Vegetable soup

A homemade vegetable soup is low in histamine and an easy, comforting option for people with HIT, as long as you choose the vegetables well. The dish itself is safe; the ingredients you put in it decide everything.

Why vegetable soup is rated low

Fresh vegetables gently simmered are not fermented, cured, or aged, so nothing in a basic vegetable soup drives histamine up on its own. The simmering time does not create histamine either, since heat actually works against the bacteria that would. Where a vegetable soup can go wrong is the specific produce (tomato and spinach are the classic offenders) and the base, since a long-simmered, long-held meat stock or a bouillon cube loaded with yeast extract changes the picture.

What changes your risk

• Which vegetables — Carrot, zucchini, potato, leek, green beans, and squash keep it low. Tomato and spinach are the ones to leave out, since they are the high-histamine vegetables here.
• The stock — A fresh homemade or simple vegetable base is safest. Long-simmered and long-held meat stocks tend to run higher, and many bouillon cubes contain yeast extract, which is best avoided.
• Freshness of produce — Start with fresh or frozen vegetables in good shape. Anything soft, slimy, or moldy should go in the bin, not the pot.
• Leftovers and reheating — Soup keeps reasonably well, but cool it quickly and refrigerate it. Eat within a day or two rather than reheating the same batch all week.
• Add-ins — Cheese, cured sausage, or a splash of wine turn a safe soup high. Fresh herbs and olive oil are the safer way to add flavor.

What else is safe

Build the soup on genuinely low vegetables: carrot, zucchini, leek, potato, celery root, green beans, cabbage, and butternut squash all work beautifully. Fresh herbs and olive oil round it out. The look-alikes to avoid are minestrone and other tomato-based soups, spinach soups, French onion made with aged cheese, and anything finished with a cured-meat or wine base.

How to enjoy it

Make it from scratch when you can so you control both the vegetables and the base. Use fresh produce, a simple homemade or plain vegetable stock, and season with fresh herbs, salt, and olive oil rather than bouillon cubes or a parmesan rind. Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate, and eat them within a couple of days instead of letting a pot ride for a week.

Common questions

Does simmering soup for a long time raise histamine?

No, cooking time itself does not create histamine, and heat actually works against the bacteria that would. The concern with very long-simmered, long-held stocks is more about the starting freshness and warm holding than the cooking time.

Can I use store-bought stock or bouillon cubes?

A simple fresh or plain vegetable stock is safest. Many bouillon cubes contain yeast extract, which a lot of HIT lists flag, so check the label or make your own base.

Is tomato soup okay?

No, tomato is high-histamine and a liberator for many people, so tomato-based soups like minestrone are best avoided. Choose carrot, squash, or other non-tomato vegetable soups instead.