Our Delicious copycat Panera Bread 10 Vegetable soup recipe is a healthy, nutritious and vegan soup. This satisfying vegetarian soup is loaded with a variety of fresh vegetables and hearty grains, beautifully balanced in an all-natural broth. It’s the perfect choice for a wintery, cold day.
There is something so comforting about a bowl of soup! It’s like a warm hug. Or wrapping up in a cozy blanket. I’ll be honest, I’ve rarely met a soup I didn’t like!
I enjoy giving precise details in my recipe posts to lead my readers through any questions. If you’re just here for the printable recipe, you can Jump to Recipe to head straight there!
Why You Will Love 10 Vegetable Soup
- Oh So Healthy | Kick off the new year by feeding yourself and the ones you love something delicious and extra healthy!
- Versatile | You can add in or substitute vegetables and spices according to your preferences…so many possibilities of healthy goodness!
- Discontinued Soup! | Panera’s ten vegetable soup vanished from their menu sometime in 2020. Gasp! But have no fear! Simply head to the grocery store, get your ingredients and create your own version…I guarantee it will taste even better.
You might also enjoy some of my other favorite soups; Creamy Chicken Poblano Soup, Outback Potato Soup, 30 Minute Chicken Noodle or try my Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup.
Healthy Twist
Honestly, you can’t get much healthier than this soup! It is low in calories, Mediterranean diet-approved, an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and keeps you full long after you’ve finished. See simple substitutions below to easily make this soup gluten-free.
Key Ingredients for Panera Bread 10 Vegetable Soup
- Onion | Your friendly, simple flavor booster.
- Peppers | Poblano, red and yellow bell peppers add vibrant color and amazing flavor.
- Carrots & Celery | Wash, peeled and chopped carrots will work, you can even use baby carrots, chopped.
- Corn | Frozen corn is perfectly delicious; good quality canned corn works well too.
- Spinach | A powerhouse of nutrients, you will add this just before serving, so it’s bright and delicious.
- Garbanzo Beans | Also known as chickpeas, these babies pack 15 grams of protein into one cup.
- Tomato Paste & Fire Roasted Tomatoes | For a robust flavor and a fiery kick!
- Aleppo Chili Pepper Flakes | Adds a unique sweetness, salty flavor with a moderate to medium heat level. My husband sprinkles this on everything! From pizza to steak!
- Seasonings | Cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, classic to bump up the flavor.
- Soy Sauce | If gluten-free, replace with liquid aminos, coconut aminos, Tamari, Mirin or apple cider vinegar.
- Sprouted Brown Rice | A much healthier alternative to white rice, full of fiber. May substitute with cooked brown rice, lentils or pearled barley.
- Hard Red Wheat | Adds a beautiful chewiness and texture to the soup. Red fife is what Panera uses, which is just a hard red wheat or wheat berries can also be used.
- Vegetable Broth | Lots of healthy, organic options on the shelves today or try making my Vegetable Mineral Broth. Use vegetable stock or broth.
Optional Add-Ins
- Lemon | Slice a lemon wheel for garnish or add lemon zest for a burst of brightness. Or, use limes or lime juice for a fun twist. Add some lemon peel (zested lemon) for a bright burst.
- Bouillon | An extra teaspoon of Better than Bouillon Chicken, Vegetable or Garlic can add a bit more flavor to the soup. For the vegetarian or vegan option stick with garlic or vegetable.
- Bay Leaf | Bay leaves add a subtle, woodsy flavor to dishes. Remember to remove before serving.
- Parmesan Cheese | Panera’s version doesn’t add cheese, but freshly grated parmesan cheese takes this soup to the next level. More cheese please!
How Do You Make Garden Vegetable Soup?
To prepare this soup faster, ask your family to help chop! Once all your chopping is done, start the recipe, it will go much faster.
Step 1 | Chop those Veggies
To make this soup even easier, chop and prep all of your veggies ahead of time, wash and drain your beans, measure out the grains, seasonings, etc.
