Minestrone Soup Recipe
Soups are often served as starters or side dishes. But certain soups are hefty and hearty enough to serve and enjoy as a main dish. Imagine an easy soup recipe that’s full of healthy ingredients, easy to make and is perfect for serving the entire family. Enter minestrone soup.
What Is Minestrone Soup?
Many people haven’t had minestrone soup that’s not out of the can. If that’s you, you’re in for a treat. Minestrone soup is a traditional Italian soup that’s loaded with veggies and usually contains either pasta or rice in it. It’s heavy on the greens, but contains no meat, making it an excellent dish for vegetarians and vegans.
The beauty of minestrone soup is that there is no one particular minestrone recipe. Instead, recipes rely on seasonal and local availability, leaving room for a cook’s creativity.
This tradition dates back to Italy’s Roman Empire days, when meat was scarce and broths were bulked up with whatever vegetables people could get their hands on. Because of this, minestrone soup became known as a dish for the poor. Even today, the soup is super budget-friendly, as it relies on vegetables and beans.
How to Make Minestrone Soup
In my minestrone soup recipe, I’ve loaded up the broth with zucchini, green beans, celery and spinach. The assortment of veggies means you’ll get a variety of vitamins and minerals in every bite.
I’ve also rounded out the minestrone soup with two types of beans for extra fiber, protein and taste. Although this is a vegetarian soup, you won’t go hungry with this one!
Finally, we’ll use gluten-free pasta to give this soup that traditional Italian pasta feel without hurting your stomach.
Let’s get this minestrone soup going!
Start by heating avocado oil in a large pot. (If you don’t have that kind of oil on hand, use extra virgin olive oil.)
When the oil is ready, add in the carrots, onions, green beans, zucchini and celery and sauté for 5 minutse.
There are a lot of colorful veggies in this minestrone recipe!
Next, add in the broth, tomatoes, beans and water. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Next, add in the fresh spinach and pasta. Stir the minestrone soup until it’s all well combined, then allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes or until the gluten-free pasta is tender.
When the pasta is cooked, turn the heat off and let the minestrone soup sit for 10 minutes to let all the flavors meld together.
Finally, top the soup with fresh basil and serve!
Total Time
55 minutes
Serves
6-8
Meal Type
Gluten-Free,
Gluten-Free,
Main Dishes,
Side Dishes & Soups,
Soups & Slow Cooker,
Vegetarian
Diet Type
Ingredients:
- 1½ tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 zucchini, end cut off and chopped
- 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
- 2½ cups fresh green beans, end cup off and chopped
- 4-6 cups chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth to keep this vegetarian and vegan)
- One 24-ounce can diced tomatoes
- Two 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed
- Two 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed
- 1½ cups water
- 3 cups spinach
- 2 cups gluten-free shell pasta
- Fresh basil for topping
Directions:
- In a large pot, heat avocado oil and sauté carrots, onion, zucchini, celery and green beans for 5 minutes.
- Add in broth, tomatoes, beans and water.
- Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add spinach and pasta, stirring until well-combines and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
- Allow soup to rest for 10 minutes then serve topped with basil.
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7 Comments
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very helpful. especially loved the meal plan example, thank you
There are zero spices listed for this recipe! Is a person just supposed to “know” what spices to add, in what amounts, or is this just “naked beans and vegetables” soup? I’m glad I made a half batch – it tastes like dirt. Now I’ll have to figure out how to spice it up to make it edible.
would it not be best to soak and cook organic beans rather than using canned?
Dr. Axe, Thank you so kindly for this recipe. I love it. It is easy to make, all the ingredients are fresh vegetables, I try to use organic ingredients, but most of all this soup is so nourishing! I will make it over,and over.
Good, clean and light just the way it is but then I added several cloves of garlic and fresh oregano. Oh, and I put the fresh basil in the soup instead of using it as a condiment. Yummy!
Hello, I just received the collagens and bone broth with the probiotic supplement. The first ingredient for the probiotic supplement states that they are fermented. I have Candida allergies and wonder if the fermented ingredients should not be taken and must be avoided.
I appreciate your feedback.
Thank You
Tetiana
Hi Tetiana, you do not have to avoid all fermented ingredients. You can read about this here: https://draxe.com/health/candida-diet/. The probiotics are great for supporting a health gut!