Description
This Easy Minestrone Soup is a hearty and comforting Italian-inspired vegetable soup packed with diced tomatoes, beans, pasta, and fresh spinach, simmered to perfection in a flavorful broth. Perfect for a cozy family meal, it's simple to make and full of wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegetables
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 3 medium celery ribs, diced
- 4 medium carrots, diced
- 3 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
Pantry Items
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (28 ounce can) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (15 ounce can) tomato sauce
- 1 (15 ounce can) white cannellini beans, undrained
- 1 (15 ounce can) kidney beans, undrained
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 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 until melted and combined.
- Sauté onion: Add diced white onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften and become translucent.
- Add vegetables and garlic: Stir in diced celery ribs, carrots, and zucchini. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute to release its aroma.
- Add liquids and seasonings: Pour in diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato sauce, white cannellini beans with liquid, kidney beans with liquid, and vegetable broth. Stir in dried basil and dried oregano. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- Cook pasta: Add elbow macaroni or shell pasta to the boiling soup. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer at a low boil for 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta is tender.
- Add spinach: During the last 2 minutes of cooking, stir in the roughly chopped baby spinach so it wilts gently into the soup.
- Season and serve: Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve hot, garnished with grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- Use salted butter for richer flavor; unsalted butter can be substituted with an additional pinch of salt added later.
- For a gluten-free version, substitute the elbow macaroni with gluten-free pasta or omit the pasta completely.
- Feel free to add other vegetables like green beans or peas for extra nutrition.
- Leftover soup tastes even better the next day after flavors have melded.
- Parmesan cheese can be omitted for a vegetarian version or replaced with nutritional yeast for a dairy-free option.
- Adjust seasoning at the end carefully, as canned beans and broth can be salty.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 490 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
