Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup is a healthy soup using holiday leftovers. This easy soup recipe has instructions for cooking in an Instant Pot or on a stove top. Add your leftover ham or turkey, plus any leftover veggies to this rice-based soup for an easy, flavorful, gluten-free lunch or dinner.
Leftovers Soup!
With food prices what they are these days, it’s never been more important to make sure we aren’t wasting groceries we’ve spent out hard-earned money on.
This veggie packed recipe comes in extra handy for the holiday season, or to help use up all your leftovers at the end of the week. So clean out your fridge, and put all those leftovers to good use!
What’s in Kitchen Sink Soup?
Leftovers! Do you have a mish-mash of leftovers from the holidays? Turkey, chicken and ham that you don’t know what to do with? Is it time to clean out the fridge and you want a delicious and healthy way to use up all the leftover vegetables?
Go look to see if there are any of these ingredients lingering in your fridge or pantry:
- Squash – zucchini or pumpkin
- Carrots, green beans, cauliflower or broccoli
- Potatoes – Russet, sweet, baby, red…etc!
- Mixed rice, quinoa, or pasta
- Ham, roast chicken, turkey, or even legumes to make a vegan protein option.
- Bacon or pancetta (feel free to skip to make this vegan).
- Spinach, kale, or other leaf greens
- Broth – chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth
- Onion, shallots, or leeks
- Mushrooms
- Celery
- Garlic
- Fresh herbs – parsley, thyme, cilantro, rosemary…etc.
Step-By-Step Instructions
In this updated Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup I’m utilizing my instant pot (with stove top option of course). I am using pancetta or uncured bacon to sauté the vegetables first.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place instant pot on saute setting. Add your olive oil, onion, pancetta, carrots and celery. Sauté for 2-4 minutes until onions are transparent and fragrant. Add your diced squash and sauté again for another 2 minutes.
For Vegetarian Version: Do not add the bacon, instead add in a few teaspoons of tamari sauce, an extra pinch of paprika or smoked paprika, and 1 ½ cups cooked (or canned, drained) chickpeas with your rice and vegetables.
- Turn off sauté setting.
- Stir in your garlic, paprika, and cumin. Mix together.
- Finally, add in your rice, broth, green beans, kosher salt, and pepper.
- Place Instant pot setting to manual pressure cook, sealed, for 12-14 minutes. If you are using wild rice, cook for 14-16 minutes. *See notes if using pre cooked rice*
- After 12-14 minutes, use Quick release option to stop cooking. Then add in your spinach, stir, and seal it back up.
- Place on warm for 10 minutes until spinach is steamed.
- Once spinach is steamed, uncover and add sea salt.
- Serve and garnish with shredded Parmesan, cilantro, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Feel free to add in ham, roast chicken or turkey with the spinach while warming.
Stove Top Version
- In a large stock pot, add your olive oil, onion, pancetta, carrots and celery. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onions are transparent and fragrant.
- Add your diced squash, garlic, and the rest of your spices and cook again for another 2-3 minute.
- Add the broth, bring to a boil, then add your rice and reduce heat.
- Place on low covered for about 20-25 minutes or until rice is cooked.
Note: If you are using wild rice it will take a little longer.
- Mix in your spinach and any other add-ins of choice. Cover and simmer for another 5-8 minutes or until spinach is wilted.
- Once cooked, add a pinch of sea salt. Serve and garnish with Parmesan, herbs, and red pepper flakes.
Tip: To speed up both Stove top and Instant pot version, you can use precooked rice. For Instant pot cook 10 minutes then place on warm with spinach. For Stove top, just cook 10 minutes after bringing to a boil, versus 25 minutes.
More of Our Favorite
Healthy Soup Recipes
Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup (Instant Pot or Stove Top Recipe)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup is a HEALTHY soup recipe using holiday leftovers. This easy soup recipe has instructions for cooking in an Instant Pot or on a stove top. Gluten free, Dairy free option.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 ounces pancetta or chopped uncured bacon
- ⅔ cup chopped celery (about 2 large celery ribs)
- 1 cup chopped or ½ inch sliced carrots
- 2 cups peeled cube cut squash (370 grams or close to ¾ lb)
- ½ tsp garlic powder or 1 tsp minced garlic
- ½ tsp cumin
- pinch of paprika – close to ¼ tsp
- 1 ¼ cup green beans (chopped, ends removed)
- 1 cup a blend of uncooked rice (wild rice and long grain white rice work great)
- ½ tsp kosher salt or to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 6 – 6 ½ cups veggie broth or chicken broth
- 2 cups loosely packed spinach or other leafy green
- Optional grated Parmesan to garnish
- Red pepper flakes to garnish
- Herbs to garnish – optional
- Optional Add-ins: 4-5 ounces Roasted turkey, smoked ham, chickpeas, etc.
Instructions
FOR INSTANT POT:
- Place instant pot on saute setting. Add your olive oil, onion, pancetta, carrots and celery. Sauté
for 2-4 minutes until onions are transparent and fragrant. Add your diced squash and sauté again for another 2 minutes. - Turn off sauté setting.
- Stir in your garlic, paprika, and cumin. Mix together.
