Eating healthy and staying on budget can be two things that sometimes struggle a little to go hand un hand, but I have found by having a few basics in your pantry you can make it work. There are a good number of foods that are inexpensive like noodles, broth, stock, and veggies (non organic and organic) and knowing how to make different recipes with staples like these will be key in not getting bored eating the same thing and not breaking your budget. So let me introduce you to my easy comfort soups that I make during this time of year when it is cold out, it is my vegan version of your classic Chicken Noodle Soup minus the chicken, but of course if you wanted to add chicken all you’d have to do is chop a few pieces and put it with everything else to cook.
I like to keep things real simple and use an Instapot but know that you can still recreate this recipe in a pot on the stove. Now, I have two tips for you to make this recipe extra yummy and in my opinion are worth the extra time.
- Cook your own chickpeas and use the water that you’ve cooked them in the soup.
- Cook the noodles separately from the soup and add at the end. I have found that they can get a little mushy and overcooked when you cook it with everything.
What You’ll Need:
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 thyme bunch- fresh
- 3 tablespoons of Nutritonal Yeast
- 1-2 cups of chickpeas (recommend cooking these instead of using canned, but in a pinch a can of chickpeas will work as well.
- 6 cups of broth
*I use 6 cups of water and use Better Than Bullion to create my broth*
*If you’re making your own chickpeas use 2 cups of the leftover water and 4 cups of broth* - 1 cup of cooked pasta (add at the end!)
- Salt & pepper for taste
Add everything except the cooked pasta to the Instapot and set to High Pressure for 4 minutes. Let it depressurize on it’s own, add the cooked pasta and enjoy!
If cooking in a pot over the stove, add everything except the cooked pasta and cook on medium heat until the veggies are cooked through, add pasta and enjoy!
Catch my REELS Video here!
How is this meal less than $10?
All of these items are relatively cheap but obviously if you buy all of these items at once they will come out to more than $10. So the way I calculate the cost of this whole dish is by only adding the costs of what I actually used, making this whole soup cost less than $10!
Hope that you enjoy this recipe and that you find it helpful as I begin to share more budget friendly meals!
As always, thank you for reading. Como siempre, gracias por leer.
