Minestrone Soup
Hearty and healthy minestrone soup brims with vegetables, kidney beans, and pasta. This vegetarian soup is a great way to use up what you have on hand. The thick, flavorful tomato broth is scented with rosemary, loads of fresh herbs, and Parmesan! One bowl will never be enough!
Servings: 6 people (up to)
Ingredients
- 1 cup ditalini or elbow pasta
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 zucchini or yellow squash diced
- 1 cup green beans trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth,
- Parmesan cheese rind optional; about 1-inch long
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 large handful parsley chopped
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- Grated Parmesan cheese to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salter water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain.
- Soften the aromatics. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the onions, carrots and celery and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring regularly, until the veggies soften a bit, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute, tossing regularly.
- Cook the veggies. Add the zucchini or yellow squash, green beans, paprika, rosemary, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
- Make the soup. Now add the canned tomatoes, broth, fresh thyme, bay leaf and Parmesan rind (if using). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and partially cover the pot. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or so.
- Finish the minestrone. Uncover the pot and add the kidney beans. Cook for another 5 minutes, then stir in the parsley and fresh basil. Just before serving, stir in the cooked pasta and simmer just until the pasta is warmed through; do not overcook.
- Serve. Remove the cheese rind and bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Serve the minestrone hot with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan (if you’d like) and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.
Video
Notes
- Pasta reminder: Cook the pasta before adding it to the soup. Simply follow package instructions for al dente pasta. You will start with 1 cup of dry pasta, which will yield 2 cups cooked pasta.
- Make it your own: Minestrone is meant to be adapted, so feel free to make this recipe your own by using what vegetables and beans you have on hand. It's common to add a handful of spinach or diced potatoes. You can use white beans instead of kidney beans, or use a combination of both. If you're looking for a low-carb option, feel free to omit the pasta. And if you need something meaty, add cooked ground turkey or even leftover rotisserie chicken. You can add that early on, once you've cooked the onions, carrots, and celery.
- Make-ahead tip: If you are not serving this minestrone soup immediately, do not add the cooked pasta to the pot until you are ready to serve. This will give you best results and will prevent the pasta from soaking up too much of the broth and getting too mushy.
- For meal prep: Related to the note above, keep the cooked pasta out and add a small portion of the pasta directly to your bowl, and then add an appropriate portion of hot minestrone on top.
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and Pasta used in this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 211.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 26.7g | Protein: 6.8g | Saturated Fat: 1.5g | Cholesterol: 0.7mg | Potassium: 650.6mg | Fiber: 7.4g | Vitamin A: 4456.4IU | Vitamin C: 19.4mg | Calcium: 83.3mg | Iron: 2.6mg
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