Cheap Vegetable Noodle Soup Ready in Under 45 Minutes
Warm, filling soup from pantry staples — done before you finish your first glass of water.
This is the soup you make when the fridge looks sad and payday feels far away. It costs almost nothing, uses whatever vegetables you have on hand, and comes together in one pot with minimal cleanup. The broth is simple but savory — garlic, a little soy sauce, and good seasoning carry it a long way. Noodles bulk it up so it actually fills you. Expect a genuinely comforting bowl, not a fancy one. If you're tired, cold, or just can't decide, this is the answer. It reheats beautifully, so leftovers are a bonus.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 unit medium yellow onion — diced
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 3 unit medium carrots — sliced into thin rounds
- 3 unit celery stalks — sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas or frozen corn — or a mix of both
- 6 cup vegetable broth — low-sodium preferred
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 0.5 tsp salt — plus more to taste
- 4 oz egg noodles or spaghetti broken in half — about 2 cups dry
- 1 tbsp lemon juice — from about half a lemon
Method
- 1 Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3–4 minutes until softened and translucent.
- 2 Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
- 3 Add the carrots and celery. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes.
- 4 Pour in the vegetable broth and water. Add the soy sauce, dried thyme, salt, and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- 5 Once boiling, add the noodles. Reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes, or until the noodles and carrots are tender.
- 6 Stir in the frozen peas or corn and cook for 2 more minutes until heated through.
- 7 Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- 8 Ladle into bowls and serve hot. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days — noodles will absorb broth, so add a splash of water when reheating.
Variations
- Add protein — Stir in a drained can of white beans or chickpeas along with the frozen vegetables for extra protein and staying power — still cheap, still easy.
- Faster swap — Use thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta instead of egg noodles and it'll cook in 5–6 minutes, shaving a few minutes off the total time.
- Use whatever vegetables you have — Zucchini, green beans, cabbage, spinach, or diced potato all work — add harder vegetables (potato, zucchini) with the carrots, and leafy greens in the last 2 minutes.
Notes
If your broth is already salted, hold back on adding salt until the end and taste first. Soy sauce adds savory depth here — don't skip it. Egg noodles are cheapest and cook fastest, but any pasta you have works. The soup thickens in the fridge overnight as noodles absorb broth; just thin with a little water when reheating.
Equipment that helps
- Large pot (4–6 quart) — You need enough room for the broth and noodles to bubble without boiling over.
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