Swamp Soup
Despite its “swampy” appearance, this soup is simply one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. If you like tomato soup, you’ll adore Swamp Soup. It’s like tomato soup on steroids and with a grilled cheese built right in. The broth is incredibly thick and hearty, it’s full of tons of vegetables that add texture and flavor, and let’s not forget those creamy, gooey bits of swiss cheese in every other bite. It’s TO DIE FOR.
Originally posted 12-21-10, updated 1-9-20.
Swamp Soup – Tomato Soup’s Flashier Cousin
Soup-er Fast, Soup-er Good.
My favorite thing about this soup is that it’s incredibly fast and easy. It’s ready to eat as soon as it’s heated through, although you can always let it simmer a bit longer, if you want. And if you have some chopped carrots and celery stashed in your freezer (scroll down to the step by step photos if you’re wondering why you’d ever have that in your freezer), it goes even faster!
How to Serve Swamp Soup
As mentioned above, this soup has melty chunks of Swiss cheese floating around in every bowl. While you can add the Swiss cheese to the whole pot, if you don’t plan to serve it all in one sitting, I suggest adding the cheese to each bowl just before serving (after reheating). You’ll probably also want some sort of cracker or crusty bread for dipping!
Can I freeze it?
Yes indeed! This soup is great for stocking your freezer. After cooking, divide your soup into single servings, cool it completely in the refrigerator over night, then transfer to the freezer the next day. You can freeze in quart-sized freezer bags or any freezer-safe meal prep container.
Substitutes for Swiss Cheese
I love the subtle flavor of Swiss with this soup, but if Swiss isn’t your jam you can use mozzarella instead. Mozzarella melts in a similar way to Swiss, so you’ll get the same effect in the soup. Plus, mozzarella also goes great with tomato. If you don’t care about the melty aspect, a little crumbled feta would also be amazing sprinkled onto every bowl.
Love tomato soup? Check out my Secret Ingredient Tomato Soup, too!
Swamp Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 1/2 lb. carrots (about 4 medium) ($0.30)
- 3 ribs celery ($0.46)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 Tbsp dried basil ($0.30)
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano ($0.30)
- 3 8oz. cans tomato sauce ($0.75)
- 3 15oz. cans diced tomatoes ($1.35)
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth ($0.20)
- 1 10oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach ($0.99)
- 8 oz. Swiss cheese ($1.69)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic, dice the onion, peel and slice the carrots, and slice the celery. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to a large soup pot with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft.
- Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (with juices), vegetable broth, basil, and oregano to the pot. Stir to combine, then allow the soup to come to a simmer.
- Once the soup is simmering, add the frozen spinach (no need to thaw). Stir the spinach into the hot soup until it has melted and heated through.
- Once the spinach is thoroughly mixed into the soup, give the soup a taste and add salt if needed. I did not add any, but this will ultimately depend on the sodium content of your canned goods and vegetable broth.
- Dice the swiss cheese into small cubes. Add a small handful of cubes to each bowl, then ladle the hot soup over top. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Equipment
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Swamp Soup – Step By Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, peel and slice 1/2 lb. carrots (about four carrots), slice three ribs celery, and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to a large soup pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil.
Since most of my soups begin with 1/2 lb. chopped carrot and 3-4 ribs of celery, I just go ahead and chop up the rest of my carrots and the bunch of celery, and freeze it for the next time I make a soup. That way I don’t have to do as much chopping later. I just dump the bag of frozen veggies into my soup pot and go!
Sauté the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic over medium for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft.
Next, add three 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce, three 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes (with juices), 1 Tbsp dried basil, 1 Tbsp dried oregano, and 1.5 cups vegetable broth to the pot. Stir to combine, then allow the soup to come up to a simmer.
Once the soup comes up to a simmer, add a 10 oz. block of frozen chopped spinach (no need to thaw). You can use frozen bagged spinach, too, just estimate about 10 oz. Stir the spinach into the soup until it thaws and heats through.
Once the soup is heated through, give it a taste and add salt if needed. Mine did not need any additional salt, but that will depend on your taste buds and the salt content of your canned goods and vegetable broth.
Chop an 8 oz. block of Swiss cheese into small cubes. If you’re going to serve the entire pot of soup at one sitting, go ahead and stir the cubes of cheese into the soup pot (with the heat turned off). The residual heat will melt the cubes. If you’re going to be eating one or two bowls at a time, add the cheese cubes to each bowl, then ladle the hot soup over top.
Sooooo gooey and good!
My family calls this recipe the vegan bolognese soup and often ask me to make it. I follow the recipe pretty closely – I just increase the amount of vegetables, add more broth for a thinner soup, and omit the cheese to make it vegan. The cheese is replaced by several cups of black beluga lentils (not the most frugal of ingredients, I know, but a little goes a long way) cooked separatedly, which make the soup hearty and soul-comforting. I finish the soup with a glug of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Thank you, Beth, for another excellent meal.
This was so amazing! I was surprised but I couldn’t stop eating! One substitution I made was using fire roasted tomatoes instead of the regular ones and it was full of so much flavor!
How can it be called swamp soup without heart of palm in there? Looks good!
Two questions:
1). How could this be made in a crock pot? Would I put it on LOW and for how long?
2) Could I make this ahead (except for adding the Swiss Cheese)?
We haven’t tested the recipe in a slow cooker just yet. But as you can see there are a few previous comments of people who have had great success!
I’ve made this several times and it is very, very good soup. The first time I made this I didn’t have one of the two herbs, so I subbed in two tablespoons of Italian seasoning. Since it makes an enormous batch and my kids aren’t that fond of leftovers, I’ve reduced it to two cans of tomato sauce and two cans diced tomato, then a heaping tablespoon of Italian seasoning. I also prefer collard greens to spinach, so that’s how I make it.
But really this is just a delicious recipe, absolutely out of the park.
Just out of curiosity do you think it’s possible to make this soup in a slow cooker or instant pot?
We haven’t tried it yet but you could certainly try.
I make this in a slow cooker every time.
This soup is awesome !! So easy, so yummy! Great with garlic bread for dunking 😊
What are your settings on your slow cooker? And for how long until it’s done?
For your Slow Cooker Method: Did you saute’ the celery, onion, and carrot before placing into the cooker, or just put the chopped veggies into the slow cooker with rest of the ingredients (except the spinach and cheese)?
This is the coziest soup. And it’s great for using up leftovers. I’ve added black beans, quinoa, rice, ground beef, zucchini and green beans. Not all at once, but that wouldn’t be too bad. Insteadof tomato sauce, I puree a couple cans of diced tomatoes.
Could one use fresh spinach instead of frozen?
Yes you could!