Easy Tomato Vegetable Soup with Harissa

Easy Tomato Vegetable Soup with Harissa is a quick soup I cook often. A variety of vegetables are sauteed and cooked with tomatoes and green lentils in a vegetable stock. I like to add a spoon of spicy harissa paste to add depth of flavour and just the right amount of chilli heat.

This is a favourite tomato vegetable soup recipe, the green lentils are packed with protein making this a filling and nutritious bowl of soup. An ideal lunch, but also great a light dinner option too.

Containing no meat or dairy products, this vegan tomato vegetable soup makes great use of fresh vegetables, perfect for those of you growing an abundance of vegetables in your gardens at home.

What I like about this best tomato vegetable soup recipe is that it can be easily adapted to suit your own tastes. Don’t like chilli, leave out the harissa. No can of green lentils, swap it for a can of chickpeas. As with all good soup recipes it’s not too prescriptive, so use what you have in your stores at home.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• This soup is packed full of vegetables so is a great way towards your 5-a-day.
• Get ahead by making this soup earlier in the day or the day before and warm up when you are ready to enjoy.
• Feed a crowd as this recipe is easily doubled up.
• A fresh bowl of soup cooked and ready to enjoy in around 30 minutes.

Recipe ingredients & substitutions

• Oil – I use olive oil as it has the best flavour to work with the tomatoes and other vegetables in this soup.
• Onion – I’ve used a red onion for its mellow flavour, but you can also use a regular onion or shallots.
• Vegetables – I added a combination of celery, courgette, red peppers and garlic to the soup.
• Tomatoes – I used good quality canned plum tomatoes to make the soup as they have great flavour. You could also use tomato passata or fresh tomatoes if you prefer.
• Lentils – for ease I used a 400g can of green lentils, which once drained will give you approximately 240g of lentils.
• Stock – I like to use vegetable stock in this soup, but provided you are not serving to meat free diners you could also use a chicken stock.
• Harissa paste – I added a tablespoon of Belazu Rose Harissa Paste as this brand is my favourite for flavour. You can use any other variety of harissa paste.
• Seasoning – I kept the seasoning simple with some sea salt & black pepper.
• Fresh herbs – I’ve added a garnish of freshly chopped parsley as I think fresh herbs always freshen up a soup.

How to make Tomato Vegetable Soup

• Pour the olive oil into a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 5 minutes to soften, but not colour the onions.
• Add the celery, courgettes, peppers and garlic and continue to saute for another 2 minutes.

• Now add the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and turn the heat down to low. Simmer the soup gently for 15 minutes.
• Remove the soup from the heat and serve.

Recipe variations

• Add other vegetables to the soup, try carrot, squash, sweet potato.
• Add a handful of leafy greens like spinach, chard or kale, 5 minutes before the end of the cook time and allow the greens to wilt.
• Stir some fresh herbs through the soup while cooking, try parsley, basil, thyme or a bay leaf.
• Swap the green lentils for a can of chickpeas, mixed beans, cannellini beans, or black beans.

Serving suggestions

This filling and nutritious vegan tomato and vegetable soup makes a great lunch or light dinner option. I like to serve it with some crusty bread, or toasted bread alongside.

Useful hints and tips

1. Take time to properly season the soup. Tomatoes need salt to really shine, so add some seasoning to the soup as it cooks, then taste the soup and add more if required.
2. Containing no meat or dairy products, this soup is suitable for dairy free and vegan diners.
3. For a gluten free soup, use a gluten free vegetable broth.
4. Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

FAQs

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of my other vegetable laden vegan soup recipes:

• Vegetable Barley Broth
• Sweet Potato, Coconut & Chilli Soup
• Potato & Leek Soup with Chickpeas
• Tomato & Basil Soup
• Spicy Bean & Vegetable Soup
• Simple Curried Chickpea & Lentil Soup
• Spicy Tomato & Lentil Soup

For some great hints and tips on how to make a great bowl of soup, have a read of my Simple Soup Recipes post, which also features a variety of delicious recipes.