Homemade vegetable stew can be made with pretty much any vegetables you happen to have on hand. I use a combination of fresh seasonal vegetables, home canned vegetables and dehydrated vegetables to make this use-what-you-have vegetable stew.

While I do have a real vegetable stew recipe that I share below in the recipe card, I rarely use the exact vegetables and quantities that it calls for. Not because they aren’t good…it’s a fantastic recipe…but because I’m a big fan of using what I have on hand when I cook and not buying produce out of season.
That means, I won’t buy summer squash during the winter, instead I’ll use the dehydrated squash from our summer preserving.
This time I used quite a bit of our dehydrated squash from our summer garden, canned tomatoes and a can of corn. I left out the celery. (Several members of my family don’t care for celery but I think it’s great in this soup.)
There have been times I’ve added cabbage. When we have some congestion we often add just a dash of cayenne pepper to help with congestion.
I think the key to this soup is in the spices, so be sure to use them as written – even the mustard.
This soup is super versatile and can be made on the stovetop, in a crock pot, or instapot. Make extra because it’s even better as leftovers.
Homemade Vegetable Soup

This is a super simple and quick vegetable soup recipe. Don't worry too much about following the ingredient list exactly - just use what you have, it will turn out great.
Ingredients
- 1 onion (diced)
- 1 garlic (diced)
- 1 potato (cut into chunks)
- 1 carrot (cut)
- 1 stalk celery (cut)
- 1 zucchini (cut)
- ½ cup broccoli (cut)
- 1 leek (cut)
- 2 cans tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp parsley flakes
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp basil
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp mustard
- 1/2 tsp cumin1/
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Cook first 5 ingredients in small amount of water for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat until tender, approx. 35 min.
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I enjoy throwing together soup now and then. They turn out pretty tasty. Veggie soup is so easy. I like to throw together a simple tomato soup when I want a hot soup quickly.
I love a cup of tomato soup. We usually make grilled cheese sandwichs to eat with the soup.
I love veggie stew. My friends have always called mine stew. I also add ground beef sometimes.
oh my, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches are my favorite!