La Soupe de Mamie is my French grandmother-in-law Pierrette's simple vegetable soup from Toulon in the South of France. Made with tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, zucchini and turnip, it is simmered with thyme and bay leaf, then blended until velvety smooth-without any cream. In France, this style of blended vegetable soup is known as potage aux légumes, soupe passée or soupe moulinée.
Mamie always seemed to have a bowl waiting for me. One spoonful still transports me directly to her kitchen in Toulon.
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My French Grandmother in law's soup is surprisingly simple to make. La Soupe de Mamie is a version of Potage aux Légumes - a French vegetable soup that has been blended until there are no visible chunks left. It can also be known as soupe passée or soupe moulinée. Similar in texture to a creamed soup, except that there does not need to be any cream.
TL;DR
- What it is: A traditional French family vegetable soup, simmered and blended until naturally creamy without cream.
What makes Mamie's version special: A turnip adds a subtle peppery note to the sweetness of the carrots, tomatoes and zucchini.
Time: 5 minutes preparation + 30 minutes cooking
Yield: 6 servings
Dietary notes: Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free and naturally gluten-free
Best tip: Add only enough water to barely cover the vegetables. You can thin the soup after blending, but you cannot easily thicken a watery potage.
Mamie loved to serve soup to her family and always had a bowl waiting for me. This recipe is dedicated to her. Je t'aime, Mamie.
If you like La Soupe de Mamie you will also enjoy Soupe au Pistou. Soupe au Pistou is a hearty yet summery vegetarian bean soup packed with mixed vegetables, pasta and LOTS of basil. The perfect meal in a bowl , ideal meal prep to get you through the week.
Soup Sunday Challenge
La Soupe de Mamie is a foundational recipe of the Soup Sunday Challenge. Join me every January making one pot of soup per week. Healthy, comforting soups to make on the weekend to have easy meals on hand through the week. This recipe is vegan and full of nourishing vegetables.
Check out the Soup Sunday Challenge, which runs every January for 4 weeks. I will send you a free Soup recipe ebook, featuring my top 10 Soup recipes when you sign up!
Join me on Sundays in January for a live cooking demonstration.
FRENCH DIETING SECRET
Skip the baguette and the cheese and Potage aux Légumes becomes the French woman's diet trick whenever she is looking to shed a few kilos. The soup is rich and satisfying enough to be a light meal but doesn't use any other ingredients except water and vegetables with a few herbes. C'est tout!
Mireille Guiliano, author of the book, French Women Don't Get Fat (I highly recommend!) has a great Basic Vegetable Soup Recipe as well that was passed to her by her mother.
ELIMINATE FOOD WASTE
I first started to cook Potage aux Légumes years ago as a knee-jerk reaction to throwing out too many vegetables at the end of the week. I hated to see beautiful, fresh vegetables go to waste at the bottom of my fridge whenever I didn't have the time or energy to cook as much as I had expected. Since then, making a Potage aux Légumes almost weekly has become a ritual to me.
EQUIMENT NEEDED TO MAKE A POTAGE AUX LÉGUMES
- Soup Pot - I use this 8 QT Le Creuset stock pot for my Potage aux Légumes
- Immersion Blender. Yes, you can use a regular blender for this soup as well but I find it is always so messy. I use my immersion blender on a weekly basis.
POTAGE AUX LÉGUMES RECIPE
This is Mamie's special Potage aux Légumes recipe. She had a particular fondness for including "le navet", or a turnip, to the soup - it adds a peppery flavor that I love. That being said, please experiment with whatever you have in your fridge! It is nearly impossible to make a bad Potage!
La Soupe de Mamie Ingredients
2 large tomatos
4 carrots
2 large potatoes
2 zucchini
1 turnip
2 Cloves of Garlic
½ tablespoon fleur de sel
1 bay leaf
2 tbsps olive oil
1 sprig of thyme
6 cups of water
LA MISE EN PLACE (THE SET UP)
Peel the potatoes, the turnip and the carrots. Roughly chop all the vegetables into halves or quarters. The soup will be blended at the end so precision is not necessary here!.
LA CUISSON (THE COOKING)
Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot.
Add the garlic to the hot oil. Let sear lightly.
Add in all the veggies at once with the bay leaf, thyme salt & pepper.
Pour enough water to cover. This is KEY! Too much water and the soup is no good. You want to barely cover all the vegetables. If needed you can add more water at the end. Let simmer on medium heat for about a half hour until all the vegetables are cooked through. The potatoes should break apart with your spoon.
Turn off the heat.
Remove the bay leaf and thyme branch (the leaves will have fallen into the soup - that is ok).
Mix with an immersion blender until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if needed. If you don't have an immersion blender, I recommend the investment. They are much easier to use than stand blenders when making soup. I have used my kitchen aid immersion blender for over 8 years now for everything from guacamole to pesto to baby food to soups.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over the top. I like to make a heart shape for the ones I love.
Freshly baked baguette (my baguettes for beginners makes it easy to have Fresh baked baguettes at home) and cheese is the perfect accompaniment to a good Potage for a typical French déjeuner (lunch) or souper (dinner).
