Instant Pot Alphabet Vegetable Soup

How to make Alphabet Soup in the Instant Pot?

This dish is super-easy and beyond weeknight-friendly. It is a soup that my kids love, but I also use it as a meal prep dish to make soup jars for my lunches throughout the week. And, with toddlers, who doesn’t love ANY opportunity to reinforce letters. Personally, I love it as my initials are ABC, so it is literally MY SOUP! So let’s break down the steps of ABC Soup.

• Chop it!: The onion, baby carrots, celery, basil, zucchini and kale.
• Sauté it!: The carrots, celery, onion and seasonings
• Pressurize it!: Add in the broth, tomatoes, parmesan rind, and zucchini
• Release it!: all the pressure ASAP
• Soak it!: The kale and Pasta
• Top it!: Extra parmesan, more seasonings, hot sauce, croutons, whatever you love.

Can I make ABC Soup without a Pressure Cooker?

YES!

To Make ABC Soup on the COOK-TOP:

• Heat the oil on low in a Dutch Oven. Add the carrots, celery, onion and seasonings. Cook, stirring, until softened.
• Add broth, tomatoes, zucchini, and parmesan rind.
• Cover and cook on low for around 35 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves and parmesan rind.
• Stir in kale and pasta. Replace the lid and let simmer 5-10 minutes.

TO Make ABC Soup in the Slow Cooker:

• Heat oil in a Dutch Oven over Low. Add carrots, celery, onion and seasonings. Cook, stirring until softened.
• Transfer mixture to the slow cooker. Add broth, tomatoes, zucchini & parmesan rind.
• Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
• Remove bay leaves and parmesan rind.
• Stir in kale and pasta and let sit for around 10 minutes or until kale is wilted and pasta is cooked through.

Ingredients in this Soup:

• Vegetable Broth– I used lower sodium broth to make this soup; however, traditional vegetable broth would work just fine. If you are not concerned with keeping the dish vegetarian-friendly, feel free to substitute chicken or beef broth for the vegetable broth.
• Olive Oil
• Baby Carrots-I used baby carrots for this dish as I find them faster to chop up without requiring any peeling. If you prefer, you can easily substitute standard carrots, just be sure to peel them before chopping and halve or quarter them if they are on the larger side.
• Celery
• Garlic Powder– I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic to make this soup as it is something I always have on hand. If you prefer, you could substitute 1 clove of fresh, minced garlic for the powdered garlic.
• Petite Diced Tomatoes
• Parmesan Cheese Rind– this ingredient is technically optional; however, it adds a lot of flavor to the completed soup. I tend to save parmesan rinds as I finish a wedge. If I don’t have plans to use them in the immediate future, they freeze well and can be saved for later use.
• Dried Rosemary
• Bay Leaves
• Basil
• Parsley
• Zucchini
• Kale
• Alphabet Pasta-Herein lies the fun of this soup. I found these noodles online which were a great deal for the alphabet noodles. Obviously, this soup could easily swap out any small pasta shape for the alphabet noodles; it just may have a bit less job.
• Parmesan Cheese-either grated or shredded parmesan will work just fine for this recipe. Just use your preference.

Can ABC Soup be made Vegetarian or Vegan?

100% YES!!

• VEGETARIAN
  • You are in luck! This dish is Vegetarian-Friendly as written, no changes are needed
• VEGAN
  • This dish can easily be made vegan with some simple swaps.
  • First, make sure the vegetable broth you are using is Vegan-Friendly
  • The parmesan cheese rind would clearly need to go as would the optional parmesan topping, substitute these with your favorite vegan-friendly alternative.

What to serve with ABC Soup?

• Breadsticks. Try our Little Caesars Copycat Cheesy Bread
• Slow Cooker Rosemary Sea Salt Bread
• A light salad of arugula, tomatoes, croutons and a fresh dressing.
• A fresh baguette

Instant Pot Alphabet Vegetable Soup

Anne

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Pressurizing time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 28 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Equipment

• pressure cooker

Ingredients

  

• 32 ounces low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 15-20 baby carrots sliced
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 28 ounces petite diced tomatoes
• 1 parmesan cheese rind
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tablespoons basil minced
• 1/4 cup parsley diced
• 1/2 teaspoon each, salt & pepper
• 1 large zucchini peeled & diced
• 2 cups kale chopped
• 1.5 cups alphabet pasta
• parmesan cheese, grated or shredded as desired, to top

Instructions

 

• Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add the olive oil and allow to warm through. Turn off sauté mode.
• Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic powder and seasonings and cook, stirring for 3-5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes and parmesan rind and zucchini.
• Set to high pressure for 3 minutes. After cooking is done, quick release the pressure. Stir in the pasta and kale and return the lid to the pot. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes until softened.

Notes

• Pressurizing time can vary depending on your unit.  
• The wait time after cooking for the kale and pasta to soften may vary depending on your pasta.  Check it after 5 minutes but note that it may take up to 10 minutes to be done.

Keyword alphabet, Instant Pot, soup, vegetable soup, Vegetarian