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
- Heat up the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add in the onions, carrots, and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute or two.
- Pour in the vegetable broth, tomato sauce, and beans.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and cover simmering for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked.
- Add the swiss chard to the soup 5 minutes before serving.
- Before serving add a few spoonfuls of pasta to each soup bowl.
- 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.
- Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sautee for one minute.
- 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.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions 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 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.
Easy Minestrone Soup
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Print PinIngredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 1 medium zucchini chopped
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes could also do a 15oz of crushed tomatoes, 15 oz petite diced tomatoes
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup ditalini pasta or small shells
- 1 1/2 cups white beans cooked, drained and rinsed (15oz if using canned)
- 2 cup baby spinach chopped - or kale
Instructions
- In a dutch oven add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Once simmering add in the chopped onion, carrot and celery and cook for 5-6 minutes stirring often to prevent overcooking on any surfaces. Then add in the garlic and cook for another minute. Next add in the zucchini, potatoes, tomato paste, oregano and thyme. Cook until the spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, broth, and add the bay leaves and crushed red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover the dutch oven and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the lid and then add in the pasta and spinach. Cook for another 15-20 or until the pasta is fully cooked.
- Serve as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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