Vegetable soup

Vegetable soup is the first pot on the stove when the rain starts: a clear golden broth with pieces of carrot, potato, courgette and pumpkin, every piece still whole. The secret is not a special vegetable but the order in which the vegetables go into the pot.

Pot calculatorOrder Vegetable soup

VeganGluten freeDairy freeParveAllergens:Celery

Updated

Vegetable soupIllustration
Time1 h 25 minCook 50 min
Pot10 bowls4 litres
Per bowl105 kcal2.9 g protein · a 400 ml bowl
Cost of the pot₪25for the pot, about ₪2.5 a bowl

The story of Vegetable soup

Almost every family in Israel makes vegetable soup, and hardly two families make it the same way. In Ashkenazi homes it is scented with dill and parsley root, in Moroccan homes it is close to the vegetable broth ladled over couscous, and in Iraqi and Kurdish homes it is the base for kubbeh. What they share is a big pot, the vegetables of the season and soup enough for several days.

For years Israeli vegetable soup was seasoned with parve chicken-flavoured soup powder, and that is perfectly fine. But a good vegetable soup does not need powder to taste of something. Ten minutes of frying the onion, carrot and celery in oil, the right ratio of vegetables to water and salt added in stages are enough. Our recipe has no powder, and anyone used to it can add a spoonful and cut the salt.

What makes Vegetable soup itself

This is a soup of pieces, not a cream. Each vegetable is cut to a size that suits its cooking time and goes in at its turn: first the hard ones, carrot, kohlrabi and celery, then the potato and pumpkin, and last the courgette, which is mostly water and falls apart after a quarter of an hour. That way every spoonful brings vegetables that are soft but whole, in a clear golden broth.

Vegetable soup for any number of people

Change the number of people and the bowl size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost, calories and protein per bowl.

Bowl size
Units
4litres in the pot
5Pot to use, litres
₪25Cost of the pot
₪2.5per bowl
105kcal per bowl
2.9g protein per bowl
IngredientAmountCost
The base and the hard vegetables
Canola oil30 ml₪0.5
Onion, chopped250 g · 2 pcs₪1.5
Garlic cloves, sliced10 g · 2 pcs₪0.4
Carrots, diced300 g · 3 pcs₪1.5
Celery stalks, sliced150 g · 3 pcs₪3.0
Kohlrabi, diced250 g · 1 pcs₪3.2
The soft vegetables
Potatoes, cubed400 g · 2 pcs₪2.4
Pumpkin, cubed300 g₪3.9
Courgettes, in half moons400 g · 2 pcs₪5.2
Ripe tomato, grated150 g · 1 pcs₪1.2
Liquid and seasoning
Boiling water2.2 l
Salt16 g₪0.0
Turmeric1 g₪0.1
Ground black pepper1 g₪0.1
Bay leaves0.4 g · 2 pcs₪0.1
Dill, chopped15 g₪0.9
Parsley, chopped15 g₪0.7
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Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.

How many calories in Vegetable soup? Nutrition facts and calorie calculator

Change the amount of any ingredient, drop one, or pick a lighter version, and the numbers per serving update at once: calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium and fibre.

Vegetable soup has 26 calories per 100 ml. A 400 ml bowl made with our recipe has 105 calories: 2.9 g protein, 3.1 g fat and 15 g carbohydrates. A 250 ml cup has 65 calories.

Lighter

Ingredients, for the whole recipe

  • 30 ml24 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs10 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs1 kcal per serving
  • 3 pcs12 kcal per serving
  • 3 pcs2 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs7 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs31 kcal per serving
  • 300 g5 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs6 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs3 kcal per serving
  • 16 g0 kcal per serving
  • 1 g0 kcal per serving
  • 1 g0 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs0 kcal per serving
  • 15 g1 kcal per serving
  • 15 g1 kcal per serving

What each add-on adds to Vegetable soup

Values for the amount in the row, from the national food database.

Add-onCaloriesProtein, gFat, g
A tablespoon of oil122013.8
A slice of white bread792.50.5
A slice of challah12641.1

How to make Vegetable soup

In cook mode the screen stays on, tap a step when it is done, and the timers run next to each step.
  1. Cut the carrot, kohlrabi and celery into 1.5 cm dice, the potatoes and pumpkin into 2.5 cm cubes, and the courgettes into thick half moons.
  2. Heat the oil in a 6 litre pot over medium heat, add the onion with a pinch of salt and fry for 6 minutes, until translucent and just turning golden.
  3. Add the carrot, kohlrabi, celery and garlic and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring.
  4. Pour in 2.2 litres of boiling water, add the turmeric, bay leaves and half the salt, and bring to the boil.
  5. Lower to a gentle simmer, skim any foam and cook for 10 minutes.
  6. Add the potatoes and pumpkin and cook for 15 minutes at a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil.
  7. Add the courgettes and the grated tomato and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until a potato cube cuts easily with a spoon.
  8. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, stir in the dill and parsley, taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Let the soup rest for 10 minutes before serving.

