Minestrone Soup
This healthy soup is a classic vegetarian minestrone soup made with white beans, vegetables, fresh herbs, and pasta. Pureeing the beans in the blender thickens the soup, making it great for picky kids who don’t care for beans. I love adding a parmesan rind for extra flavor, but it’s totally optional. If you want a slow cooker minestrone soup recipe or an Instant Pot one, check out my version here. More soup recipes you may also like, Pasta Fagioli or my popular Acini di Pepe Soup.
Minestrone Soup Ingredients
Beans: Drain and rinse one can of white beans, like cannellini or navy beans. Broth: Get reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth for vegetarian minestrone. Vegetables: Sauté diced carrots, onion, and celery in olive oil. Garlic: Mince two cloves of garlic. Tomatoes: Canned petite diced tomatoes – regular-size tomatoes are also fine. Parmesan Cheese: The parmesan is optional, but I recommend using it. I always store leftover rinds in my fridge to use later in soups and stews. Let the rind simmer in the broth, and sprinkle grated cheese on your soup before eating. Herbs: Fresh rosemary sprig, chopped basil, Italian parsley, bay leaves Salt and Pepper Zucchini: You can swap the zucchini with yellow squash. Leafy Greens: Fresh or frozen, defrosted spinach or baby kale will work. Pasta: Choose a small pasta, like ditalini or orzo.
How to Make Minestrone Soup
How to Freeze Minestrone Soup
I like to cook and store the pasta separately so that it stays al dente and doesn’t soak up the broth. You can keep the leftover pasta and soup together or separate. The minestrone will last in the fridge up to 4 days and in the freezer for 3 months. To freeze the soup, let it cool and then transfer it to freezer-safe containers. Thaw it the night before in the fridge, and microwave or reheat on the stove.
Variations:
No Pasta: If you want to make minestrone without the pasta, you can omit it and add diced potatoes or another can of beans. Beans: If you want to add more beans, try a mix, like red kidney beans, along with the white beans. Veggies: If you want more vegetables in the soup, add chopped broccoli, cauliflower, and/or green beans. Herbs: Feel free to use any herbs you like. Oregano or thyme would also be lovely. Add meat: Some turkey sausage or chicken sausage links would be great.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love:
Beef, Tomato, and Acini di Pepe Soup Escarole and Chickpea Soup Spaghetti and Meatball Soup Instant Pot Turkey Meatball and Ditalini Soup Pasta Fagioli
title: “Minestrone Soup” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-04” author: “Alberto Maze”
Fall is here and soup is on the menu! This easy Minestrone Soup recipe is a healthy soup recipe that is also make ahead and freezer friendly. We are also loving this Beef Barley Soup, Creamy Chicken Broccoli Soup, and this Classic Italian Wedding Soup on cloudy or rainy days!
Minestrone Soup
We make this Minestrone Soup with onion, celery, zucchini, carrots, bell pepper and spinach but you can use almost any vegetable you having lying around that need to be used up. That’s one of the best things about this recipe! It’s easy to make and easily adaptable — plus, it makes the house smell amazing and is perfect on a chilly day with freshly grated Parmesan and a chunk of crusty bread!
How to make Minestrone Soup:
Can you freeze Minestrone Soup?
Minestrone Soup freezes perfectly, as long as you don’t mind soft pasta. We are not pasta purists here, so we freeze soup and casseroles with pasta all the time. It makes for such a great easy meal when you’re short on time! If you know you plan to freeze the soup, you can either leave the pasta out, cook and serve with the finished soup when you thaw it, or you can make sure you only cook the pasta to al dente (with a little bite left) so that it doesn’t become overly mushy when frozen. I like to freeze soup in a large freezer bag, and lay it flat so it freezes in a thin layer. This makes it very quick and easy to thaw when you’re in a dinnertime pinch!
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How to make the BEST Egg Drop Soup Sausage Potato Soup with Kale Chicken Rice Soup Crockpot Taco Soup
