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5 from 8 votes

Hearty Minestrone

Hearty Minestrone is a healthy soup that chocked full of delicious vegetables. It's comfort food at its best in the cold winter months, but equally satisfying when things warm up. Hearty Minestrone is easy to make, freezes well, and makes terrific leftovers.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 216kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups diced carrots
  • 2 cups diced celery (See Tip 1)
  • 1 ¾ cups chopped onions 1 large
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 ½ cups diced zucchini
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 28 ounce can petit diced tomatoes
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken broth (See Tip 2)
  • 1 ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 15 ounce can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup ditalini or other small pasta cooked al dente, drained and rinsed
  • 5 ounces baby spinach leaves
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

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 and cooked pasta. If soup is too thick, add more chicken broth to desired consistency. Heat 5 minutes.
  • Add the wine and spinach; cook just until the spinach leaves are wilted.
  • Correct the seasonings.
  • Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.
  • Yield: 8 servings.

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. To make this vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 869mg | Potassium: 901mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 7410IU | Vitamin C: 27.2mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 3.9mg