Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe (2024)

Here’s an Italian style recipe for a vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe!

Loaded with fresh vegetables, beans, and pasta cooked into a savory broth, this uber-healthy soup packs nutrition, fiber, and flavor! It’s a hearty and filling dish that’s perfect for any meal, any time of the week! This is the last, best minestrone soup recipe you’ll ever need!

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe (1)

Minestrone Soup Recipe

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Best Minestrone Soup Recipe

  • This hearty and heartwarming dish is also the perfect meal for a crowd. Keep it warm in a crock pot and let guests help themselves. Serve with a side of grated parmesan cheese and some cheesy breadsticks for dipping.
  • Kids love the mild flavor of comforting minestrone soup, and with all of its colorful ingredients, they won’t even know how nutritious it is. Add a side of grilled cheeseand make it a full meal deal!
  • Budget-friendly, minestrone soup is also a terrific time-saver. It can go from stovetop to table in less than 30 minutes!

Minestrone Soup Ingredients

VEGETABLES: Veggies like onions, carrots, celery, and spinach give minestrone color, texture, and amazing flavor. Minestrone soup is perfect for using up leftover veggies or if time is short, toss in a frozen bag of mixed vegetables. Sliced mushrooms, zucchini, diced sweet potatoes, corn, sliced cabbage, or kale can be added to or used in place of the vegetables.

BEANS: Red kidney beans add a boost of fiber and hold up well. Canned beans are best because they don’t need to be soaked first. Black beans, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, lima beans, or any combination of beans will add more flavor to the soup.

BROTH: Everything is slow-cooked together in a savory vegetable broth with garlic and a can of diced tomatoes (including the juice).

PASTA: Ditalini are short pieces of tube-shaped pasta that are standard for this recipe. If ditalini isn’t available, small elbow macaroni or orzo will do the trick. Rice is sometimes added to a classic minestrone – white, brown, or long-grain will all work. Be sure rice is ready to use or parboiled.

PROTEIN: This recipe is written as a vegetarian recipe, however, all kinds of meat can be added to minestrone soup if desired. Leftover meat works especially well because it’s already cooked. Ground beef, sliced summer sausage, ham, chicken, turkey, and even frozen mini-meatballs will make this soup extra hearty.

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe (2)

How to make Minestrone Soup

Easy-to-find ingredients are what make this soup such a winner!

  1. Saute carrots, onions, celery, and garlic in oil until softened.
  2. Stir in the next 4 ingredients and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.
  3. Add pasta and cook until tender, then add spinach. Serve hot.

What To Serve with Minestrone Soup?

Bread is the perfect complement to any soup! It’s fun and delicious to dip and dunk Pizza Dough Breadsticks or Easy Dinner Rolls. Round out the meal and make an easy side Tomato Salad or a Spinach and Strawberry Salad while the soup is simmering.

Tips For the Best Soup!

Caramelizing the carrots, onions, and celery (also called a ‘mirepoix’) gives the soup its depth of flavor, so don’t forget this critical first step. Always drain and rinse canned beans before using for a recipe to rinse off salt or preservatives that would affect the flavor.

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe (3)

Other Super Soup recipes!

  • Vegetable Soup With Cabbage – another healthy soup.
  • Low Carb Hamburger Vegetable Soup – full of hearty flavor.
  • Lemon Chicken Rice Soup – a favorite.
  • CrockPot Chicken Tortilla Soup – so easy to make.

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe (4)

5 from 24 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
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Minestrone Soup Recipe

This is the best Minestrone Soup Recipe packed full of vegetables, noodles, and delicious flavor!

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Servings 7

Author Shannon Johanson

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup carrots diced
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 cup celery diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 15 ounces red kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 28 ounces diced tomatoes with juices
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 4 ounces ditalini pasta
  • 1 cup frozen chopped spinach

Instructions

  • In a large stockpot over medium heat pour in olive oil. Add diced carrots, onions, celery, and minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes or until vegetables are just tender.

  • Stir in kidney beans, vegetable stock, diced tomatoes, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, once boiling turn it down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

  • After 10 minutes add the pasta and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

  • With 2 minutes remaining add spinach and heat until warm.

Notes

  • Caramelize the carrots, onions, and celery for an increased depth of flavor.
  • Drain and rinse canned beans to rinse off salt or preservatives that might affect the flavor.
  • Refrigerate cooled leftovers for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
  • Reheat on the stovetop over low heat.

