If your kids would rather negotiate with you than eat a visible piece of carrot, this soup is worth keeping in your back pocket. The vegetables are cooked until soft, then blended into a smooth tomato broth, leaving absolutely nothing for little detectives to pick out. Add alphabet pasta, and you’ve got a simple homemade soup with plenty of vegetables and not a single one in sight. The best part? You don’t need to make a separate dinner for everyone else.
What Makes This Recipe Worth Making
- Vegetables without the negotiations: Leek, carrot, onion, and garlic all go into the pot, then disappear into a smooth broth.
- Simple ingredients: Tomato passata and chicken broth do most of the flavor-building, without a long list of ingredients.
- Fun for little eaters: Alphabet pasta gives kids something to look for in every spoonful.
Ingredients
- Tomato passata: Passata is smooth, strained tomato purée. It gives the broth its tomato flavor without adding chunks of tomato, which is rather the point of this particular soup.
- Leek, Carrot, Onion, Garlic and Bay leaves
- Chicken broth: If using salted chicken broth, reduce the amount of added salt and adjust to taste. Different brands of broth vary in sodium content, so taste before adding more salt.
- Alphabet pasta: Look for small, dried letter-shaped pasta in the pasta aisle. Cooking times vary by brand, so check the package before adding it to the soup.
- Salt
- Squeeze of Lemon (optional)
How to Make Alphabet Soup
Simmer the leek, carrot, onion, garlic, and bay leaves in chicken broth and water until the vegetables are completely soft. Remove the bay leaves, then blend the vegetables with some of the broth and the tomato passata until smooth. Return the mixture to the pot and bring it back to a boil. Add the alphabet pasta and cook until tender, then taste and adjust the salt. Serve warm, with a squeeze of lemon if you like.
Tips for Success
- Cook the vegetables until very soft. They’ll blend more easily and give you a smoother broth.
- Remove the bay leaves before blending. They add flavor during cooking but should be discarded afterward.
- Season at the end. Different chicken broths contain different amounts of salt. Taste the soup before adding more.
- Blend hot liquids carefully. Follow your blender manufacturer’s instructions for blending hot ingredients, and allow steam to escape safely as directed.
- Serve soon after cooking. The alphabet pasta will continue absorbing liquid as it sits, making the soup thicker.
A Homemade Soup for Picky Eaters
The trick here is blending the vegetables into the broth rather than leaving them in pieces. The leek, carrot, onion, and garlic contribute flavor and body, but there are no visible vegetable chunks for little eaters to sort through.
The alphabet pasta helps, too. It gives kids something familiar and fun to focus on while they eat. Of course, every picky eater has their own rules, but if visible vegetables are the main obstacle, this is a useful recipe to have on hand.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this soup as a simple lunch or an easy dinner. Crusty bread, buttered toast, or a grilled cheese sandwich would all work well alongside it.
For a little extra brightness, offer lemon wedges at the table so everyone can add a squeeze to their bowl if they wish.
Storage and Reheating
Alphabet pasta absorbs liquid as it sits, so the soup will become thicker after refrigeration. For the best texture, serve it shortly after the pasta finishes cooking.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in an airtight container. When reheating, warm the soup thoroughly and add a little water or broth if needed to loosen it. Keep in mind that the pasta will be softer after storage, so the texture won’t be quite the same as when freshly made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make alphabet soup for picky eaters?
This version is designed with picky eaters in mind. The vegetables are blended into a smooth tomato broth, so there are no visible vegetable pieces, while the alphabet pasta makes the soup more fun to eat.
Do I have to blend the vegetables?
Blending is what gives this soup its smooth texture and hides the vegetables. If you prefer a chunkier soup, you can leave them unblended, but the result will be different.
When should I add the salt?
Taste the soup after the pasta has cooked, then add salt as needed. This is especially important when using a salty chicken broth.
Can I add lemon juice?
It is optional. A squeeze of lemon just before serving is optional and adds a fresh, bright note to the tomato broth.
Homemade Alphabet Soup
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- ¾ cup tomato passata
- 1 leek cleaned
- 1 carrot peeled
- 1 onion peeled
- 5 garlic cloves peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 carton chicken broth 900ml
- 5 cups water
- 1 cup dried alphabet pasta
- salt to taste
- lemon juice optional, for serving
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth and water to a large pot and bring to a boil.5 cups water, 1 carton chicken broth
- Add the leek, carrot, onion, garlic cloves, and bay leaves. Cook for approximately 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are very soft.1 leek, 1 carrot, 5 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1 onion
- Remove the bay leaves. Take out both bay leaves and discard them.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to a blender with approximately 1 cup of the broth and the tomato passata. Blend until completely smooth, following your blender's safety instructions for hot liquids.¾ cup tomato passata
- Pour the blended mixture back into the pot and stir it into the remaining broth.
- Bring the soup back to a boil. Add the dried alphabet pasta and cook according to the package directions, until tender.1 cup dried alphabet pasta
- Taste the soup and add salt as needed, keeping in mind the salt may already present in the chicken broth.salt
- Ladle into bowls and add a squeeze of lemon juice if desired.lemon juice
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