There's something incredibly comforting about a bowl of homemade minestrone soup. This classic Italian dish features fresh vegetables, hearty beans, and tender pasta simmered in a rich tomato broth. It's a versatile recipe that's perfect for any season and can be customized with your favorite seasonal produce.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Nutritious and Filling: Packed with a variety of vegetables and beans, making it both healthy and satisfying.
- Easy to Make: With simple ingredients and straightforward steps, hearty minestrone soup is perfect for both beginners and seasoned cooks.
- Versatile: Easily adaptable to include your favorite vegetables or to accommodate what's in season.
- Great for Leftovers: Tastes even better the next day, making it ideal for simple meal prep.
Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need
Don't be fooled by the number of ingredients. They come together quickly.
Making the Hearty Minestrone: Step-by-step Instructions
- Step 1 - Sauté Veggies: Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add the diced carrots and sauté for five minutes. Then, add the sliced celery and sauté for five minutes, followed by the diced onions. Sauté for five more minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Step 2 - The Flavorings: Add the dried thyme and minced garlic. Stir to combine and cook for 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Step 3 - Liquids: Add the petit diced tomatoes with their juice and the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Step 4 - Zucchini: Add the zucchini. After stirring everything together, cover the Dutch oven and cook the minestrone for 15 minutes.
- Step 5 - Beans, Pasta, and Wine: At this point, the veggies should be perfectly tender. Add the cannellini beans, pasta cooked to the al dente stage, and wine.
- Step 6 - Spinach: Once everything is heated through, add the spinach and cook the mixture until the spinach is wilted.
- Step 7 - Serve: Taste the soup, correct the seasonings, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and toasted French bread.
Hearty minestrone is a delicious blend of flavors and textures, making it a perfect meal for any day of the week. Its rich tomato broth, combined with wholesome vegetables and pasta, offers both comfort and nutrition. Enjoy it with a slice of crusty bread for a complete and satisfying meal. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, minestrone tastes even better the next day as the flavors meld together. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Absolutely. Allow the soup to cool completely, then transfer it to freezer-safe containers. It can be frozen for up to three months. For best results, consider freezing the soup without the pasta and adding freshly cooked pasta when reheating to prevent the pasta from becoming mushy.
Minestrone is versatile. Feel free to add other vegetables like green beans, peas, or leafy greens such as kale. Seasonal vegetables work well in this soup.
Other Delicious Soup Recipes
If you like this recipe, you should check out some of my other amazing soups:
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Recipe
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Hearty Minestrone
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 cups sliced celery (See Tip 1)
- 1 ¾ cups chopped onions (1 large onion)
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 ounce can petit diced tomatoes with the juice
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth (See Tip 2)
- 1 ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ½ cups diced zucchini
- 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup ditalini or other small pasta, cooked al dente, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup dry white wine, optional
- 5 ounces baby spinach leaves
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrots; sauté 5 minutes. Add celery; stir to combine and continue sautéing 5 minutes. Add onions; stir to combine and continue sautéing 5 additional minutes.
- Add the thyme and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Simmer 20 minutes. Add the zucchini. Cover and continue to simmer 15 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are tender. May be made in advance up to this point.
- Add the beans, cooked pasta and wine. Heat 5 minutes. (See Tip 3)
- Add the spinach; cook just until the spinach leaves are wilted.
- Correct the seasonings.
- If desired, serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.
- Yield: 8 servings.
Video
Tips/Notes
- If your celery is too fibrous, it will take significantly longer to cook until it's tender. To judge whether the celery is fibrous, run your finger back and forth on the celery stalk. The rougher it is, the more fibrous it is. Look for smooth celery.
- To make this vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.
- If soup is too thick, add more chicken broth to desired consistency.
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