Healthy Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe || Classic Italian Comfort Food
By Rebecca St.Clair
Homemade minestrone soup inspired by traditional Italian recipes. This perfect hearty soup is a celebration of seasonal produce and simple pantry staples. A comforting blend of texture and flavour. With soft beans, tender pasta, and bright seasonal veggies all simmered in a herb rich tomato broth. No wonder this classic soup is famous as a longevity meal!
This easy minestrone soup will nourish both body and soul. Simple, satisfying, and endlessly customizable to what you have on hand, what’s in season, and what your family loves.
Everything we love about rustic Italian cooking comes together in this recipe. Wholesome ingredients, rich flavour, and minimal fuss. Whether you’re looking to clean out the fridge or warm up on a chilly night, this one-pot dinner is the perfect meal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple – Use your favourite mixture of veggies, all you need to do it chop into rustic bitesized pieces and let the slow simmering process extract and intensify the flavours together.
Whole food ingredients – Made with simple fresh produce, this meal is full of wholesome veggies.
One pot meal – Everything cooks up in one pot for a no fuss meal.
Meal preps- This soup tastes even better the next day and makes a big batch perfect for meal preps.
How to Store Minestrone Soup
This recipe makes a big batch of soup. Perfect for making ahead and storing for later for quick and easy meals.
Fridge
- Allow the soup to cool to room temperature
- Place into airtight containers
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days
Freezer
- Allow the soup to cool to room temperature
- Place into airtight containers
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months
Delicious Substitutions for Minestrone Soup
Feel free to use your favourite vegetables in the recipe or whatever is in season. This soup is also a perfect way to use up leftovers or vegetables you need to use up.
To replace the shallots in this recipe try onion or leeks.
Exchange the vegetables in this recipe with things like green beans, broccoli, bell peppers, and corn.
Replace the zucchini with summer squash, or winter squash like pumpkin or butternut.
Swap out the spinach and cabbage in this recipe with kale, Swiss chard, or other leafy greens.
Exchange the lima beans with cannellini beans, red kidney beans, barlotti beans, black beans, lentils, or chickpeas.
Replace the ditalini with other small pastas or cooked rice.
Ingredients
Shallot – This can be replaced with the same amount of onion.
Celery – Chopped finely to flavour the soup
Carrots – Half finely chopped and half roughly sliced.
Zucchini – Cooks quickly, add this in at the end of cooking.
Potatoes – Roughly chopped.
Canned tomatoes – I used a can of diced tomatoes. Replace with fresh tomatoes especially if they are in season.
Peas – I used frozen peas. These cook quickly. Add at the end of cooking.
Lima beans – Can be replaced with your favourite type of bean like red kidney bean or cannellini. Use canned or soak dried beans the night before and add them to the soup at the beginning.
Pasta – I used ditalini. This can be replaced by your favourite small pasta or rice.
Spinach – Can be replaced by your favourite leafy green like kale or Swiss chard.
Cabbage – Can be replaced by another leafy green like kale, Swiss chard, or spinach.
Parsley – Flavour
Basil – Flavour
Salt & Pepper – Flavour
How to make minestrone soup
- Preheat a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat.
- Chop 1 carrot, 1 rib of celery, and 1 shallot into a very small dice.
- Add 3 Tbsp of olive oil to the pot and add in the diced vegetables.
- Stir to coat in the oil and fry a few minutes until just starting to colour.
- Add in 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, and 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and fry along with the vegetables.
- Add 1/4 cup of water, cover, and allow the vegetables to brown and cook down 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add in 1 roughly sliced carrot, 2 roughly chopped potatoes, 1 roughly chopped rib of celery. Stir and brown 5 more minutes.
8. Add in 1 can of diced tomatoes and 10 cups of water.
9. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Bring to a boil.
11. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 2 hours. Stirring 3 to 4 times.
12. After the 2 hours, add in 2 chopped and sliced zucchini and 2 cups of spinach, 2 cups chopped cabbage, and 1 cup peas. Cook down 5 minutes.
13. Rinse and drain 1 can of lima beans. Add to the soup along with 1 cup dried pasta.
14. Allow the soup to simmer 10 minutes more or until the pasta is al dente.
15. Remove from the heat. Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.
16. (optional) Serve with grated cheese.
Traditional Minestrone Soup
This perfect hearty soup is a celebration of seasonal produce and simple pantry staples. A comforting blend of texture and flavour.
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil 15 ml
- 1 shallot
- 2 ribs celery
- 2 carrots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 leaves basil
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 2 potatoes
- 1 can diced tomatoes 796 ml
- 10 cups water
- 2 zucchini
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1 cup sliced cabbage
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup dried ditalini pasta
- 1 can lima beans 398 ml
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat.
- Chop 1 carrot, 1 rib of celery, and 1 shallot into a very small dice.
- Add 3 Tbsp of olive oil to the pot and add in the diced vegetables.
- Stir to coat in the oil and fry a few minutes until just starting to colour.
- Add in 2 minced cloves of garlic and fry along with the vegetables.
- Add 1/4 cup of water, cover, and allow the vegetables to brown and cook down 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in 1 roughly chopped carrot, 2 roughly chopped potatoes, 1 roughly chopped rib of celery, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, and 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil. Stir and brown 5 more minutes.
- Add in 1 can of diced tomatoes and 10 cups of water.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 2 hours. Stirring 3 to 4 times.
- After the soup is cooked, add in 2 chopped zucchini, 1 cup spinach, 1 cup sliced cabbage, 3/4 cup frozen peas. Cook down 5 minutes.
- Rinse and drain 1 can of lima beans. Add to the soup along with the pasta.
- Allow the soup to simmer 8-10 minutes more or until the pasta is al dante.
- Remove from the heat. Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.
- (optional) Serve with grated cheese.
Notes
Feel free to exchange the vegetables in this recipe for your favourite or what is in season.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 115Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 136mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 5gSugar 5gProtein 5g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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