazing alphabet soup! Loved it!