Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Favorite Soup Is a Recipe Passed Down by His Mother

Plus, his dream dinner guests, his top pantry staple and more!

Freddie Prinze Jr. is fully embracing the giving season.

The actor best known for films like She’s All That, I Know What You Did Last Summer and starring in the Scooby-Doo franchise is teaming up with Libby’s Vegetables and Meals on Wheels America, a nonprofit organization with over 5,000 senior nutrition programs nationwide. EatingWell was given the incredible opportunity to talk to him all about it.

Plus, we learned that he’s more of a cook than you may think. He even developed three four-ingredient side dish recipes for Libby’s campaign: Sweet Truffle Corn, Green Beans with Bacon and Sweet Beets.

Read on to find more about Prinze, including his favorite soup, his dream dinner guests, his favorite holiday cocktail and more in this exclusive interview.

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EatingWell: What’s your favorite soup?

Prinze: When I was a kid, my mother taught me how to make tomato soup. She made a creamless tomato soup. It is the best soup ever, and everyone I've made it for thinks there's cream in it. There's not, then I show them how to make it so they believe me. And then they share the recipe! I love this soup so much. I put it in the cookbook that I wrote a few years back. My kids ask me to make it for them all the time with grilled cheese, and my daughter now knows how to make it. It's my favorite soup.

Get the Recipe: Mom's "The Best" Tomato Soup

EatingWell: Could you talk more about your partnership with Libby’s Vegetables?

Prinze: During Thanksgiving and the holiday season, everybody's thinking about giving a little bit more and showing more gratitude. That's why Libby's came to me. They partnered with Meals on Wheels America. They've been around since I was a kid; there was [someone] on my street that actually used their service. When someone likes, shares and/or comments on one of my recipe posts on Instagram—and if you don't want to go to my Instagram, you could go to Libby's Vegetables and [comment] on theirs with the hashtag #LibbyGivesThanks, Libby’s will give Meals on Wheels America one coupon that's redeemable for one can. I know you're sitting there going, “Freddie, that's one can,” but they're going to give up to 500,000 coupons and it all goes to Meals on Wheels America to help them continue doing the good work that they do.

EatingWell: Through this partnership, you developed three simple sides perfect for the holiday table. Could you talk more about those?

Prinze: It’s a little bit different and affordable to cook with canned vegetables like Libby's, and you're going to save a lot of money. Everybody would love to go to a farmers' market every weekend, but not all of us have the means or the ability to get to one. So it can be more cost-effective and time-effective to use canned vegetables. I added truffle oil to the corn, which makes it taste amazing. For the sweet beets, I added a little bit of maple syrup at the very end, like the last two minutes of cooking. And that gets anybody to eat beets, that's the one that's gotten the most comments on my social media. A lot of guys were like, “Yo, I've never even had beets. I'll try that.” So if I make one person eat a new vegetable, that's a win. And the recipe for green beans with bacon is a tribute to my grandma.  She used to make them with a big old ham hock and it was the most delicious thing. We don't all have access to a giant ham hock, but everyone has—well, most people have—bacon in the refrigerator. Not quite as good, but it keeps things simple and easy. The main thing with all of them is that it helps make Thanksgiving a little bit quicker, easier, saves you some time, some effort and energy so you can sit down with your family.

EatingWell: Any foods or drinks this holiday season that you’re most looking forward to?

Prinze: I mean, gravy is my favorite thing in the world. It goes great on potatoes, turkey, stuffing, whatever. You can sop it up with some bread when you're done with your plate. And I make a really good one. And there's one cocktail that I like, and it's the only cocktail I like, and that's a martini. I have one every year while I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and I serve it in a fancy glass. Other than that, I'm not a real big drinker, but man, I love a good martini and it always tastes good when you make it yourself.

Related: 6 Mistakes That Ruin Gravy (And How to Fix Them)

EatingWell: What’s your top pantry staple that you always have on hand for easy meals?

Prinze: You have to have chicken stock, you can do so much with it as far as cooking goes. If you want to make soup, you make it. It can also be the base for your sauce, or it's what you're going to steam things with. A lot of people cook their white rice with water, but cook it in chicken stock and the flavor is fantastic. I even add it into tin foil with salmon and some white wine, and just steam the heck out of it right over the grill.  And you can use vegetable stock if you’re vegan or vegetarian.

EatingWell: Do you have a dream dinner guest?

Prinze: Wow, there’d be a lot. And to have a conversation with them, that’s the key thing. Alfred Hitchcock would be number one. And Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper, I would want there as well. These are all horror film directors, that's what I love watching. I would love to sit and talk with them about their philosophies on scaring the living hell out of people.

EatingWell: What does “eating well” mean to you?

Prinze: I've eaten healthy my whole life. My mom was a chef, she was no joke. She taught me how to cook, so I make sure my kids eat healthy. I'm 47 years old, I also stay active, I exercise, but diet is the most important thing and I've always focused hard on eating clean.

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This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Read the original article on Eating Well.