Easy Minestrone Soup

Our Easy Minestrone Soup is packed with nutrient-dense produce. This soup recipe is perfect for winter, spring, summer, or fall. Toss in your favorite seasonal vegetables to bulk it up even more. You can freeze it and even make it in the slow cooker!

WHAT IS MINESTRONE SOUP?

Minestrone is an Italian thick soup that consists mainly of vegetables, pasta, and beans. The main vegetables are onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. You can also add any greens you have that in season. The soup base is broth mixed with tomato sauce for a richer flavor.

HOW TO MAKE MINESTRONE SOUP

1. Heat up the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add in the onions, carrots, and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute or two.
4. Pour in the vegetable broth, tomato sauce, and beans.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and cover simmering for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked.
6. Add the swiss chard to the soup 5 minutes before serving.
7. Before serving add a few spoonfuls of pasta to each soup bowl.

1. Warm oil in a dutch oven or stock pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and zucchini and cook about 5 minutes or until onions are turning translucent and vegetables have started to soften.
2. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sautee for one minute.
3. Pour in chicken broth, tomato sauce, and beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
5. Add the swiss chard to the soup about 5 minutes before serving.
6. Serve soup with a few spoonfuls of pasta added and topped with chopped fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

WHAT MAKES THIS AN EASY MINESTRONE SOUP RECIPE?

You literally chop all the veggies up and then toss into the pot to cook. There’s not much to do aside from prep. You can make the beans in advance or used canned also you can use cooked pasta and just toss it in.

WHAT OTHER VEGETABLES CAN I ADD?

We usually toss in whatever veggies we have in the house! We’ll add in potatoes, yellow squash,  butternut squash, peas, green beans, spinach, escarole, etc.

CAN I FREEZE THIS SOUP?

Yes! This soup freezes very well. We recommend freezing the portion you want to freeze before adding in the pasta.

CAN I MAKE THIS A SLOW COOKER MINSTESTRONE SOUP?

Yes! To make in your slow cooker just dump everything but the pasta and swiss chard in and cook for 2-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Add the swiss chard in the last 15-20 minutes. Add pasta once fully cooked.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH MINESTRONE SOUP

Our favorite serving suggestion for this soup is a classic Italian garden salad with some fresh crusty bread. You can also finish the soup with a little bit of grated parmesan, there are many vegan options in stores now. You could also serve with vegan garlic bread or focaccia bread. 

RECIPE NOTES:

• This soup makes about 6-8 servings, you can easily double it and freeze a batch for later.
• You can use kidney beans in place of the Northern beans.
• We used vegan gluten-free pasta for this recipe, you can use regular pasta if you do not have issues with gluten.
• Cook the pasta separately to keep it al dente and not overcooked. Store it in the fridge with a little olive oil to keep it fresh if needed.
• Add in your favorite seasonal vegetables, this is a great clean out the fridge soup.  

This article was written by Know Your Produce, the recipe is from our guest chef Karen.

Print Recipe

Easy Minestrone Soup

Our Easy Minestrone Soup is packed with nutrient-dense produce. This soup recipe is perfect for winter, spring, summer, or fall. Toss in your favorite seasonal vegetables to bulk it up even more.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: minestrone soup

Servings: 6

Calories: 155kcal

Author: Courtney

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion minced
• 2 carrots peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large zucchini cut in half, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 1/2 tsp fresh
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 15 oz tomato sauce canned or homemade
• 1 can Northern Beans
• 1 bunch swiss chard stems removed and leaves chopped
• 1 cup ditalini pasta cooked al dente
• salt to taste if needed

Instructions

• In a dutch oven warm the olive oil over medium-high heat.
• Add in the onion, carrots, and zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes or until onions are turning translucent and vegetables have started to soften.
• Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sautee for a minute or two.
• Pour in vegetable broth, tomato sauce, and beans and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes or until vegetables are fully cooked.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions for al dente and drain.
• Add the swiss chard to the soup about 5 minutes before serving.
• Serve soup with a few spoonfuls of pasta added and topped with chopped fresh basil.

Notes

• This soup makes about 6-8 servings, you can easily double it and freeze a batch for later.
• We used vegan gluten-free pasta for this recipe, you can use regular pasta if you do not have issues with gluten.
• Cook the pasta separately to keep it al dente and not overcooked. Store it in the fridge with a little olive oil to keep it fresh if needed.
• Add in your favorite seasonal vegetables, this is a great clean out the fridge soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 341mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 4015IU | Vitamin C: 15.4mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 0.9mg

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