Bloody Mary-Sweet Potato-Cabbage “Noodle”-Bean-and-Veggie Soup for Meatless Monday

gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, vegan, Meatless Monday, soup, pantry soup, quick and easy, cabbage, Bloody Mary, beans, recipe

Bloody Mary-Sweet Potato-Cabbage “Noodle”-Bean-and-Veggie Soup

Yes, that’s a mouthful, but it’s a really good one … believe me! I hesitated over sharing this Bloody Mary-Sweet Potato-Cabbage “Noodle”-Bean-and-Veggie Soup because it is not totally made from scratch as most of my soups are. This soup was actually made using Bloody Mary mix. I always buy Bloody Mary mix for our Valentine’s Day parties. Some years it gets used. Some years not. This year the Bloody Mary mix didn’t even get opened. I knew that I wasn’t going to put it back in my liquor cabinet (aka the top shelf of my pantry) because it would not get used if I did that either. We don’t have many Bloody Mary drinking friends who stop by. Although pre-made Bloody Mary mix can be some fairly horrific stuff … full of high fructose corn syrup and lots of undesirable ingredients as lots of drink mixers (but not all) are, the mix I found was one of the the healthier ones. It was free of gluten (of course), HFCS, and MSG, but it did contain some ingredients at the end of the listing (therefore, in lesser amounts) that are not ones I normally consume (e.g., soy). From the ingredients listing, the Worcestershire sauce included in this Bloody Mary mix even appeared to be vegan, which is a bonus for my vegan friends.

cabbage, Bloody Mary, beans, recipe

So I decided I’d used this Bloody Mary mix in some soups because I’ve been on a real soup kick of late. Although Mr. GFE doesn’t care to eat soup night after night, particularly the same soup night after night, but when I come up with a good soup, I’m more than happy to eat it several times in a row. Even for several meals in a row. I will eat great soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This soup is great soup. Every time I eat a spoonful, I am thrilled with the combination of flavors and textures. It’s perfect for a Meatless Monday and other than the Bloody Mary mix, all the ingredients come from your basic pantry—broth, sweet potatoes, finely shredded cabbage (these become very much like noodles), shredded carrots, black beans, chickpeas (you know how I love them!), corn, and coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk). I had hoped to come up with homemade version of Bloody Mary mix that I could just include in the ingredients, but for now, I’m just going to share this version and let you guys run with it. If you want to substitute ingredients from your pantry for the Bloody Mary Mix, I’m thinking that diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, lime juice, horseradish, celery seeds (or celery salt), and some molasses and pure hot sauce might be a good start. You could also use a spicy vegetable juice (ready-made or homemade) in place of the Bloody Mary mix. When I make my own version from scratch, I’ll come back and share, of course. But here is the super simple recipe as it stands today.

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Bloody Mary-Sweet Potato-Cabbage “Noodle”-Bean-and-Veggie Soup

Ingredients

2 to 2 ½ cups Bloody Mary Mix (vegetarian or vegan with real food ingredients preferably—more Bloody Mary Mix will yield a spicier, thinner soup; see notes for other options)
2 cups vegetable broth (you can use chicken broth if you are not vegetarian/vegan)
2 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (I used my hand masher)
2 to 3 cups finely shredded cabbage (I used old-fashioned cole slaw mix, which was simply cabbage and carrots)
1 can black beans (or equivalent amount of fresh cooked black beans), about 16 ounces, rinsed and drained
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans; or equivalent amount of fresh cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans), about 16 ounces, rinsed and drained
1 can corn (or equivalent amount of fresh or frozen corn kernels), about 12 to 16 ounces, rinsed and drained (optional ingredient, but preferred)
1 ½ cups coconut milk (either canned or from carton)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in large stockpot.
Bring to a boil on stove top.
Reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until warmed through. (If you want a thicker soup, use your immersion blender once or twice in the stockpot for about 15 to 30 seconds at a time.)
Stir and serve.

Notes

If you want to substitute ingredients from your pantry for the Bloody Mary Mix, I think that diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, lime juice, horseradish, celery seeds (and/or celery salt), molasses, and hot sauce would be a good start. You can even add some gluten-free Worcestershire sauce if you find one that meets your needs (e.g., vegan). You could also use a spicy vegetable juice (ready-made or homemade) in combination with diced or pureed tomatoes in place of the Bloody Mary mix for a soup with less complex flavors. I’d definitely recommend the use of an immersion blender near the end of your cooking time if you are adding diced or larger pieces of tomatoes. The finely shredded cabbage in this recipe creates a nice crunchy “noodle” effect.

gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, vegan, Meatless Monday, soup, pantry soup, quick and easy, cabbage, Bloody Mary, beans, recipe This recipe is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesdays and Gluten-Free Wednesdays.