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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 240 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story
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When we started on this journey, we knew we needed to find some good “staple” recipes that we could batch cook on a regular basis. We started our switch to a whole food, plant-based diet by following the “6 Week Plan” from a book called Eat To Live, so we decided to purchase the for recipe ideas.
Brian wanted to try out this “Too-Busy-to-Cook Vegetable Bean Soup” from page 147 of the book. I was reluctant but ended up really loving it! Since then, we have made it one or two times each month. We continued to make adaptations over time as we perfected our “version” of the recipe, which is featured in the video above! We usually have some stored in our freezer at any given time.
Since this recipe is from a cookbook, we aren’t going to share the full recipe with you here. You can watch and follow along with the video. We have changed the recipe quite a bit from it’s original version in the book, so we WILL outline all of the changes we made below! For the basic recipe, I really suggest you purchase the cookbook. It is full of more than 100 recipes to try out and make your own!
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Should You Make A Double Batch?
We like to simplify our lives as much as possible. We also don’t mind eating the same things over and over. When we find a recipe we love, we usually make a double batch the next time (as long as it is something that will freeze well). !
That being said, I would recommend the first time you make any recipe, you make a single batch just in case you don’t like it! If you purchase the cookbook, you can get the basic “single batch” recipe and then just divide the seasonings we use below in half! For your reference, a single batch of the cookbook version of this recipe serves 6 people. The double batch version we made in the video (with even more extra veggies & beans) got us about 14-16 generous portions. Each portion had around 2-3 cups.
Getting Started
The base of this recipe is a combination of corn blended in plant milk and carrot juice! Blending the corn and plant milk is the most “involved” part of the recipe. After that, you just add your seasonings, veggies and beans… then just heat it up and you have a delicious soup!
Brian’s “Super Secret” Seasoning Blend
The original recipe calls for about 2 tablespoons of your favorite no-salt seasoning blend (4 tablespoons if you make a DOUBLE batch like we do). We started out making it that way, but Brian LOVES his spices and likes to experiment with flavors. You don’t need to go out and buy all of these spices to make this – BUT – if you have them on hand, I recommend testing out this combination. Brian has spent a LOT of time perfecting this mix of spices over the past 10 months. 🙂
We recommend you DEFINITELY include the following (*amounts are based on a DOUBLE batch):
– 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
– 1 Tbsp Onion Powder OR Dry Minced Onion (we use 1/2 Tbsp of each)
– 1/2 Tbsp Cumin
– 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (or less if you don’t want it too spicy!)
You can also include any or all of these OPTIONAL (but really tasty) seasonings (*amounts are based on a DOUBLE batch):
– 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
– 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
– 1/2 tsp Turmeric
– 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
– Dash of Nutmeg
You can also add salt + pepper to taste. If we add salt, we usually add just a bit to the top of our food when serving. This way you can taste it more and use way less of it! Plus, Brian & I have very different tastes, so we can each make it exactly how we like.
Jessica’s Favorite Frozen Veggies
You can change up the frozen veggies in this soup. It is pretty forgiving and you don’t really need an “exact” amount. The original recipe calls for around 11 cups of frozen veggies, but we found over time it was easier to just add full bags. The double batch we made in the video included 2 bags of frozen corn, plus 7 other bags of frozen veggies. So if you are making a single batch, I would recommend using the corn and kale for sure, plus about 2 other bags of veggies.
Here are the frozen veggies we like to add (though we do change this up quite a bit):
– Corn (16 oz bag)
– Bell Peppers Strips (16 oz bag)
– Broccoli (12 oz bag)
– Cauliflower (2 x 16 oz bags)
– California Medley [Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots] (12 oz bag)
– Mediterranean Blend [Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Carrots, Green Beans, Red Peppers, Onions] (16 oz bag)
– Chopped Kale (16 oz bag)
We also usually throw in an 8-12oz box of sliced fresh mushrooms, but this is totally optional!
Don’t Forget The Beans (Like We Almost Did In The Video)
Beans help pack this recipe with protein and keep you full way longer! When we first started out, for a double batch we would use about 4 cans of no-salt-added beans (see below for a link to the ones we like). Then we bought an Instant Pot and decided to try out dry beans in this recipe. We found that 16oz total of DRY beans (weigh them when dry) was a comparable amount to the 4 cans we used for the double batch. For dry beans, we usually use half Kidney Beans and half Great Northern Beans (links below).
To recap:
– If using CANNED beans, you need 2 cans for a single batch or 4 cans for a double batch. We prefer the NO SALT ADDED canned beans from Whole Foods.
– If using DRY beans, you need 8oz (when dry) for a single batch or 16oz for a double batch. **You will want to cook these BEFORE putting them into the pot.** We cook the Kidney / Great Northern bean combo in our Instant Pot on HIGH pressure for 41 minutes and let the steam vent naturally (it will take a couple hours altogether). We usually do this a day or so in advance and store in the refrigerator so they are ready to go!
What Do I Do With All This “Weird Green Soup?”
We have dubbed this our “Weird Green Soup.” We eat it at work a lot and I get a lot of questions from my co-workers when they see it or smell it. Because of Brian’s Secret Seasoning Blend, it smells super delicious! But when I show it to people, I know they must think… “oh, that looks strange!” You just have to trust us on this one – it tastes way better than it looks!
If you decide to make a double batch, we recommend portioning out what you need for the current week’s meals and storing those in your refrigerator for up to 4 days. Then, take the rest and put it in a giant freezer safe container or two (see below for links to the Pyrex bowls we use). Just make sure you leave enough room for it to expand a bit as it freezes. You can store in your freezer for several months if needed. Just take it out and let it sit on the counter for a bit to thaw, or microwave a few minutes at a time if you are impatient like me! 🙂
Let us know below if you try out this recipe!
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Eat to Live Quick and Easy Cookbook
Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series Smart Blender
Cooks Standard Quart Classic Stainless Steel Stockpot with Lid, 12-QT
Pyrex Smart Essentials 8-Piece Mixing Bowl Set
IPOW Set of 3 Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer, Colander Sieve Sifters
