I very rarely make soup without some sort of grilled sandwich to go along side it. With meaty soups, it’s always just a variation of grilled cheese, but when I want to make a panini with protein in it, like grilled ham and cheese, chicken sandwiches, or hot pastrami or something, it always seems weird to make a meaty soup as well. Know what I mean? So I like having a good repertoire of meatless soups for that purpose (because, ya know, what other purpose could there possibly be other than allowing prime circumstances for consuming the preferred carbohydrate companion?) My only problem with meatless soups is that sometimes they’re not very filling, but not so with this one. This thing is packed with veggies and beans- and honestly, just by looking at the recipe it doesn’t look all that impressive. Vegetables. Seasonings. Whatever. But take my word, it’s amazing. My sister-in-law Emily brought it over for dinner a few weeks ago and every single one of my young boys ate multiple bowls. Did you take that in? Three picky kids, ages 7, 4, and 2, willingly ate repeat servings of a soup that consists almost 100% of vegetables and we didn’t even cover the top with cheese or croutons to hide that fact or tell them that anything white was just chicken like I usually do. That says something right there. Emily was kind enough to share the recipe and I’ve made it twice in the past week because it’s so yummy. I’ve changed it only slightly, simply increasing the amount of vegetables and seasonings and altering the cooking method directions. After a little Googling, I see that this basic recipe appears all over the internet, referred to as a knock-off of the Olive Garden’s. So who knows where it originated, but it’s sure gotten around, and for good reason. We do have another great Minestrone recipe on Our Best Bites. It’s fantastic, but with a beef tomato base, and Italian sausage in it, it’s a completely different dish.
Just look at the ingredients going into this soup; it’s like an entire week’s worth of vegetables.
Start with the trifecta, known as “mirepoix”in French. It’s the start to many great recipes, especially soups: carrots, celery, and onion. You’ll notice bits of zucchini in mine too, but that’s just because they were all hanging out on my cutting board together for their photoshoot.
After those cook for a few minutes and the onions start to look translucent, add the garlic and the zucchini.
Next, two kinds of beans (both kidney and white beans), tomatoes, green beans, and seasonings. Note that the canned tomatoes are drained so the finished soup isn’t red and tomato based like many minestrones are, but rather in a lighter broth.
Look at all that goodness. It may not seem like it would taste all that impressive now, but something magical happens when it hangs out in a pot for a while.
Add in seasonings, like thyme, basil, salt, pepper, and oregano.
And mix it all up.
Cover everything with vegetable broth and water. I have to say, there was a time in my life when I avoided anything with vegetable broth- or at least subbed chicken broth because it just seemed like it would have so much more flavor. But I was wrong, a good vegetable broth adds tremendous flavor and in a recipe like this, is key.
Put a lid on the pot to keep that moisture in and simmer it for 20-25 minutes or so. (Here’s a little peek at my new kitchen, too. Anyone want to guess how much I love my new stove?)
When the veggies are tender, add a little bit of pasta. Any small-ish pasta is fine, like shells, mini bowties, etc. I like ditalini because it’s the same size and shape as the veggies and beans so it blends in nicely.
After the pasta is cooked through, remove the pot from heat and stir in a giant handful of fresh spinach leaves and some fresh minced parsley.
I like my soups like Rachel Rae describes “Stoups.” Something thicker than a soup but thinner than a stew. This is definitely packed full of beans and veggies so if you like a brothy soup, you might want to grab a little extra vegetable broth.
Pair it with a grilled ham and cheese for a hearty, filling meal.
I’m still kind of shocked my kids all like this so much, with visible vegetables and all, but until they complain I’ll keep making it and smile knowing they’re actually enjoying their veggies.
Since this makes quite a bit, it works great to put in individual servings in the freezer. Just heat up for lunch, or take to work and you’re good to go.
Veggie-Packed Minestrone Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 mintes
- Total Time: 59 minute
- Yield: 8 (1.5 cup) servings
Description
This vegie packed and flavorful minestrone soup is perfect for cold winter days!
Ingredients
Minestrone Soup
Recipe slightly adapted from my fab sis-in-law Emily and lots of sources on the net.
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small/medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1–2 stalks celery, diced
1 small zucchini
4–5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup frozen French cut green beans
2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 15-ounce cans white beans like Great Northern or Cannellini
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
32 ounces vegetable broth (that’s 4 cups)
3 cups hot water
1/2 cup ditalini or other small shell pasta
4 cups loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
2–3 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
Instructions
Heat a large stock pot to medium high heat. Add olive oil to coat bottom of pan. Add onions, carrot, and celery. Saute 4-5 minutes, until onions start to look translucent. Add zucchini and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes longer, stirring until garlic is fragrant. Add green beans, kidney and white beans, tomatoes, and seasonings and stir to combine. Add broth and water and bring soup to a simmer. Cover pot and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes, until carrots and celery are tender. Add pasta and cook until pasta is soft, 8-10 minutes. (Add additional vegetable broth or water if you feel you need it for preferred consistency.) Remove pot from heat and stir in spinach and parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: 8 servings (1 1/2 cups each)
Nutritional Info: Calories: 250 Protein: 30 g Fat: 1 g Carbs: 68 g
Muy deliciosa esta sopa.
