Minestrone Soup: Thick and Nutrient-Dense

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.

Many people haven’t had minestrone soup that’s not out of the can. If that’s you, you’re in for a treat.

What is minestrone soup? 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.

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Key ingredients

• Avocado oil: One of the healthiest fats that can be cooked with, it’s even received prescription drug status in France.
• Carrots: Carrots are loaded with nutrients and aren’t as high-carb as people think. One cup of raw carrots contains only about 10 grams of carbohydrates and almost four grams of fiber.
• Onion: Onions are surprisingly high in antioxidants, in particular include flavonoids like quercetin and anthocyanins — the same type of protective compounds founds in berries, cherries and eggplant.
• Zucchini: Zucchini is low in calories, carbs and sugars; and is high in essential nutrients like potassium and manganese.
• Celery: Did you know that celery is about 95 percent water? It’s the reason it’s so low in calories.
• Fresh green beans: Choose fresh over frozen for the best texture and taste. Choose green beans with a smooth texture and vibrant green color, free from brown spots and bruising.
• Chicken bone broth: Rich in nutrients like collagen protein and gelatin, chicken bone broth is friendly on the joints and provides a host of amino acids. You can also use regular broth, even vegetable broth.
• Diced tomatoes: Tomatoes are one of the best sources of the phytonutrient called lycopene in the world. Lycopene is closely tied to enhanced immunity and cancer risk reduction.
• Kidney and white beans: Rich in protein and micronutrients like folate, iron and manganese, these beans can be had from canned variety or dried and soaked overnight.
• Spinach: Spinach nutrition is rich in many important nutrients, including vitamin K, vitamin A, folate and vitamin C.
• Gluten-free shell pasta: Choose your favorite shell pasta as the base, such as gluten-free or even a lentil-based pasta.

These ingredients add up to a very healthy soup. One 250 calorie serving contains 41 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fat and 13 grams of protein. Among the 41 grams of carbs, only 7 grams of sugar vs. a whopping 10 grams of fiber.

Nutrient-wise, check it out:

• Vitamin A: 4366 IU (187% DV)
• Vitamin K: 72.2 mcg (80% DV)
• Vitamin B1 (thiamin): 0.799 mg (73% DV)
• Manganese: 0.887 mg (49% DV)
• Folate: 168 mcg (42% DV)
• Copper: 0.372 mg (41% DV)
• Vitamin C: 29.1 mg (39% DV)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): 0.41 mg (37% DV)
• Vitamin B6: 0.381 mg (29% DV)
• Magnesium: 87 mg (28% DV)
• Phosphorus: 89 mg (27% DV)
• Iron: 4.53 mg (25% DV)
• Zinc: 1.71 mg (21% DV)
• Vitamin B3 (niacin): 2.707 mg (19% DV)
• Potassium: 897 mg (19% DV)
• Calcium: 130 mg (13% DV)
• Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid): 0.647 mg (13% DV)
• Vitamin E: 1.83 mg (12% DV)

How to make minestrone soup

This minestrone soup recipe loads 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.

This soup is rounded out 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 minutes.

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.

Minestrone Soup Recipe

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• Author: Ayla Sadler
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

Minestrone soup is a traditional Italian soup that’s loaded with veggies and usually contains either pasta or rice in it. Rather than get it from a can, easily make your own.

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Ingredients

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• 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, ends cut off and chopped
• 4–6 cups chicken bone broth (substitute vegetable broth to keep this vegetarian and vegan)
• one 24-ounce can diced tomatoes
• two 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed (or soak dry beans overnight)
• two 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed (or soak dry beans overnight)
• 1½ cups water
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 2 cups gluten-free shell pasta
• fresh basil for topping

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Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat avocado oil and sauté carrots, onion, zucchini, celery and green beans for 5 minutes.
2. Add in broth, tomatoes, beans and water.
3. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add spinach and pasta, stirring until well-combines and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
5. Allow soup to rest for 10 minutes then serve topped with basil.

• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 40 min
• Category: Soups, Appetizers
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup (575 g)
• Calories: 250
• Sugar: 6.9 g
• Sodium: 239 mg (10% DV)
• Fat: 4.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 3.3 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 41.2 g
• Fiber: 10.1 g
• Protein: 13.2 g
• Cholesterol: 27 mg