- Finally, add in your rice, broth, green beans, kosher salt, and pepper.
- Place Instant pot setting to manual pressure cook, sealed, for 12-14 minutes. If you are using wild rice, cook for 14-16 minutes. *See notes if using pre cooked rice*
- After 12-14 minutes, use Quick release option to stop cooking. Then add in your spinach, stir, and seal it back up.
- Place on warm for 10 minutes until spinach is steamed.
- Once spinach is steamed, uncover and add sea salt.
- Serve and garnish with shredded Parmesan, cilantro, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Feel free to add in ham, roast chicken or turkey with the spinach while warming.
Notes
For STOVE TOP Version: In a large stock pot, add your olive oil, onion, pancetta, carrots and celery. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onions are transparent and fragrant. Add your diced squash, garlic, and the rest of your spices and cook again for another 2-3 minute. Add the broth, bring to a boil, then add your rice and reduce heat. Place on low covered for about 20- 25 minutes or until rice is cooked. If you are using wild rice it will take a little longer. Mix in your spinach and any other add-ins of choice. Cover and simmer for another 5-8 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Once cooked, add a pinch of sea salt. Serve and garnish with Parmesan, herbs, and red pepper flakes.
Tips – *To speed up both Stove top and Instant pot version, you can use precooked rice. For Instant pot cook 10 minutes then place on warm with spinach. For Stove top, just cook 10 minutes after bringing to a boil, versus 25 minutes.
For Vegetarian Version: Do not add the bacon, instead add in a few teaspoons of tamari sauce, an extra pinch of paprika or smoked paprika, and 1 ½ cups cooked (or canned, drained) chickpeas with your rice and vegetables.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: main
- Method: instant pot
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 265
- Sugar: 5 g
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 10 g
I don’t have an instant pot. Can I use my slow cooker instead?
For sure! Are you using cooked or uncooked rice? I would Follow the same directions as the instant pot except or place it on medium or high for 2 to 3 hours. Or low for four hours. Just depends on if you’re using pre-cooked rice
This is my kind of soup!!
I love everything about this! I’m making it this weekend and I’m so excited.
Thanks, Lauren! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
This is my kind of soup!!
Oh yay! We love it too. So easy! 😉
Ahhh, this is a leftovers masterpiece!
You’re my masterpiece inspiration ?
I have just tried two of your recipes the last two nights as I was trying to find recipes for the produce from my CSA. This was one of them and both were absolutely fantastic! What I loved about this one is I substituted several things and it still turned our amazing! I did the instapot version. So Good!!!
A bowl of vegetable porridge with meat looks delicious and nutritious, thanks for sharing
love this, still craving soup into a very cold spring, so thank you for a new recipe, at least to me!
Are there any vegetable that you really shouldn’t use? Like mushrooms? Also, can you use any frozen vegetables or squash?
or Radishes?
I wouldn’t use mushrooms or radishes. But frozen veggies work great! Maybe a mix? I used frozen green beans and squash before. It’s perfect!
Comforting massive pots of veggie soup or chili or any other kind of soups makes me SOOO happy for winter. And they also make my tummy happy. 🙂 HAPPY NEW YEAR Lindsay! Love ya friend.
Yes! so agree friend. <3 Love ya
The soup was delish and very flavourful. I did not add cumin but extra paprika and it was really really good. Will do it again for sure. Thank you!
Wonderful! So glad it worked out Sandra. Paprika is the perfect extra addition
Such a good leftover hack!!!
Gotta love that resourcefulness
Yes to vegetables Lindsay . YES YES YES! I’m usually one for making up lots of Curry’s so as to use up the leftovers at this time of the year, but I wanted something different and THIS is SO HITTING THE SPOT! Thank you. Hope you are doing well!
Oh i love your curry recipes! Must make one soon! So good to hear from you Neil. And hi to Lynn!
This soup has everything I want in a meal!
Your pictures are amazing! Its crazy to look back and see how much you grow.
Thank you friend! The feeling is mutual! So excited for more of you amazing work in 2018!
This looks so good, girl! And these kinds of recipes are always my favorite – just mixing odds and ends, cleaning out the crisper drawer and pantry. They always turn out so tasty. And I get a a lot of satisfaction out of repurposing leftovers! Beautiful photos. Looking forward to 2018!
mine too! All the flavors make me happy and I feel nourished.
So pretty! Love these colors!
Thanks Tieghan!
My kinda soup! Looks hearty and so flavorful!
This looks super flavorful!
Packed full of so much goodness, love this leftovers idea!
Thanks Matt!
1000 times yes! I could eat this for lunch every day!
I kinda did! Haha
Oddly enough, my family never really ate much soup. Except for matzo ball soup – we loved that. HA! Now I really like it though. These kitchen sink soups are so perfect for the end of the week. I love this!
Do you have a GF matzo ball soup recipe? I am dying to try one!
This is my kind of soup!!
COZY AND DELISH!!!!!
The perfect cold weather soup!
It’s about time I get off the dessert train!! This looks totally yummy! Packed with all the good things my diet needs right now! Happy Holidays!
The PERFECT soup!!!!!!