Gracias por la receta. La acompañe con pan con ajo.
This recipe is perfectly seasoned. Many recipes have the right spices but not the right quantities. They wash out in cooking and the result is bland or they are unbalanced. Sara, you get an A+. Also stated many times before, this soup is absolutely beautiful and my soup looked like the picture! Yay! Thank you.
So glad you loved it!
Added hamburger, this was absolutely delicious!! Thanks for the great soup recipe, will use time and time again!
How could this possibly have 30 grams of fat per serving? There is no meat, and only 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (21 grams total). Yes the beans have some fat, but minimal. Please explain.
This is by far the best soup I’ve made. A thousand times thank you.
Just made this for dinner and the whole family LOVED it! Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe!!
LOVE IT! Thank you! used kale instead of spinach (what I had) and it worked. Can I tell you how much we LOVE your recipes – if you can do more vegetarian/vegan recipes I would be very very very very grateful! My sister likes to point out that then I wouldn’t love your recipes so much, but I believe you can work magic!
Thanks for posting! I was going to ask about kale.
I may be making this one again soon… not sure why all these soups sound so good. The locusts starting? Signaling summer’s end fast approaching? But I have to ask… how in the world do you make a decent, not soggy-thin-centered grilled cheese sandwich? Two things I don’t think I will ever succeed with in the kitchen.. grilled cheese and pancakes. Pancakes are covered by my husband. But grilled cheese not so much because he won’t touch or go near cheese. I’ve often wondered how in the world Bob Evans gets that perfect crunchy buttery toast for the grilled cheese. Are there lots like me out there? I’ve tried low heat, medium heat, different kinds of breads, different kinds of cheeses, the end result is always a mushy, yet somehow burnt grilled cheese sandwich. I would love a post on how-to to the perfect grilled cheese lol 🙂
I just made this and it is delicous. Though truthfully, I’ve never made anything off this website that wasn’t–so kudos to both of you. Thanks for posting!
I made this last night, and it was definitely a hit.
I made changes, because I can’t look at a recipe without messing with it (sometimes disastrously). Changes were:
– more veggies (esp. spinach)
– added parsnip
– more pasta
– dried parsley instead of fresh (just what I had)
– added a cube of frozen buttermilk, because it sounded good. Necessary? Prolly not. 😉
I also didn’t have to cook it as long, but it may be because my veggies were chopped finer.
This was VERY good, I would highly recommend this! Made much more than I thought it would. <3 Thank you for another successful recipe for my home!
Also, a funny note, I was just reading other comments, and saw that I had made the same mistake as Lori did, and didn’t realize til she mentioned it! I only used one can of each type of beans. It was amazing, still, and I like more other types of veggies anyway, so I’m sorta glad I did it. 😉
Wow you take some great photos!
Made this tonight and it was good! I was cooking using my kindle and missed that there were 4 cans of beans and I ended up just using one of each type. It didn’t seem to have an impact. I was happy to see a vegetarian recipe. Especially one that didn’t include dairy!
This looks delicious, but I am on weight watchers right now and it costs 10 points per serving, using the nutritional values you provided. When I calculated the point value it asked for the fiber count, but you don’t have that listed, do you know what that might be, it could possibly lower the points per serving. Thanks
Thanks for this recipe! I made it the other day, and my 7 yr old daughter was hanging out with me in the kitchen playing with all the veggie scraps as I was chopping. Then, the whole family (including my 7 yr old daughter and 8 yr old son) finished their bowl of this yummy soup for dinner that evening. Such a great way for all of us to eat our veggies! Thanks for sharing, and please keep these healthy recipes coming!
Anyone else with the flu?
Sorry, somehow my fever riddled fingers somehow posted before I finished! My point was, count this soup as your new favorite for soothing your coughing demolished throat. This filled my dutch oven, and we have been super happy to eat it as leftovers!
I made this for my boyfriend and I last night and it is delicious with much to spare to have for lunch the next few days 🙂
Made this tonight for dinner. I used beef stock to make it a little richer and it was great! The only vegetable my kids had a problem with was the spinach. May crush or chop it next time to make it less noticeable. May also add some ground sausage as I have meat loving men in my house.
So are you going to show us the rest of your kitchen??? I would love to see a post on building your house!
I know my kids would love minestrone if they could just get past those visible veggies…I’m impressed your kids eat it anyway 🙂 Definitely need the grilled sandwich on the side – perfect combo!
could this all the thrown in the crock on a low heat for 8 hours while at work???
I was wondering that too. This soup kind of reminded me of this recipe, which can handle 8 hours on low (read the comments for tips):
http://www.thekitchn.com/slowcooker-recipe-curried-vege-67520
I am all about vegetarian food in the slow cooker!
did you try this in the crock pot??