Minestrone Soup - authentic Italian recipe
This is an easy recipe for Minestrone Soup. Simple, versatile - with seasonal vegetables, canned beans and pasta in a rich tomato-herb broth. Serve it up with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some good crusty bread. This soup also freezes really well!
Servings: 8
Calories: 393kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 large carrots sliced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup dry red wine cabernet, merlot, pinot noir - not sweet wine
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes and the juices
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 15 ounce canned chickpeas
- 15 ounce canned dark red kidney beans
- 2 cups fresh spinach rough chopped
- 1 cup green beans fresh or frozen cut in bite size pieces
- 1/2 cup small pasta ditalini, small elbow, etc
- 3 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley chopped
- fresh parmesan cheese and its rind if yours has one
Instructions
- Add olive oil, onion, celery and carrots to a soup pot then season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally.
- Add minced garlic, tomato paste and dry Italian seasoning. Cook 2 minutes stirring often. Reduce heat, pour in wine and simmer 2 minutes letting the wine reduce.
- Pour in diced tomatoes (and their juices), crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. Drain chickpeas and drain and rinse kidney beans and stir into the broth. If your parmesan cheese came with a rind, cut it off and add it to the broth as well.
- Increase the heat, bring to a boil, season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ tsp pepper then reduce the heat cover and simmer 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add chopped spinach, green beans cut in bite size pieces and pasta Continue simmering 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Remove any of the remaining rind (it will look like a cheesy gooey blob) then stir in chopped parsley. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper. Remember this is a big pot of soup so season generously.
- Serve hot with fresh grated parmesan cheese and crusty bread.
Notes
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating!
Swap any stock you like - or even bone broth for extra protein!
This is my favorite freezer soup. I make a big batch and keep single serve containers in my freezer - thaw for super easy lunch or dinner on a busy day.
Nutrition
Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 66.2g | Protein: 19.7g | Fat: 5.7g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 775mg | Potassium: 1219mg | Fiber: 16.4g | Sugar: 11.5g | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 7mg