Minestrone Soup

Minestrone is one of my favorite kinds of soup. This version is a hearty and nutritious version that’s loaded with vegetables, beans, herbs, and spices. This is one of my favorite soups to fix up in a large batch and store in the fridge (or even freezer) for tasty leftovers. The Minestrone taste great right off the stove, but sometimes the leftover are even a little bit better, as the flavors have had more time to come together.

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This variation of Minestrone is super hearty. It’s probably more like a Minestrone stew, given all the delicious vegetables. This soup is also packed with flavor and has a slight creamy texture from the nutritional yeast. Feel free to make this soup your own, by adding any vegetables you love or using your favorite kinds of beans. I know I was out of kidney and white beans one day, so I swapped in chickpeas and worked out lovely! That’s the beauty of cooking, you really can mix and match and use what you have to make something wonderful!

I also love to use lentil or bean noodles in my Minestrone. Some lentil or bean noodles hold up better than others- so you may want to keep the cooked noodles on the side to avoid having them disintegrate into your leftover soup. 

 

Minestrone Soup

Kristina DeMuth, MPH, RD, LD
A hearty and nutrient-packed, Italian soup that’s loaded with vegetables, beans, herbs, and spices. Feel free to make this soup your own, by adding any vegetables you love or using your favorite kinds of beans.
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Course Main Course
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cups chopped celery
  • 2 cups chopped carrots
  • 2 cups chopped yellow squash (~1 medium)
  • 2-4 cups chopped zucchini (~1-3 medium)
  • 3 cups chopped tomatoes (~6 roma or 5 on-the-vine tomatoes)
  • 2 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon dreid oregano
  • ½ -1 tablespoon dried fennel
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 (6 oz) BPA-free can or jar of tomato paste
  • 4½ cups water more as needed
  • 1½ cups cooked kidney beans (or 1-15 oz BPA-free can, drained and rinsed)
  • 1½ cups cooked white beans (or 1-15 oz BPA-free can, drained and rinsed)
  • 4 cups chopped kale or greens of choice
  • 1 tablespoon white miso paste
  • ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
  • 8 oz legume or whole grain pasta

Instructions
 

  • Wash and chop the veggies. Sauté the onion with 2-4 tablespoons of water in a large pot. Once the onions start to soften and brown, add the celery and carrots. Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed to keep the veggies from sticking throughout the sautéing process.
  • Add the yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic powder, oregano, fennel, thyme. Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of water, as needed. Cook until the veggies start to soften.
  • In a bowl, combine the tomato paste with 1 cup of water. Stir together until well combined. Pour into the pot with the veggies. Add more 3 cups of water to the pot. Stir in the beans.
  • Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes. Add the chopped kale with about 5 minutes left of cooking.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the miso paste, nutritional yeast, black pepper, and ½ cup water. Once well combined, pour into the pot with the veggies and stir. Add crushed red pepper, to taste.
  • Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package. Add to the soup just before serving or leave it on the side and add to individual bowls so that the pasta contains it’s texture and shape.
  • Top with additional herbs or spices as desired. Enjoy!