Minestrone Soup
This is the time of year when my garden is exploding with fresh vegetables. When I have more veggies than I know what to do with, I make Minestrone Soup. It’s my go-to dish because it is so easy, hearty, and delicious.
Use what you have
The great thing about making minestrone soup, besides it being delicious, is that it’s a flexible recipe. For me, the ingredients I use largely depends on what vegetables are ripe and ready when I make this soup. Sometimes my minestrone will be heavier on the green beans, other times it will be chocked full of zucchini or tomatoes. There are also times when I’ve added extra pasta and other times when I didn’t put any in at all. No matter how I’ve balanced this soup, it’s always come out tasting delicious.
The recipe below is my baseline minestrone soup recipe and tends to be my favorite version. Even though you can adjust the amount of vegetables and pasta, there are a few ingredients that always remain the same. For instance, the parmesan and pesto that I add to the soup at the end. They both give this minestrone soup an extra punch of flavor that truly makes it taste fantastic.
If you’re looking for other vegetable soup recipes, be sure to check out my chunky gazpacho.
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup onion
- 1 cup celery
- 1 cup carrots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups diced tomato
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 cup chopped green beans
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 tsp oregeno
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp parsley
- ½ cup elbow pasta
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pesto
Instructions
- Chop up onion, celery, carrots and garlic.
- Warm 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the tomato paste. Stir thoroughly for about a minute, then add 1 cup of the vegetable broth. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in the remaining vegetable broth.
- Season with the oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Turn heat to medium high and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat back to medium and partially cover the pot with a lid in order to allow the steam to escape. Let soup simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir in the elbow pasta for another 20 minutes. Note: If soup starts to cook down too much, add a cup of water or additional vegetable broth.
- Stir in the parmesan, pesto, and parsley. Simmer for 3-5 more minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Serve with a fresh baguette and enjoy.
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