Are you looking for a quick and nutritious meal? Try this delicious alphabet soup recipe packed with vegetables and protein. Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner or a light lunch option!
Nostalgic Alphabet Soup
This homemade Alphabet Soup combines fresh vegetables, Italian seasoning, tomatoes, and alphabet noodles into a flavor-filled, fun soup. So much better, healthier, and more flavorful than the canned version of this soup. Fix it today for your kids or grandkids and reminisce for a little while. Serve with garlic cheese bread, pigs in a blanket, Italian beef sandwiches, or garlic knots.
Ingredients for Alphabet Soup
- Vegetables – onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, garlic, corn, fire-roasted tomatoes and peas
- Seasoning – Italian seasoning, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, fresh parsley
- Broth – low sodium beef broth, chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- Pasta – alphabet pasta (order from Amazon or Walmart)
How to make Alphabet Soup
First, heat a little olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch Oven or soup pot. Then, add the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Cook until the onions and celery are soft. Now reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and Italian seasoning, cooking for 1 minute while stirring. Stir in the corn, fire-roasted tomatoes, and low-sodium beef broth and bring it to a low boil.
Then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the veggies are almost tender, or about 15 minutes. Add the alphabet pasta and frozen peas. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the alphabet pasta is tender.
Helpful tips
- Chicken broth or vegetable broth can be substituted for the beef broth.
- Do not overcook the pasta. If anything slightly undercook it, as the pasta will continue to cook in the warm soup.
- Other vegetables to consider adding are green beans, lima beans, spinach, kale, or zucchini.
- Add browned ground beef, browned ground Italian sausage, cooked chicken, or smoked sausage like Kielbasa for more protein. Rotisserie chicken is an excellent choice because it is always tasty and available at almost any grocery store.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. See notes below about leftover soup.
- This soup can be frozen for up to 3 months in a heavy-duty freezer zipper bag or sturdy freezer container. See the notes below about freezing this soup.
Where Can I Find Alphabet Pasta?
Alphabet pasta can be difficult to find at the grocery store, so plan ahead and order online from Amazon or Walmart. If all else fails, substitute orzo or ditalini pasta.
Storing leftover Alphabet Soup
Almost everyone has leftover soup! After all, it is a big pot. If you know, you will save some of this soup in the refrigerator for a few days from now, or if you know, you will freeze some of it. Pull the amount of soup you will refrigerate or freeze before adding the pasta and the peas. When you go to reheat the soup, bring it to a boil, then quickly reduce it to a simmer. Then add the pasta and the peas. This will keep the pasta and the peas from becoming mushy.
On the other hand, if you forget to remove the soup you will save from the pot before adding the pasta and the peas, then reheat slowly on the stovetop or at a reduced power in the microwave.
How to Freeze Soup
- Cool the soup thoroughly. If a quick cool down is needed (like for soup with pasta), then submerge the pot in a sink filled with ice water.
- Ladle the soup into zipper freezer bags. Please do not fill the bags all the way up because soup expands as it freezes. On the flip side, squeeze as much air out as possible so it does not get freezer-burnt.
- Mark the date and contents and freeze flat on a baking sheet. This flat-freezing method will help with freezer storage organization.
- Thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power or on the stovetop on low, keeping the soup contents in mind.
More tasty soups to try
Homemade Alphabet Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 1 large Yukon potato peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ cups fresh frozen or canned corn (drained)
- 1 15 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 6 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2/3 cup alphabet pasta
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh Italian Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch Oven. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Cook until the onions and celery are soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and Italian seasoning cooking for 1 minute while stirring.
- Add the corn, fire-roasted tomatoes, and low-sodium beef broth and bring it to a low boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the carrots and potatoes are almost tender, or about 15 minutes. Add the alphabet pasta and frozen peas. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the alphabet pasta is tender. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh Italian parsley.
Notes
- Alphabet pasta can be difficult to find at the grocery store, so plan ahead and order online from Amazon or Walmart.
- Do not overcook the pasta. If anything, slightly undercook it as the pasta will continue to cook in the warm soup.
- Other vegetables to consider adding are green beans, lima beans, spinach, kale, or zucchini.
- For more protein, add browned ground beef, browned ground Italian, cooked chicken, or smoked sausage like Kielbasa. Rotisserie chicken is always a great choice because it is always tasty and available at almost any grocery store.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. See notes below about leftover soup.
- This soup can be frozen for up to 3 months in a heavy-duty freezer zipper bag or sturdy freezer container. See notes below about freezing this soup.
Nutrition
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Wendy B
Made this today very yummy used orzo pasta a d frozen peas and carrots
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Wendy! I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
Khushboo
It looks really so yummy soup. I can’t wait to try this recipe
Melanie E
That sounds like a fun and tasty soup. I need to try this and see if the kids will eat it too!! It’s perfect for this season.
Chad
omg last time I had alphabet soup was like 20 years ago! This brings so many memories! I can’t wait to make your recipe….Can’t wait….
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Chad! Enjoy!