Minestrone is a hearty Italian soup that’s incredibly delicious, nourishing and satisfying. It’s a staple in Italian cuisine because you can add all kinds of vegetables to it, making it a versatile soup to make when you have a fridge full of veggies that you don’t know what to do with.
This minestrone soup recipe bursts with flavor thanks to the many veggies, homemade vegetable broth, fresh herbs and parmesan cheese added to it.
The vegetables are carrots, celery, onions, cannellini beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and spinach. But the great thing about minestrone is that there is no one set of ingredients that has to go into it. All kinds of different vegetables, fresh or frozen, are interchangeable in the soup and if there’s a few ingredients you don’t have on hand, don’t sweat it.
This minestrone soup recipe also calls for mini elbow noodles but once again, you can substitute any kind of little pasta or even rice into the soup, or you don’t need either. Since the soup calls for so many vegetables, it’s a great clean-out-the-fridge kind of meal. You may have had minestrone before, but making it with your own homemade vegetable stock will increase the flavor tenfold.
Making Vegetable Stock
For many people, stock is something that comes in a cardboard box, in a can, or in the form of tiny bouillon cubes. We don’t usually think much of it and are happy to use this stock in whatever way the recipe calls for. But the reality is store-bought stock is often watered-down, bland and packed with sodium.
Thankfully, homemade stock is incredibly easy to make and is infinitely better in both taste and nutrition than what you find in a store. The importance of making your own stock in home cooking cannot be overstated.
Stock is such a foundational ingredient; it’s a building block of flavor and structure for a wide variety of other dishes. By making your own vegetable stock, you’ll ensure that your soups, sauces, braises, risottos, pastas, and many other meals will be that much more flavorful and nutritious.
Not only is vegetable stock tasty and easy to make, but it’s also a great way to use up spare vegetables and herbs, saving yourself a lot of food waste. That means that homemade vegetable stock isn’t just a great choice for your stomach, but for the environment and your wallet too.
This recipe for stock is more of a guideline as stockmaking is far from an exact science – many different vegetables, herbs, and other flavorings can be added to it. Parsnips, fennel, mushrooms, thyme, bay leaves, parsley stems and chopped tomatoes are all welcome additions to vegetable stock but are all optional. For more on what to add/not add to vegetable stock, read How to Make Vegetable Stock the Right Way.
About this Minestrone Soup Recipe
Minestrone is a hearty Italian soup that is incredibly delicious, nourishing, and satisfying. It consists of vegetables and pasta swimming in a tasty homemade vegetable broth, flavored with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.
In this recipe, the vegetables are carrots, celery, onions, cannellini beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and spinach. But the great thing about minestrone is that there is no one set of ingredients that has to go into it.
All kinds of different vegetables, fresh or frozen, are interchangeable in the soup and if there’s a few ingredients you don’t have on hand, don’t sweat it. This recipe also calls for mini elbow noodles but once again, you can substitute any kind of little pasta or even rice into the soup.
Since the soup calls for so many vegetables, it’s a great clean-out-the-fridge kind of meal. You may have had minestrone before, but making it with your own homemade vegetable stock will increase the flavor tenfold.
About Vegetable Stock
For many people, stock is something that comes in a cardboard box, in a can, or in the form of tiny bouillon cubes. We don’t usually think much of it and are happy to use this stock in whatever way the recipe calls for. But the reality is store bought stock is often watered-down, bland, and packed with sodium.
Thankfully, homemade stock is incredibly easy to make and is infinitely better in both taste and nutrition than what you might find in a store. The importance of making your own stock in home cooking cannot be overstated.
Stock is such a foundational ingredient; it is a building block of flavor and structure for a wide variety of other dishes. By making your own vegetable stock, you will be ensuring that your soups, sauces, braises, risottos, pastas, and many other meals will be that much more flavorful and nutritious. Not only is vegetable stock tasty and easy to make, but it’s also a great way to use up spare vegetables and herbs, saving yourself a lot of food waste. That means that homemade vegetable stock isn’t just a great choice for your stomach, but for the environment and your wallet too.
This recipe for stock is more of a guideline as stockmaking is far from an exact science, many different vegetables, herbs, and other flavorings can be added to the stock. Parsnips, fennel, mushrooms, thyme, bay leaves, parsley stems, and chopped tomatoes are all welcome additions to vegetable stock but are all optional.
For more on what to add/not add to vegetable stock read my article ‘How to Make Vegetable Stock the Right Way‘.
Minestrone Soup with Spinach and Parmesan
Ingredients
Homemade Vegetable Stock
- 1 tsp canola or vegetable oil for cooking
- 2 medium white onions diced large
- 2 carrots peeled and diced large
- 2 stalks celery diced large
- 4 cloves garlic whole
- 6 sprigs thyme optional
- 1 tbsp tomato paste optional
Minestrone
- 1 tbsp olive oil for cooking
- 1 medium white onion diced small (about ¼ inch cubes)
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced small (about ¼ inch cubes)
- 2 stalks of celery diced small (about ¼ inch cubes)
- 6 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 15- ounce can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 14- ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
- 6 sprigs thyme tied into a bundle
- 5 cups homemade vegetable stock
- 1 cup whole-wheat elbow pasta
- 2 cups zucchini or yellow squash chopped
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- ¼ cup fresh basil roughly chopped
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Homemade Stock
- Heat a small drizzle of oil over high heat in the largest pot you can find.
- Add the vegetables and sauté over high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be slightly browned. Add the tomato paste and thyme and saute for 2-3 more minutes to caramelize the tomato pase.
- Cover the vegetables in cold water, filling the pot 2 inches from the top. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer for 45-60 minutes uncovered, checking occasionally to be sure it maintains a simmer.
- Strain and pour into containers, reserve 5 cups for the soup. Allow the rest to cool and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Minestrone
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.
- Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The veggies should be translucent but not browned. Add the vinegar and tomato paste and stir, turn the heat to high and cook for 2 more minutes until the vinegar has cooked out and the tomato paste begins to caramelize.
- Add the beans, canned tomatoes, and thyme. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for fifteen minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
- Once the pot is at a boil add the pasta and the diced zuchinni. Reduce to a simmer and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Remove the sprigs of thyme.
- Add the spinach to the pot and stir so it wilts into the soup.
- Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls and top with the basil and parmesan cheese. Serve while hot and enjoy!
Notes
Substitutions
For the minestrone, there are several ingredients that can be substituted or omitted:- 2 carrots: 8 baby carrots
- 2 cups chopped zucchini: Any combination of chopped green beans, peas, corn, cauliflower, or other veggies, fresh or frozen, can be used
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes: 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinear: 2 tablespoons apple cider, rice wine, or white wine vinegar
- 6 sprigs thyme: 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup fresh basil: 2 teaspoons dried basil, ¼ cup chopped parsley or chives
- 1 can diced tomatoes: 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1 can cannellini beans: 1 can kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, or black beans
- 1 cup whole-wheat elbow pasta: 1 cup orzo, mini rigatoni, ditalini, or other small pasta, does not have to be whole wheat, or 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups fresh spinach: 2 cups fresh kale, shredded or 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese: 1/2 cup of any shredded white cheese
Looking for more soup recipes? Check out this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Herbed Croutons recipe»