Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is one of those effortless Italian soup recipes that is absolutely delicious and a great way to use up any leftover veggies you have in the fridge. With or without pasta, it's one of my favorite soups!

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword minestrone

Diet vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings people

Calories 428

Author Simone

Ingredients

3-4 carrots diced
3 stalks celery sliced
1 zucchini diced
½ medium cauliflower cut into small florets
2 onions diced
2 leeks sliced
2 large potatoes peeled and diced
1½ tbsp butter 20 g
1 liter vegetable broth 1 liter
400 grams diced tomatoes 1 can
300 grams cooked pasta or cooked rice
2 tbsp celery leaves chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

Instructions

Cut all the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, leeks, carrots, celery, cauliflower, zucchini, and potatoes. Cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent.
Pour in the vegetable broth and diced tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 25–30 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are tender.
Stir in the cooked pasta (or rice) along with the chopped parsley and celery leaves.
Let everything warm through for another 2–3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed.
Serve immediately with crusty bread and, if you like, a generous sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

No leftover pasta? Simply add uncooked small pasta (such as ditalini, elbow macaroni, or small shells) during the last 8–10 minutes of cooking, following the package directions.
Want more protein? Stir in a can of drained cannellini beans or kidney beans.
Use what you have. Minestrone is incredibly flexible. Spinach, kale, green beans, peas, cabbage, broccoli, or bell peppers all make great additions.
Make it vegan. Replace the butter with olive oil and skip the Parmesan, or use a dairy-free alternative.

Storage

Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. If you're planning to freeze the soup, it's best to leave out the pasta and add freshly cooked pasta after reheating, as pasta tends to become very soft in the freezer.

Nutrition