What the heck is Whatcha Got Soup? It is exactly that, it’s whatcha got in the pantry!!! This simple yet comforting soup can be made with what you have in your kitchen right now! Not only is this packed with flavor, it’s also good for you too!

So what inspired this recipe? So let me tell you. Yesterday, my husband was supposed to stop at the store for me, and what do you know, he forgot. He offered to run back out to the store and I said, ‘let me just see what we have’ and as a result, the creation of Whatcha Got Soup! I searched in my kitchen and between the fridge, freezer and pantry, I had plenty of items to put together this delicious and satisfying soup.
How to customize whatcha got soup for you!
You can make this soup with a wide variety of ingredients you may already have. This recipe reflects what I had on hand. Let’s go through some of my ingredients and I’ll give options on what you may be able to substitute, add or omit:
- 1 white onion: I happened to have half of a white onion and half of a red onion and this worked! You can throw in any type of onion or shallot you may have, frozen or fresh.
- 1/2 green bell pepper: you can replace this for any fresh, canned, or frozen veggie you may have. You can use leek, fennel, any style of peppers.
- 3 carrots: same as above, this is what I always have in my fridge, you can easily add any veggie available.
- 4 cloves of garlic: There’s always garlic in my kitchen! If you do not have any garlic on hand, toss in a teaspoon of garlic powder.
- 1 – 15 oz black beans: Any variety of canned beans will work for this, for example, lentil, pinto, kidney, just drain and rinse. Do not use refried beans.
- 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes: any flavor of canned tomatoes will work, but these can be omitted if you do not have any on hand.
- 8 oz can green hatch chilis: why not? I had them on hand and they are delicious!
- 12 oz bag frozen spinach: this is what I found in my freezer. You can use any variety of frozen or fresh green, leafy vegetable. I would stay away from lettuce, however, cabbage would work.
- 1/2 lb pasta shells: we all have that bag of unused pasta in the pantry! You can use any pasta you may have, spaghetti, rotini, spirals, ravioli, lasagna noodles (break this into smaller pieces). You could also use any rice you may have, brown, white, jasmine, quinoa, orzo, ect…I would use about 3/4 cup of rice to replace the 1/2 pound pasta and check the water towards the end of cooking, you may need to add more depending on the type of rice you use.
- 2 TBSP ketchup: I have never tried this before in soup and it turned out great! I didn’t have any tomato paste so decided to give this a try and it didn’t disappoint!
- worcestershire sauce (vegan for me) and red pepper: you can use any seasonings you wish. You can add hot sauce, vinegar, liquid smoke, whatever you prefer.
As previously stated, you can make this with whatever items you have on hand. As long as you follow the base of pasta/rice to water/liquid ratio, you can add, substitute or omit the other ingredients all day long!
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Whatcha Got Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
What the heck is Whatcha Got Soup? It is exactly that, it’s whatcha got in the pantry!!! This simple yet comforting soup can be made with what you have in your kitchen right now! Not only is this packed with flavor, it’s also good for you too! So let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
- 1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 bell pepper, any color, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
- 1 – 12 oz bag frozen spinach
- 1 – 8 oz can green chilis
- 1/2 lb pasta shells
- 2 TBSP ketchup
- 1 TBSP vegan worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 5 cups water
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion, bell pepper, carrots and garlic. Once the onions and carrots are starting to soften (about 4 minutes) add all the remaining ingredients. Stir and let simmer over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, check the pasta for doneness. Remove from heat and serve warm!
Notes
As noted above, you can replace these ingredients with a multitude of options.
Leftovers will last in fridge for 4-5 days and up to 3 months in freezer.
This makes a great meal prep!
Please remember to Pin this recipe for easy reference and leave a comment on how you may have individualized this dish!
- Category: soup
- Method: easy
- Cuisine: vegan
Keywords: easy vegan soup dinner