Description
A hearty and easy-to-make minestrone soup loaded with fresh vegetables, beans, pasta, and flavorful herbs, perfect for a comforting meal any day.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegetables
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 3 medium celery ribs, diced
- 4 medium carrots, diced
- 3 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
Liquids
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 6 cups vegetable broth
Beans
- 1 (15 ounce) can white cannellini beans, undrained
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
Other
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni or shell pasta
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat fats: Heat 2 tablespoons salted butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large 6-quart soup pot over medium heat.
- Sauté onion: Add diced white onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften.
- Cook vegetables: Add diced celery, carrots, and zucchini. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add liquids and beans: Stir in diced tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, white cannellini beans with liquid, kidney beans with liquid, vegetable broth, dried basil, and dried oregano. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Add pasta and simmer: Add elbow macaroni or shell pasta, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a low boil for 10 to 12 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Add baby spinach during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
- Season and serve: Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve hot, garnished with grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- You can substitute vegetable broth with chicken broth if not vegetarian.
- Use gluten-free pasta to make this soup gluten-free.
- Add more herbs like thyme or rosemary for extra flavor.
- For a thicker soup, reduce the vegetable broth quantity slightly.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 200 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