Potage aux Légumes also makes for a great first course for a family meal. (I love a first course that you can cook in advance! It takes the pressure off when entertaining)
Potage aux légumes can keep up to 5 days in the fridge or else freezes beautifully. I often make Potage aux Légumes as part of my Freezer Meal Batch Cooking.
Here are the other Soup Sunday Challenge Recipes that you may also enjoy making:
One: Magical Leek Soup
Two: La Poule au Pot
Three: Italian Chicken Sausage, White Bean & Kale Soup
Four: French Onion Soup Gratinée
Five: Fancy Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Six: Vegetarian Minestrone with homemade pesto
Let me know if you make these recipes. I greatly appreciate every comment and star rating on a recipe. Both help others find my recipes too! I look forward to hearing from you.
Au plaisir,
Le Chef's Wife
Print
La Soupe de Mamie - Grandmother's Vegetable Soup
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Soup
- Cuisine: French
Description
Fresh, seasonal vegetables from the market, blended with just a pinch of salt. The true flavor of the vegetables is elevated and you get a creamy, nourishing soup, perfect for dipping a crust of French Baguette into. Serve with a wheel of cheese if you fancy.
Ingredients
2 large tomatos
4 carrots
2 large potatoes
2 zucchini
1 turnip
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 teaspoons fleur de sel
2 tbsps olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
6 cups of water
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot.
- Add the garlic to the hot oil. Let sear lightly.
- Add in all the veggies at once with the bay leaf, thyme salt & pepper.
- Pour enough water to cover. This is KEY! Too much water and the soup is no good. You want to barely cover all the vegetables. If needed you can add more water at the end. Let simmer on medium heat for about a half hour until all the vegetables are cooked through. The potatoes should break apart with your spoon.
- Turn off the heat.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme branch (the leaves will have fallen into the soup - that is ok).
- Mix with an immersion blender until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if needed.If you don't have a hand mixer, I recommend the investment. They are much easier to use than blenders when making soup. I have used my kitchen aid immersion blender for over 8 years now for everything from guacamole to baby food to soups.
- Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over the top. I like to make a heart shape for the ones I love.
Notes
Skip the baguette and the cheese and Potage aux Légumes becomes the French woman's diet trick whenever she is looking to shed a few kilos. The soup is rich and satisfying enough to be a light meal but doesn't use any other ingredients except water and vegetables with a few herbes. C'est tout!
Mireille Guiliano, author of the book, French Women Don't Get Fat (I highly recommend!) has a great Basic Vegetable Soup Recipe as well that was passed to her by her mother.
I first started to cook Potage aux Légumes years ago as a knee-jerk reaction to throwing out too many vegetables at the end of the week. I hated to see beautiful, fresh vegetables go to waste at the bottom of my fridge whenever I didn't have the time or energy to cook as much as I had expected. Since then, making a Potage aux Légumes almost weekly has become a ritual to me.
Jason Floyd Stoner says
I’m making this for next week. In the How you make it bullet point above you mention sautéing onions—I’m not seeing that listed in the recipe ingredients. Do you typically use onion or no?
Anina Belle Giannini says
Hi Jason, Thank you for catching that! I do not typically use onions for this recipe. I have updated the content. Thank you and enjoy your soup!
Ian says
I don't usually leave comments on recipes, but this was so remarkable that I can't help myself.
I followed the recipe as written, the only change being the addition of a heavy pinch of Herbes de Provence after blending. This unassuming soup may be the very best thing to ever come out of my kitchen.
Good food has a way of taking us back to times remembered, and this simple dish instantly took me back to childhood, to my mother's backyard vegetable and herb garden. She's been gone many years now, but can I feel her with me in the kitchen.
It's been four years or so since this recipe was published, and I have no idea if you'll see this comment. But if you do, thank you so very, very much.
Anina Belle Giannini says
Thank you, Ian! This comment made my day! I also absolutely love this recipe- it is one of my favorites as it also brings me right back to my grandmother's kitchen everytime I make it. Thank you for taking the time to comment and review the recipe, it truly means the world. Mamie Pierrette had so many great recipes - I think you will love her Soupe au Pistou too!
Patrick john says
"So delicious!"
Grandmother's Vegetable Soup, or La Soupe de Mamie, is the kind of recipe that is comfortable, sentimental, full of fresh vegetables, and warm and comforting. Every spoonful is pure loveliness.
Kelsey O. says
This recipe was delightful! I used thyme and tomatoes from my garden. I didn’t have a turnip handy so I omitted it and it was still so flavorful! I’ll have to try it again with the turnip included. I paired it with homemade sourdough and will definitely be adding this into our rotation for simple, delicious dinners. Thank you!!
Kate says
Hi! Is the soup left to simmer covered or uncovered?
Thank you!
lechefswife says
Hello Thank you for your comment, Kate. I let simmer uncovered, stirring frequently. Bon Appétit!
Suzanne says
Looks delicious and so simple. Is it just me or the recipe and instructions are in there twice?
lechefswife says
Thank you for your comment. Once is in the body of the blog post and once is in the recipe card so that you can easily print it out 🙂