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.
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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
Servings 8 about 1.25 cups eachIngredients
- 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!
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Equipment
Nutrition
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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!
This soup is delicious and satisfies the soul! I will be remaking this recipe over and over. You are correct no salt needed ;) Keep those vegetarian and vegan recipes coming. I appreciate you. Thanks for all you do! :)
I’m on my second batch of this, which I’ll be taking to a Superbowl party this evening.
The first time, I made it as it’s written, and we loved it! The only thing I changed then was to use pepper jack cheese instead of Swiss because — believe it or not — the little grocery store down the road from us (we’re wintering in the Texas hill country) didn’t have Swiss!! Honestly, it was a happy adjustment. I thought the pepper jack was delicious!
So … I’m making it a second time and using the pepper jack again. This time, I pumped up the spice a little by adding 1 tsp. of smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp. of cayenne. The heat is just right, although I haven’t had it w/ the spicy cheese yet.
OH! I also added in a can of mild chopped green chilies because I thought it would make a nice zingy addition.
As someone else said: I love Beth’s recipes! They’re always written so well, and they inspire me to try new things. Thanks, Beth and staff!
p.s. Also as someone else said: I used fire-roasted tomatoes. They add to the swampiness. lol
Just finished making this on a rainy Saturday in NJ. No changes to your recipe and it is awesome !!
I’m now craving for swamp soup Beth! I also love cheeses, and I love the fact that this soup has chunks of Swiss cheese floating around in every bowl. When it comes to cheeses and preserves, UK High Street is my go-to. The store got different kinds of cheese ranging from welsh cheddar to blue stilton, along with preserves like tomato and chili chutney and red onion marmalade. I think those will also taste great with tomato, and add some sweet and spicy spin to the soup.
Love your recipes, Beth, and I can just imagine how good this swamp soup will be!
I’m mindful of my sodium intake. Noticing on your nutrition info the sodium is over 1500 mg per serving (my max daily intake!). Is it that high because you’re using regular canned tomatoes and tom paste vs the no salt added can option?
My can of no salt added diced tomatoes in the pantry has 15mg sodium. So if your using regular canned tomatoes I suppose I can back into the math to see how much less sodium per serving this soup would be…?
I have simi.ar sodium restrictions. I use unsalted tomatoes, nno salt stock, and half the cheese. It’s delicious.
This soup is so good!!! It was a hit all around and will be going in rotation for sure. It made my soul happy, it’s so warming.
I only modified a few things including swapping frozen spinach for fresh, added more veggie broth for a thinner soup, and added Italian sausage. However I bet this is amazing without these modifications as well.
Hi Beth/Kelly! I was thinking about making a vegan version of this, but do you think it’d be lacking too much flavour if I omit the cheese?
I’ve made this soup with chickpeas instead of the cheese and it is delicious! Not lacking at all in my opinion! I love that Beth’s recipes are always so easily modified for dietary restrictions or just what’s lying around in the pantry.
I was making a one pot pasta and realized that I didn’t have tomato sauce, so I ended up doing a broth with tomato paste. I thought it kinda looked like swamp soup so I added big chunks of mozzarella, it was great. Thank you for your recipes 😊
Looks so good! Love that you don’t waste food – just pop in the freezer for the next time.
Literally best soup I’ve ever made. I threw It in the crockpot. Eaten for lunch 5 days in a row and it was good each time.
So glad I saw this comment in time…I’ll definitely be using the slow cooker when I make it now! Did you change anything?
This soup was ugly af but so delicious.
Also I used fire roasted tomatoes because I could have sworn that you recommended it…but I got that mixed up with another recipe. It was a wonderful mistake.
This soup is delicious and satisfies the soul! Will be remaking this recipe over and over. You are correct no salt needed ;) Keep those vegetarian and vegan recipes coming. I appreciate you. Thanks for all you do! :)
I’m often tempted to try your recipes but I have a carrot allergy. What would you suggest for a substitute? Either specifically in this recipe or for others?
I think this is going to vary depending on the recipe. For this one I think it would be best to just leave the carrots out, rather than try to substitute them with something different. :)
What would be some good swaps for others? ( I literally dont know how to cook)
Carrots have a sweet mild flavor, but it will depend on what you’re making. Celery, onion, garlic, and bell pepper are a good base for pretty much anything. If you want the texture, you can add parsnips or turnips.
I agree w/ the parsnips or turnips, or maybe the zingy flavor of something like a watermelon radish would be good.
Thanks this the best soup recipe which is very easy to make & and it can be ready in just 30 minutes.
I added barley and it was delicious!
Hi Beth I am in Australia and love getting all the recipes. What would be a good substitute for the tins of sauce hwre?
Thank you
Hi Tracey, just to clarify do you mean the tomato sauce?
Is it like passata?
I made this soup tonight and my whole family loved it. Do you think this will freeze well without any cheese chunks in it?
Yes I think it will freeze wonderfully!
Hi Tracey, I’m also in Australia! When tomato sauce is called for in US recipes I substitute it with an equivalent amount of passata (usually sold alongside the pasta sauces in Coles/Woolworths).