Gypsy Soup

Gypsy soup is an easy and delicious vegan soup chockfull of vegetables. Onions, sweet potatoes, celery and bell peppers come together in a thick tomatoey broth. Chickpeas add an earthy taste, and soy sauce and some ground spices add tons of umami flavor. You just can’t go wrong with this chunky one-pot soup! Both stovetop and instant pot instructions included.

A beautifully spiced and warming vegetable soup, this recipe for gypsy soup has been adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook. I love this soup for its simple and accessible ingredients and rich flavor. It earns additional points for being quite effortless, since apart from chopping a few vegetables, there's really not much work involved. Literally anyone can throw together this fresh tasting soup easily and quickly. Go for it!

Ingredients

Note: exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.

Instructions

1. Chop the vegetables - Get the prep out of the way first. Chop the veggies and keep the size of the chopped vegetable small for fast and even cooking.

2. Sauté the vegetables - Heat the olive oil in a large pot (medium heat) and add the onions and garlic. Sauté for a minute, then add the sweet potato, celery, salt and ground spices (paprika, red chilli, and turmeric). Sauté for 5 minutes using a large spoon.

3. Add the canned diced tomatoes and broth - After adding the tomatoes and broth, cover the soup and simmer for 20-25 minutes on low heat, or until the vegetables are fork tender.

4. Add the green bell pepper, canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and soy sauce - Let these ingredients simmer in the soup for about 4-5 minutes. Gypsy soup is ready! Serve solo or with a side of crusty bread.

Recipe notes and tips

• Vary the vegetables - Instead of sweet potato, you can also use carrots and butternut squash, or even pumpkin if it's pumpkin season. Throw in some curly kale or baby spinach as well for a bit of green. The greens go into the soup in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Add some fresh or dried herbs for an even tastier soup - I am partial to fresh parsley but go with your favorite herbs, no rules here!
• Use cooked chickpeas - Freshly cooked or canned, your choice. Here's a helpful post for cooking chickpeas from scratch in your instant pot if you have one.
• Intensify the flavors by using a can of fire-roasted tomatoes or Italian spiced tomatoes - You won't believe the flavor kick the soup gets from this simple trick!
• Don't skip the spices and soy sauce - these add a ton of flavor, so do add them in.

How to make gypsy soup in your instant pot

Want an even easier method? Pressure cook the soup. If you have an instant pot, use it! Here are the step-by-step instructions for the instant pot.

1. Chop the vegetables into small, even pieces.

2. Switch on your instant pot and press sauté (normal). Add the olive oil to the steel insert and when it becomes hot, tip in the onions and garlic. After a minute, add the sweet potato, celery, salt and ground spices (paprika, red chilli, and turmeric). Sauté for 5 minutes.

3. Add the can of diced tomatoes and vegetable broth. Cancel sauté and lock the lid in place. Make sure the pressure release vent is on 'sealing'. Press the pressure cooking button (high) and set the timer to 5 minutes. Walk away. Note: if making the soup in the instant pot, add just 2 cups of broth to start with. If you think the soup is too thick after opening the pot, go ahead and add the rest of it afterwards.

4. When the timer beeps, wait for 10 minutes before opening the pot. Press sauté again (normal) and add the green bell pepper, can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed), and soy sauce. Simmer the soup for 4-5 minutes, then take it out in bowls and serve hot.

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Serving suggestion: Try serving this soup with a hearty Mexican chicken salad if you are not strictly vegetarian.