The science of Vegetable soup

Kitchen science

Each vegetable at its turn

How firm a vegetable is depends on how much water it holds and how strong the pectin network holding its cells is. Courgette is about 95% water with soft cell walls, so it softens in 10 minutes and falls apart after 20. Carrot and kohlrabi are dense and need two to three times as long. Adding them in stages closes the gap.

Kitchen science

Why the tomato goes in late

Acid slows the breakdown of pectin. A tomato added at the start lowers the pH of the liquid, and the potatoes and carrots can stay hard even after an hour. Added once the hard vegetables have softened, the tomato brings colour and a little acidity without stalling the cooking.

Kitchen science

A simmer, not a boil

At a rolling boil the cubes knock into each other and the sides of the pot, the edges of the potato and pumpkin crumble, and the released starch clouds the broth. At a gentle simmer, around 90 to 95 °C, the vegetables cook almost as fast and stay whole.

Kitchen science

Frying first

In water the temperature never passes 100 °C, so vegetables dropped straight into water never develop roasted flavours. Fried in oil, the onion and carrot get hotter and browning reactions begin, creating hundreds of flavour and aroma compounds. Some of those aromas dissolve in fat, and the oil carries them through the whole pot.

Kitchen science

Herbs in two stages

The aroma compounds of dill and parsley are volatile and escape during long cooking. The tougher stalks survive the simmer and give a background flavour, while the chopped leaves added at the end bring the fresh scent.

Vegetable soup in every kitchen

With noodles or ptitim

Cook thin noodles or ptitim separately and add them to the bowl, not the pot, so they do not drink the broth and swell by morning.

Vegetable broth for couscous

The Moroccan version adds turnip, cabbage and cooked chickpeas, all cut large, seasoned with turmeric and pepper. Serve it in a bowl beside the couscous or ladle it over.

With chicken

Simmer drumsticks or wings at the start, skim the foam, and only then add the vegetables. The soup becomes a meat soup and richer.

Blended vegetable soup

Blend part of the pot with a stick blender and stir it back, or blend the lot. The pieces turn into a thick cream, good for children who fish every vegetable out of the bowl.

Italian minestrone

Add cooked white beans, a spoonful of tomato paste and small pasta in the last ten minutes. Serve with olive oil.

Common Vegetable soup problems and how to fix them

Vegetable soup is bland and tasteless

Usually there is too much water for the vegetables, or they went into the water without frying. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to concentrate, add salt gradually, a spoonful of fried tomato paste or a squeeze of lemon. Next time: about a litre of water per kilo of vegetables, and ten minutes of frying.

The vegetables turned to mush

The courgette and potato went in at the start, or the soup boiled hard. Once it has happened, blend part of the soup and serve it as a thick soup. Next time add in stages and keep it at a simmer.

The soup came out cloudy

Starch from potatoes that boiled hard, or too much stirring. Cook at a gentle simmer, stir little and skim the foam at the start.

The potatoes will not soften

The tomato or tomato paste went in too early, and the acid slows the softening of pectin. Cook longer, and next time add the tomato only once the hard vegetables are tender.

The soup turned sour after two days

A big pot left to cool on the counter overnight spent hours at temperatures where bacteria multiply. Sour or fizzy soup goes in the bin. Pour into shallow boxes and refrigerate within two hours, or cool the pot in a sink of cold water.

Storing, freezing and reheating

4 days

In the fridge

3 months, ideally without the potatoes

In the freezer

2+4

To cool

Bring it from 60 to 21 °C within two hours and down to 5 °C within four more. Split a big pot into shallow boxes.

75 °C

Reheating

Reheat only what you will eat, over medium heat to a gentle boil. Reheating the whole pot each time softens the vegetables until they fall apart.

Nutrition of Vegetable soup

From our recipe, per bowl and per 100 g, next to the national food database.