Step 2 | Saute the Veggies for Max Flavor
In a large pot or Dutch oven heat olive oil until it shimmers. Add onions, red and yellow peppers, poblano peppers, carrots, and celery. Saute until the vegetables start to brown slightly on the edges, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic in the last minute or two, stirring until fragrant.
Stir in garbanzo beans, corn, tomato paste, soy sauce, cumin, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and Aleppo chili powder, stir for a minute until fragrant, this blooms the spices.
Step 3 | Deglaze the Pan & Finish Soup
Deglaze pot, by increasing heat to medium-high and then pouring in 1 cup of vegetable broth, using a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add remaining stock to the pot as well as the diced tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer and add the hard red wheat and sprouted brown rice, stirring to combine. Cover and simmer for about 45-60 minutes.
Step 4 | Serving Panera Bread 10 Vegetable Soup Recipe
When ready to serve, stir in fresh spinach, it will wilt almost immediately. Or even better, add a small handful of spinach to soup bowls, then ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a lemon slice and a little fresh thyme if desired.
Fresh Tips
- This recipe makes about 10 cups which is a lot! If you don’t plan on eating it all at once, or within a few days, it can easily be frozen to serve at a later time. See storage tips below.
- Add the spinach at the very end of the cooking process, otherwise it becomes too limp and loses its vibrant color.
- Rinse your red wheat and your rice before cooking, this pulls off some of the starches that cause grains to get clumpy.
How to Make Crockpot Panera 10 Vegetable Soup
This recipe is easily adapted to be made in the crockpot or slow cooker.
I recommend sautéing the vegetables in a stovetop safe slow cooker or something like this Instant Pot Dutch Oven (love this small appliance) for optimal flavor development in this veggie soup. If none available, in a large saute pan, saute your veggies, deglaze and then add everything to the crockpot.
Once all ingredients (except spinach) are added to the crockpot, cover and cook on LOW 4-6 hours or on HIGH 2 ½ – 3 ½ hours. If going to be gone all day, keep the sprouted brown rice and red wheat out of the crockpot (it will soak up too much broth) and instead add during the last hour to 90 minutes of cooking, turning the crockpot up to HIGH. Stir in spinach just before serving or add a small handful to individual bowls.
Vegan Vegetable Soup
This soup is entirely vegan or vegetarian, in fact, that was the reason Panera Bread added it to their menu. Check your soy sauce, or just use apple cider vinegar instead.
Variations & Substitutions
- Black Beans | Substitute black beans for garbanzo.
- Gluten-Free 10 Vegetable Soup | Replace the red wheat with lentils, farro or barley. Or use a little more sprouted brown rice or other preferred grains like quinoa or millet or even chia seeds.
- No Aleppo? If you cannot find Aleppo chili flakes or choose not to use them, no worries. Use chili powder or additional smoked paprika instead. You could even use some red pepper flakes for a bigger kick of heat. Aleppo chili flakes are a mild pepper, adding a little heat on the back end, but not overwhelming.
- Change the vegetables | Some other popular choices are green peas, frozen green beans, etc.
- Brothy | I like my soups a bit more brothy, as the grains soak up the liquid, you may want to add up to an additional 4 cups of broth depending on how brothy you like your soup. Be sure to adjust your seasonings to taste after adding more broth.
Storage Tips
Make Ahead | Panera Bread 10 Vegetable Soup recipe can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, allow the soup to cool before refrigerating.
Freeze | Freeze leftover soup in 1 cup portions or use these Souper Cubes (perfect 1 cup portions) freeze for up to 3 months. See more detailed freezer instructions below
Reheat | Thaw overnight in the fridge then reheat as desired, or place frozen soup in a saucepan and heat over low heat until bubbly and hot. Add spinach just before serving.
How Long Can You Freeze Vegetable Soup?
When you have a big batch of soup, more than likely you will need to freeze some. In fact it’s the best way save homemade soup! Below are a few tips:
- How long can you freeze vegetable soup? Soup freezes really well, and if care is taken in freezing the soup, it can last a long time, at least 3 months, if not up to 6 months frozen.
