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Forget about soups that leave you hungry! This hearty celery pasta soup features nutritious vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, daikon radish, and celery. The broth is savory with a slight sweetness, and it all comes together in one pot for a simple yet satisfying dinner!
On colder days, Vân and I make our vegetable macaroni soup almost every week. We are big fans of vegetable pasta soups because you can cook a large pot ahead of time and simply reheat the broth while the pasta is cooking. It’s also versatile since you can add anything from fried tofu cubes to vegan chicken and sautéed tempeh.
This version is based on our popular macaroni soup, but with one simple twist: the broth is infused with celery stalks. That small addition completely transforms the flavor, giving the soup earthier notes with a subtle hint of anise!
⭐️ Why I Think You’ll Love It
- Nutritious and satisfying. Combine plenty of hearty vegetables with pasta and a rich, savory broth, and you get a soup that’s deeply comforting and warms you up from the inside out.
- Simple and made in one pot. Almost. Except for the pasta, which you’ll need to cook separately, this soup comes together in one pot in less than an hour. Bonus point: it keeps very well and tastes even better the next day!
🥔 Grab These Ingredients
Here are all of the ingredients you will need to make this soup:
- Celery – The star of this soup! You will use both the stalks and the leaves. I used two stalks as they were very large. If your celery stalks are small, you might have to use three.
- Carrots
- Potatoes – Don’t use starchy potatoes as they would fall apart in the broth. Instead, pick waxy or all-purpose potatoes such as Red Bliss or Yukon Gold.
- White radish – Also known as daikon radish. It adds a natural sweetness, and each slice soaks up the broth, becoming super juicy.
Note: Ensure your radish is fresh – it should be firm with no blemishes. - Mushrooms – I like to use cremini mushrooms, but basically any variety will work, so feel free to use shiitakes, white button, or oyster mushrooms.
- Shallots and garlic – Quick tip: add 1 chopped clove of garlic toward the end of cooking for extra garlicky flavor!
- Olive oil – To sauté the aromatics.
- Seasonings – Salt, pepper, and sugar to balance the saltiness.
- Fried onions – Last but not least, fried onions. I may sound unusual to add these to a soup, but trust me, they add a ton of flavor. You can generally find fried onions in the condiment section of most supermarkets.
No fried onions? Replace them with fried shallots.
🥣 Cooking Instructions
- Heat the oil. Heat the olive oil in a deep pot. Add the shallots and garlic.
- Sauté. Sauté the aromatics for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms. Next, add the mushrooms and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add the remaining vegetables and cover with the water. Season with sugar, salt, and ground black pepper. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes.
- Add the celery leaves. Finally, add the celery leaves and let them simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings. At this point, taste the soup and adjust the saltiness if needed.
🥖 Serving Suggestions
To serve this soup, all you’ve got to do is cook your favorite pasta (I used penne here, but fusilli, farfalle, or macaroni will also work). Drain the pasta and transfer to deep serving bowls. Then, use a ladle to pour the soup and the vegetables into each bowl. Garnish with chopped green onions or parsley and serve piping hot!
Want to make it even heartier? You can serve it with extras such as:
- Croutons for extra crunch!
- Bread like a French baguette or banh mi bread.
- Vegan protein, such as fried tofu or vegan chicken. You can add the tofu at the beginning of cooking so it soaks up the broth, but for the chicken, I suggest adding it toward the end of cooking, otherwise it will become too soft.
📔 Thomas’ Tips
Cook the pasta separately. Do not cook the pasta directly in the broth. Pasta absorbs a lot of liquid as it cooks, which would leave you with less soup than you need.
Use the right amount of pasta. This soup is already packed with vegetables, and adding too much pasta will leave you short on broth. We usually cook about 1/3 cup of small macaroni for two servings or 1/2 cup of penne.
Pick good carrots and radish. Skip the packaged carrots. Those are usually bland. Instead, pick good-quality carrots at a farmer’s market. For the radishes, try picking shorter ones. Long radishes tend to be more fibrous and less sweet.
Want to add extra greens? Leafy greens like pak choi, kale, or spinach cook very quickly. Add them near the end of cooking so they don’t overcook and stay vibrant green.
Season the broth generously. Don’t be shy with the salt. The broth should taste slightly more seasoned than usual. Once combined with pasta, the saltiness will be balanced perfectly.
❄️ Storing and Reheating
- To store: You can store the soup in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To reheat: Cover and reheat over medium heat for 7-10 minutes. If your soup doesn’t have enough broth, feel free to add another cup of water and a generous pinch of salt.
💬 FAQs
You can dilute the saltiness by adding a bit more water to the soup.
Yes! Actually, the soup tastes even better and sweeter the next day.
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Celery Pasta Soup
Ingredients
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- 2 shallots minced
- 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 6 cremini mushrooms sliced or quartered
- 1/2 daikon radish peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) thick slices
- 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) thick slices
- 4 medium white potatoes peeled
- 8 cups (1900 ml) water
- 2 tbsp (24 g) sugar
- 1 and 3/4 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
For serving
- 1 cup uncooked pasta of your choice (adjust depending on the type of pasta)
- 4 tbsp (44 g) fried onions
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the celery. Start by rinsing the celery stalks under cold water. Pat them dry, then slice the stalks into 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick slices. Slice the leaves into 4-inch (10cm) long pieces. Set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pot. Once hot, add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.
- Add the mushrooms. Next, add the mushrooms and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add the remaining vegetables. Add the sliced white radish, carrots, celery stalks (don't add the leaves yet), and potatoes. Pour in the water and season with the sugar, salt, and ground black pepper.
- Simmer. Let simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are fork-tender.
- Add the celery leaves. Finally, add the celery leaves and let them simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings. Taste the soup and adjust the saltiness and sweetness to your liking.
- To serve: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until tender. Drain and transfer to serving bowls. Use a ladle to pour the broth and vegetables into each bowl. Garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon of fried onions and sprinkle chopped green onions or parsley. Serve immediately.
- You can store the soup in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
Leave a Comment
This pasta soup was delicious! I love celery, so I’m always on the lookout for recipes packed with its flavor. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your feedback Vivian!
WHY put sugar in soup????
Simply because the best vegetable broths I’ve tried were in Vietnam (my wife, Vân, is Vietnamese), and they’re always seasoned with a bit of sugar to balance the saltiness. It doesn’t make the soup taste very sweet, but it rounds up the overall flavor. That’s why I did it here but I can understand that it’s not common in Western cuisine. It’s only 2 tbsp for 8 cups of broth, but you can obviously reduce or omit it altogether if you prefer 🙂