5 from 24 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1369mg | Potassium: 495mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3760IU | Vitamin C: 11.4mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1.6mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

©The Shortcut Kitchen. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

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Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe (5)

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About the author

Shannon is an Arizona transplant who traded the rain for a life in the sun. Her daughter is like having 5 kids in one so her “me” time is found outside running or in the kitchen cooking and creating recipes families will love. Shannon graduated with a Degree in Biology and went on to get her post-baccalaureate degree in dental hygiene. She feels the way to make people smile and come together is through good food, so she tries to create meals that will not only be easy to make, but delicious to eat. Shannon’s philosophy is, when all else fails, have a dream. So that is what she tries to do; dream, create, and bring her recipes to life from her kitchen to yours. Visit Shannon at The Food Cafe to learn more.
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Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the thickening agent for minestrone? ›

Use Tomato Paste For A Hearty, Thick Minestrone

Tomato paste is commonly used as a thickening agent for soups, sauces, stews, and chilis. Think of it as a concentrated tomato sauce that imparts a savory flavor to dishes. You can prepare it at home or buy it in a tube and mix it with other food ingredients as needed.

How do you get the depth of flavor in vegetable soup? ›

Tips for Flavorful Vegetable Soup

Flavor the base: We add Italian seasoning and tomato paste to the aromatics and warm them up to bring the seasonings back to life. You could use fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary, or even add a Parmesan rind for more flavor.

What is the difference between vegetable soup and minestrone soup? ›

Minestrone soup is unique because it typically includes beans, pasta, or rice, as well as vegetables, and the ingredients are always left chunky (it's never blended), making it a heartier option. Vegetable soups are usually simpler and don't typically include beans or pasta, and you could have a blended vegetable soup.

How to make minestrone soup Gordon Ramsay? ›

Method:
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onions, carrots, celery and some seasoning. ...
  2. Add the thyme, bay leaf and bacon. ...
  3. Tip in the borlotti beans and cherry tomatoes, then pour in the chicken stock or water to cover. ...
  4. Add the spaghetti and cook for 10 minutes.
Nov 6, 2023

Is cornstarch or flour better for thickening soup? ›

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

What can I add to my vegetable soup to give it more flavor? ›

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.

What is the flavorful liquid that adds more flavor to a vegetable meal? ›

A stock is a very flavorful liquid that is made by gently cooking bones and other ingredients such as vegetables in a liquid.

Why does my vegetable soup have no flavor? ›

If your broth tastes thin and bland, you may want to cook and let it evaporate for longer. That helps concentrate its flavors and gives you a better-tasting soup broth. Be sure to remove the lid to let the steam escape.

What is Olive Garden minestrone soup made of? ›

Ingredients- 2 Tbs olive oil; 1 onion diced (1 cup); 1 celery diced; 1 carrot, peeled & diced; 1 zucchini, chopped; 2 tsp minced garlic; 14 oz can diced tomato; 32 oz vegetable stock; 1 bay leaf; 1 1/2 Tbs Italian seasoning; 2 Tbs tomato paste; 15 oz canned small white beans, rinsed drained; 15 oz canned kidney beans ...

Why is minestrone soup so good? ›

Thanks to its detoxifying properties, minestrone stimulates the purification of the liver and the entire body. “It provides minerals such as magnesium and potassium, which help drain and remove excess fluid responsible for fluid retention and swelling,” according to the nutritionist.

How do you make canned minestrone taste better? ›

Canned soup-ers can follow suit: After sautéing your aromatics, deglaze the pan with a glug of the Good Juice. You can also stir a splash of acid—like lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar—to brighten things up.

Is stock or broth better for vegetable soup? ›

As a result, stock is usually a healthier product, delivering a richer mouth feel and deeper flavor than broth. Stock is a versatile culinary tool that can deliver taste to any number of dishes. Darker in color and more concentrated in flavor than broth, it's ideal for use in soups, rice, sauces and more.

How does Martha Stewart make vegetable soup? ›

Directions
  1. Saute aromatics: In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. ...
  2. Deepen the base: Stir in oregano or thyme and/or tomato paste or Parmesan rind. ...
  3. Choose your liquid: ...
  4. Add starchy vegetables: ...
  5. Add vegetables: ...
  6. Add rice and greens: ...
  7. Ladle soup into bowls.
Jun 27, 2023

Does minestrone soup contain potatoes? ›

Hearty and filling vegetarian soup with potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, beans and pasta. Make sure you have the storage for the left-overs.

What is the best thickener for vegetable soup? ›

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

What is a good thickener for soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

What ingredient is used as a thickening agent? ›

Popular thickeners like tapioca and cornstarch come from a starch base. Starch is composed of thousands of sugar molecules that are oftentimes found in grains like wheat and corn or roots like potatoes and arrowroot. Starches also require heat in order to help thicken recipes.

What are the two main thickening agents in soup? ›

cooking sauce or soup. Arrowroot starch thickens very quickly and it is unnecessary to bring the mixture to a boil for it to work. Cornstarch, on the other hand, requires heating the mix- ture to a boil to fully thicken the mixture and to avoid any “starchy” taste or texture in the fin- ished product.

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