One-Pot Soup From Pantry Cans and the Crisper

Soup is how you use the almost-gone vegetables and the cans hiding behind the cereal.

Bare-minimum pot

1. Soften chopped onion or sprinkle onion powder in oil (5 minutes).
2. Add garlic if you have it.
3. Add liquid: box broth, bouillon + water, or even water with extra salt and a Parmesan rind if one is in the fridge.
4. Add a can of beans or a handful of lentils; add chopped vegetables.
5. Simmer until vegetables are tender (15–25 minutes). Taste salt and acid (splash of vinegar or lemon if available).

Stretch moves

• Hot sauce or chili flake.
• Frozen spinach thrown in at the end.
• Leftover rice or pasta in the bowl, not necessarily in the pot.

Lunch the next day

Soup is better on day two. Pack it in whatever leak-resistant container you already trust. Working-mom bonus: thermos if you own one; mug if you work from home.

What to skip

Skip the eighteen-ingredient "perfect" soup. Skip cream if you do not have it. Warm and salty and done is the assignment.