- Temperature | You should never place hot soup (or any hot food) straight into the freezer, as that is how condensation forms which in turn, becomes freezer burn or ice crystals. So allow your soup recipes or any recipe come to room temperature before placing in a freezer-safe container.
- Label | It’s always a good idea to label your soup, so you don’t end up with a mystery soup. Either write using sharpie right onto the baggie, use a label or use chalk marker on lids.
- What’s the Best Freezer Containers | Freeze in glass containers, glass jars, BPA free plastic containers too, or even freezer baggies. Using any of the above, be sure to leave about ½-1 inch of space in the container to allow for expansion of your favorite soup and make sure to “burp” your containers, or squeeze out as much air as possible. Consider how you will use the soup, use smaller containers for single servings, larger containers for bulk reheating. See below for great single serve freezer options.
- Quantity | If you know you will be reheating the soup all at once, then freeze in bulk. An easy way to freeze in bulk is using freezer baggies, freeze flat on a cookie sheet until mostly frozen, then stack frozen soup on top of each other, saving on freezer space.
- Meal Prep | Vegetable soups, clear soups, and some creamy soups or chunky soup freeze well for meal prep. I like using these 1 cup or 2 cup portion Souper Cubes for freezing.
- Reheating Frozen Soup | For best results, allow soup to thaw in fridge over night and reheat on stove top. If reheating straight from frozen, return to crockpot and cook on low or for smaller portions place in saucepan and reheat over low. A great way to retain the best quality in your soup is to add a little extra liquid (such as chicken broth, or cream or milk for cream based soups) back into the soup as it reheats, adjust seasonings for the best flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Since this makes a large pot of soup, adding browned ground beef or turkey – or any other protein of your choice after several days will change things up a bit!
No, but I promise you it will kick up the flavor! It is highly flavorful in its concentrated form, so you really can’t go wrong. It’s a chef’s trick too, for a flavor booster!
Of course! That’s what makes this recipe so fun! Mushrooms – yes! Leeks – yes! Potatoes – yes!
You bet, roasting yields a slightly firmer vegetable. Preheat the oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cut vegetables on the baking sheet and drizzle lightly with a good EVOO. Roast veggies for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 25 until roasted to your desired roasted-ness.
While it might taste homemade, it is not. Panera’s soups are actually made by Blount Foods, flash frozen (keeps more of the nutrients in), then shipped to the local stores. They are taken from frozen to hot in a unit called a Rethermolizer. Rethermalizers ensures your food crosses the danger zone quickly, reaching 165°F to kill off bacteria before holding food to be served above 140°.
More Yummy Ideas for Cold Weather
- Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice, a family favorite, inexpensive too!
- Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup Recipe
- This Easy Creamy Tomato Bisque Soup is amazing, quick and uses canned or fresh tomatoes!
- Colorado Green Chile
- This Olive Garden Steak Alfredo is a fancy looking, but easy to make meal!
- This German Goulash Soup is AMAZING!
- Check out all of my soup and stew recipes!
What to serve with the best Vegetable Soup Recipe
- Make this super simple Irish Soda Bread to sop up the broth.
- 4 Ingredient Beer Bread is another easy and great choice, or your favorite hearty bread.
- These Molasses Sweet Rolls, Easy Yeast Rolls or this Russian Black bread are all great choices!
- Make these Homemade Bread Bowls!
- Check out my post on the best bread recipes for soup.
- Of course you could do Saltine’s or your favorite cracker with a little butter.
- A crisp green salad is always a good choice.
More Panera Copycat Recipes to Enjoy
Who doesn’t love Panera? Make your own “You Pick Two” with these easy recipes below!
