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Homemade Alphabet Soup

Alphabet soup in a bowl.

One of my favorite dinners when I was little was alphabet soup and grilled cheese. It’s so nostalgic for me. So when I was shopping a while back and found a bag of alphabet pasta, I picked it up to make homemade alphabet soup.

Making soup from scratch is a lot harder than opening a can of pre-made soup. I get that. But when you make your own soup, you can control how much salt goes into what you’re eating. And if you’re worried about that, making dinner from scratch makes a lot of sense.

This homemade alphabet soup is a little bit of a cheat. It’s a weeknight dinner, which means the last thing you want to be doing after a long day of work is peeling and chopping carrots and potatoes. You don’t want to clean fresh green beans and cut them into 1-inch pieces.

So you cheat.

You can buy cans of mixed vegetables that come with carrots, potatoes, lima beans (my favorite!), peas, and green beans. Just buy that and save yourself a lot of time.

And, if you’re anything like me, if you can save yourself time and cooking doesn’t feel like hassle, you will make it again. But if this homemade alphabet soup took hours, you would never make it.

And trust me. This will be in your fall and winter dinner rotation from now on.

Homemade Alphabet Soup

I’m not calling this vegetable soup because that implies that it’s vegetarian. It’s not. My recipe calls for beef broth. You could substitute vegetable broth for it if you wanted to make this vegetarian, but you would need to compensate by adding a lot more spices to flavor the homemade alphabet soup. Vegetable broth is okay, but it is a little bland and not as flavorful as beef broth so I don’t recommend it.

You could use chicken broth too, if that’s all you have on hand. But again, it is a bit bland compared to beef broth. So be sure to taste your homemade alphabet soup as you’re building it if you do make any substitutions.

What You’ll Need:

  • 7 cups beef broth
  • 1 24oz. can diced tomatoes (with Italian seasoning, if you can find it)
  • 2 15oz. cans mixed vegetables
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 7oz. bag of alphabet pasta
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried fresh oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried fresh basil
  • Pepper (to taste)
  • Olive oil

What You’ll Do:

Garlic and onions in a pot.

Heat a little olive oil in a pot.

Chop the onion and garlic. Add it to the olive oil and cook until the onion starts to get translucent, about five minutes.

Mixed vegetables in a pot.

Drain the mixed vegetables and add them to the pot. Cook about two minutes.

Diced tomatoes in a pot with mixed vegetables.

Add in the full can of diced tomatoes, including the liquid from the can.

Red broth in a pot.

Pour in the beef broth and stir.

Hand with alphabet pasta over a pot with red broth.

Add the herbs, garlic powder, salt, then the alphabet pasta. Stir. Heat to a boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Alphabet soup on a spoon and in a bowl.

Serve with grilled cheese.

Yield: 5 Servings

Homemade Alphabet Soup

Alphabet soup in a bowl.

Homemade Alphabet Soup is a lot easier to make than you think. And it's better than canned! You'll never go back.

Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 7 cups beef broth
  • 1 24oz. can diced tomatoes (with Italian seasoning, if you can find it)
  • 2 15oz. cans mixed vegetables
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 7oz. bag of alphabet pasta
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried fresh oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried fresh basil
  • Pepper (to taste)
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  1. Heat a little olive oil in a pot.
  2. Chop the onion and garlic. Add it to the olive oil and cook until the onion starts to get translucent, about five minutes.
  3. Drain the mixed vegetables and add them to the pot. Cook about two minutes.
  4. Add in the full can of diced tomatoes, including the liquid from the can.
  5. Pour in the beef broth and stir.
  6. Add the herbs, garlic powder, salt, then the alphabet pasta. Stir. Heat to a boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Nutrition Information

Yield

5

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 206Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 2096mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 9gSugar 9gProtein 11g

Betty

Wednesday 20th of November 2019

I had no idea that they made alphabet pasta. I never noticed it before (but that's me). I really hope they sell it. This soup looks and sounds delicious!! Thanks so much for sharing.

Dani Flanders

Monday 18th of November 2019

Soups are SO delicious in the Winter! I'll have to do this for my daughter when she gets a bit older and can eat soups (she's only 7-months right now :) )

Kiwi

Wednesday 13th of November 2019

i havent had alphabet soup since a kid. I didnt know it was still around but cool u making it on your own.

CANDACE HAMPTON

Wednesday 13th of November 2019

This looks delicious! It's perfect for this cold days. I remember having this when I was a kid. Never had a homemade one though.

susan1375

Wednesday 13th of November 2019

Looks delicious, reminds me of my childhood and is so much more healthy than the tinned version.

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