🍲 Hearty Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 can white or kidney beans
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 zucchini
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup small pasta
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil (pantry staple)
- Salt & pepper (pantry staple)
Instructions
- Sauté onion, carrot, celery 5 min; add zucchini for 2 more.
- Add tomatoes, broth, and beans; simmer 15 min.
- Add pasta, cook until tender; season well.
Tips
- Cook the pasta separately if you want leftovers, or expect it to swell and drink all the broth overnight.
- Sweat the onion, carrot and celery slowly for a full 5 minutes before anything else goes in. That soffritto is the entire flavour base — rushing it gives you vegetable water.
- Add a parmesan rind to the pot if you have one. It's the classic Italian trick and adds a savoury depth nothing else in the recipe provides.
Substitutions
- White or kidney beans
- Cannellini are traditional. Borlotti, chickpeas or butter beans all work.
- Small pasta
- Ditalini is standard. Any small shape, broken spaghetti, or rice. Gluten-free pasta works added at the very end.
- Zucchini
- Green beans, spinach, kale, cabbage or peas. Minestrone is genuinely a use-what-you-have soup.
- Vegetable broth
- Chicken broth if it needn't be vegetarian. Water plus a parmesan rind and good seasoning also works.
Storage & reheating
Keeps 5 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months — freeze it without the pasta. It thickens considerably as it sits; loosen with broth or water when reheating.
Common questions
Is minestrone vegetarian?
As written here, yes. Traditionally it varies by region and often includes pancetta or a ham bone, so it isn't inherently vegetarian.
Why is my minestrone bland?
Under-seasoned and under-acidic. Salt properly, then finish with a splash of red wine vinegar or lemon — beans and vegetables need acid to lift them.
Can I use dried beans?
Yes. Soak overnight and simmer them separately until tender before adding, or they'll never soften in an acidic tomato broth.