Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup is one of the easiest and most inexpensive meals you can make for your family, and it’s filling enough to serve with bread for a complete meal. This recipe can also be made vegetarian as well as gluten free!

I love a good bowl of minestrone soup! I’m not a huge fan of meat, so I don’t usually miss it when I make main dish meals such as Spaghetti Margherita, Mac and Cheese, or even pizza. This recipe for minestrone soup is so good, you’ll never miss the meat! The ingredients are simple and straightforward.

You can alter the recipe according to what you like best. If you’re more of a red bean fan, you may use kidney beans instead of white beans. If you love kale (or just have a bag on hand), substitute kale for the spinach. I don’t add celery to the recipe, but many people love chopped celery in their minestrone soup. If you’re a celery lover, add a cup of chopped celery. Seriously, almost anything goes with minestrone soup ingredients!

If you want to make this dish vegetarian, make sure to purchase vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. If you’re looking for gluten-free recipes, this minestrone soup can be made with gluten-free pasta. I’ve had great luck with the Barilla brand gluten-free pasta. Barilla has egg-free pasta as well.

When making homemade minestrone soup, chopping the veggies is the biggest part of the labor. This is a fun recipe to throw together when people are gathered at your home because they can jump in and help with the preparation. Chop a few veggies, sauté, boil, and dinner is ready. If you want to serve it with homemade bread, No Fail French Bread is a great option!

I highly recommend serving this soup with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese on top. It’s the perfect accompaniment and, in my opinion, mandatory for a good bowl of minestrone. Hope you love this easy-to-prepare homemade soup!

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

5 from 6 votes

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Author: Si Foster

Course: Dinner, Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6

A Bountiful Kitchen

Ingredients 

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups), yellow or sweet
• 2 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon each, salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, tomates picados in Europe
• 32 ounces vegetable OR chicken broth/stock or 4 bouillon cubes and 4 cups water, if you aren't concerned about going meatless (check to make sure it's MSG free)
• 1 cup water , this is in addition to stock
• 1 cup “ditalini” pasta or other small pasta shape
• 2 cups zucchini or fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste, tomato concentrato in Europe
• 1 (15-ounce) can Great Northern beans or other canned white beans, drained
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• additional water, if needed

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Instructions

• Using a large, heavy stock pot, sauté onion and carrots in olive oil on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Don't turn the heat up too high or the garlic will burn!
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add tomatoes, fresh zucchini or spinach, vegetable or chicken stock, and water. Bring to boil. Add pasta and cook for 7-9 minutes until al dente.
• Stir in tomato paste, beans, and basil. Cook just until heated through.
• If needed, add a little more water to the soup for extra broth.
• Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.