ServingkcalProtein, gFat, gCarbs, gFibre, g
Our recipe, a 400 ml bowl1052.93.115.04.2
Our recipe, 100 ml260.70.83.81.0
Typical Vegetable soup, 100 g180.50.13.40.9
Typical Vegetable soup, 100 g (2)180.60.13.50.8
Typical Vegetable soup, 100 g (3)190.60.13.70.9

What the ingredients of Vegetable soup cost

What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.

IngredientPriceIn this potWhere to buy
Courgettes, in half moons₪13 per kg₪5.2Greengrocer
Pumpkin, cubed₪13 per kg₪3.9Greengrocer
Kohlrabi, diced₪13 per kg₪3.2Greengrocer
Celery stalks, sliced₪6.9 each₪3Greengrocer
Potatoes, cubed₪5.9 per kg₪2.4Greengrocer
Onion, chopped₪5.9 per kg₪1.5Greengrocer
Carrots, diced₪4.9 per kg₪1.5Greengrocer
Ripe tomato, grated₪7.9 per kg₪1.2Greengrocer
Dill, chopped₪4.9 each₪0.9Greengrocer
Parsley, chopped₪4.9 each₪0.7Greengrocer
Canola oil₪15 per litre₪0.4Supermarket
Garlic cloves, sliced₪34 per kg₪0.3Greengrocer
Bay leaves₪360 per kg₪0.1Supermarket
Ground black pepper₪139 per kg₪0.1Supermarket
Turmeric₪86 per kg₪0.1Supermarket
Salt₪2.1 per kg₪0Supermarket

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.

Make Vegetable soup a meal

Shabbat

Ready Shabbat food

Soup, hamin, mains and sides, with a quantity calculator and prices.

Plan Shabbat
Hosting

Hosting trays

9 trays to go with the soup, with a planner by number of guests.

Tray planner
Events

Catering

A whole menu in grams per guest, with a reheating table.

Menus

What to serve with Vegetable soup

Serve with fresh bread or challah. For a full meal, add noodles, ptitim or meatballs cooked separately to each bowl.

Vegetable soup in large quantities: events, offices and communities

How much of everything by number of guests, at a 400 ml bowl. For institutional pots, catering and community kitchens.

GuestsLitres30 l potsCost of ingredients
25101₪61
50201₪123
100402₪246
200803₪491
5002008₪1,228

Every ingredient for any number of guests is in the calculator above: type the number of people.

Order Vegetable soup

A ready pot for Shabbat, an event or the office, ordered ahead.

  • Cooked to order, for Shabbat, an event or the office.
  • Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
  • Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
Ask for a quote for Vegetable soup

Order Vegetable soup for a large event

Large orders in Israel and abroad: events, offices, synagogues, communities and institutions.

  • In Israel: cooked in Tel Aviv and delivered to events in the area, and to large events anywhere in the country on a quote.
  • Abroad: for communities, events and restaurants. Tell us where, how many and when, and we come back with a quote and options.
  • Institutional quantities and a shopping list for any number of guests, in the calculator above.
Ask for a large-order quote

Frequently asked questions

Which vegetables go into vegetable soup?

The base is onion, carrot, celery, potato and courgette. Pumpkin, kohlrabi, sweet potato, parsley root and tomato add sweetness, depth and colour.

How long does vegetable soup cook?

About 40 minutes from the boil: 10 for the hard vegetables, 15 for the potatoes and pumpkin and another 15 for the courgettes, plus about ten minutes of frying first.

Do I need to fry the vegetables first?

It is not essential, but it is the difference between a bland soup and a tasty one. Ten minutes of frying onion, carrot and celery in oil gives flavour that water alone cannot.

How do I get a clear vegetable soup?

Cook at a gentle simmer, skim the foam at the start, stir little and never let the potatoes boil hard.

Can vegetable soup with potatoes be frozen?

It can, but after thawing the potatoes turn spongy and grainy. Freeze the soup without potatoes, or blend it after thawing.

How much water for vegetable soup?

About one litre of water per kilo of cut vegetables. More and the broth is thin, less and the soup becomes a stew.

Is vegetable soup parve?

This recipe is, and vegan too. If you add soup powder, check that it is marked parve. With chicken the soup is a meat soup.

How many calories are in Vegetable soup?

A 400 ml bowl of Vegetable soup made with our recipe has about 105 calories and 2.9 g of protein. Per 100 ml: 26 calories.

How much does it cost to make Vegetable soup at home?

A pot of 10 bowls costs about ₪25 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪2.5 a bowl. The calculator above works it out for any number of people.

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