- Summer Corn Chowder Recipe
- Green Goddess Salad with Chicken
- Best Orange Glazed Scone Recipe
- Easy Cinnamon Chip Scones Recipe
- Panera Pickled Red Onions (Quick Refrigerator Pickled Onions)
- Copycat Panera Pumpkin Muffin Recipe {+ High Altitude Adjustments}
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Panera Bread 10 Vegetable Soup Recipe (Stovetop or Crockpot)
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Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil or favorite oil
- 1 large onion minced or chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 large Poblano pepper minced, seeds removed
- 4 large carrots diced
- 2-3 stalks celery diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced, pressed or use jarred or frozen garlic
- 1 cup corn frozen or quality canned, drained
- 15.5 ounce Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce or sub with Liquid Aminos, Coconut Aminos, Tamari, Mirin or Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1-2 teaspoons Aleppo Chile Powder sub with regular chili powder or more smoked paprika
- 14.5 ounce fire-roasted tomatoes canned or regular diced tomatoes
- 4-8 cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup hard red wheat rinsed, drained; wheat berries or substitute with lentils, barley, farro or your favorite grain
- ½ cup sprouted brown rice rinsed & drained (uncooked), may sub with 2 cups cooked brown rice, or pearled barley
- 2-4 cups baby spinach
Optional Ad-Ins
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
- lemon wheel or wedge for serving
- 1 teaspoon bouillon I like Better than Bouillon, use vegetable, garlic, chicken or mushroom (great umami)
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil (or other oil) until it shimmers. Add onions, bell peppers, poblano peppers, carrots, and celery. Saute until the vegetables start to brown slightly on the edges, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic in the last minute or two, stirring until fragrant.
- Stir in garbanzo beans, corn, tomato paste, soy sauce, cumin, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and Aleppo chili powder, stir for a minute until fragrant, this blooms the spices.
- Deglaze pot, by increasing heat to medium-high and then pouring in 1 cup of vegetable broth, using a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add remaining stock to the pot as well as the diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer, reduce heat to simmer and add the hard red wheat and sprouted brown rice, stirring to combine. Cover and simmer for about 45-60 minutes.
- When ready to serve, stir in fresh spinach, it will wilt almost immediately. Or even better, add a small handful of spinach to soup bowls, then ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a lemon slice and a little fresh thyme if desired.
Notes
Variations & Substitutions
- Gluten-Free 10 Vegetable Soup | Replace the red wheat with lentils, farro or barley. Or use a little more sprouted brown rice or other preferred grains like quinoa or millet or even chia seeds.
- No Aleppo? Aleppo chili flakes add mild heat, sub with chili powder or additional smoked paprika instead.
- Change the vegetables | Some other popular choices are green peas, frozen green beans, etc. Use black beans instead of garbanzo.
- Brothy | The grains soak up the liquid, you may want to add up to an additional 4 cups of broth depending on how brothy you like your soup. Be sure to adjust your seasonings to taste after adding more broth.
- Make this super simple Irish Soda Bread or 4 Ingredient Beer Bread
- These Molasses Sweet Rolls, Easy Yeast Rolls or this Russian Black bread are all great choices!
Nutrition
I love this soup! So happy to be able to make it at home!!
Thanks Lynn!
My family couldn’t get enough of this cozy soup! I’ll definitely be making it again and again!
Fabulous!! Love to hear that, thanks Sheila!
This soup was warm and filling. A really great way to get a healthy meal into the day too!
So healthy and delicious too!
I love Panera’s soup but I think this version is even better! It’s like a big ole hug from the inside out.
It really is Jules! Thanks!
Wow, this is a bowl full of comfort! I don’t need to make the trip to Panera when I can make this deliciousness at home!
So true!! Thanks Nikki!
This copy cat Panera Soup looks amazing. Cannot wait to make it with all the vegetable flavours!! Thanks
It’s so good!! Thanks Sandra!
Nice round up of veggies soup ! I’m really digging that vegan option
Awesome Nancy – so glad it works!
I already have all the ingredients, so it is time to get to cooking. I’ve missed a good soup so much!
Yay! Good soups are the best!
I can’t wait to cook through the whole list. I love them all, and it is super hard to choose where to start LOL
Yay!! Hope you love it!
I made this soup for dinner last night and my whole family enjoyed it. Definitely a spot on match to Panera’s!
Love it!