Updated March 2, 2024

I know, I know – this isn’t really a “beauty” post, but it IS about the beauty of saving money – and having delicious homemade soup! And it’s so easy, and costs virtually nothing, so I felt the need to share how I do it.

Without giving you my whole life story (don’t you hate that?), here we go. This is not a traditional “recipe,” but just basic instructions. There’s no wrong way to do this, so feel free to adjust and make it your own.

I’m a pescatarian, so I eat a lot of vegetables. Whenever I’m cutting anything up, be it onions, carrots, squash, asparagus, green beans – you get the idea – I throw all of those ends in a gallon-size silicone bag that I keep in the freezer, instead of into the trash or compost pile. Like this:

When that bag gets full, out comes the Instant Pot! I dump the bag into the pot and fill up to the fill line with water. Then I throw in a little salt and pepper, and some herbs and spices – usually garlic powder and Italian seasoning. But this last time, I decided to try Mediterranean seasoning instead, and it was great!

Clamp down that lid, set the pot on 20 minutes pressure cooking, and go enjoy your day. Let the pot do a slow release. When you take that lid off, take in the aroma of the wonderful broth you just made! Reminds me of my Nana’s kitchen. Strain it all into a bowl with a big strainer and let it cool off a bit before dividing into Mason jars. Leave a little head space if you’re going to be freezing them. Now you can toss those vegetables!

If you don’t have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, no worries – you can do this on your stovetop too. It will just take longer.

Next time you want to make some homemade soup, use this instead of that sodium-filled store-bought stuff. You’ll be glad you did!

I’ll be posting my vegetable soup recipe next time I make it. I forgot to take a picture last time.

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