Minestrone Soup
Winter weather calls for a wonderful, nourishing bowl of soup! This hearty, heavenly Minestrone Soup recipe will keep you warm and satisfied!
Servings 6
Calories 435kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 1 medium carrot peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 30 ounces canned cannellini beans drained and rinsed (see note)
- 14 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetables (see note)
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small sprig rosemary
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 medium zucchini sliced and cut into quarters (2-3 cups)
- 1 ½ cups ditalini pasta shells, or other short pasta
- 2 handfuls baby spinach roughly chopped (2-3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- Salt to taste
- Parmesan cheese shredded, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring regularly, until softened but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, vegetables (I used green beans and cauliflower), vegetable broth, bay leaf, rosemary, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the zucchini and pasta (see note). Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the vegetables are cooked and have some bite.*If you want to make the slower version of this soup, add all the vegetables at once and let the soup simmer for at least 1 hour. Add the pasta either 10-15 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
- Remove the bay leaf and stir in the spinach and parsley. Check the seasoning and add salt as needed. Serve hot with shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish, if desired.
Notes
- You can use kidney beans, great northern beans, fava beans, black beans, or even chickpeas. Just use whatever you have on hand. Minestrone is a soup made out of leftovers or veggies that grow in your garden. It’s super versatile and forgiving.
- You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand or are in season - green beans, cauliflower, pumpkin, squash, broccoli, more carrots. Add them to the soup in order of their cooking time. You can also use frozen vegetables to cut down on prep time.
- If you don’t want to serve the Minestrone right away or prefer to cook more for meal prep, I recommend cooking the pasta separately and adding it to the soup when serving. The pasta can get a bit mushy during reheating otherwise.
Nutrition
Calories: 435kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 135mg | Potassium: 1289mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 3303IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 187mg | Iron: 7mg
