Minestrone Soup Recipe (Thick & Hearty)

This hearty minestrone soup is thicker than most minestrone soups. Brimming with colourful greens, protein-rich beans, and fragrant herbs, it’s as scrumptious as it’s satisfying. Be at liberty so as to add rice or pasta to the soup, too, and serve it with a slice of rustic do-it-yourself bread for a filling vegetarian meal. You’ll love this soup’s uniquely wealthy texture—each spoonful is completely different!

That is vegetable soup and also you’re proper, it’s not flashy within the slightest. Nonetheless, I’m singing its praises as a result of a bowl of this cozy soup isn’t solely wholesome, heat, and healthful, its savory flavors and thickness will maintain you full and glad.

One reader, Megan, commented: “I’ve been trying to find a couple of years for the proper minestrone recipe. I’ve tried loads of the web recipes, 6 in whole through the years(they have been all bland with virtually no taste!!). This recipe is the one I’ve been trying to find!! Stuffed with taste, my hard-to-please household all beloved it too. ★★★★★“

I initially printed this recipe in 2018. We’ve beloved it on chilly winter days, particularly served in large do-it-yourself bread bowls. It’s a soul-warming vegetarian soup that may simply be vegan by utilizing vegetable broth and skipping the elective parmesan cheese topping.

It is a Thick Minestrone Soup

This minestrone soup is far heartier than what we’re used to, virtually like a chili, which is why I adore it a lot. The pasta/rice soaks up loads of liquid, which helps thicken it up. I add an 8-ounce can of tomato paste, which is usually greater than most minestrone soup recipes. I additionally throw in recent zucchini, carrots, celery, and spinach plus numerous canned beans. These are all fairly typical in minestrone. There’s additionally garlic, onion, diced tomato, and a hearty dose of seasoning. There’s a lot colour and texture in 1 spoonful, how will you not be glad?!

Substitution Solutions

This soup is fairly forgiving. Simply as we do when making this biscuit vegetable pot pie, mess around with the greens you employ primarily based on what you want. Listed below are the substitutions I’ve tried during the last a number of years, so I do know they work splendidly.

1. Zucchini: You possibly can depart this out, or use summer time squash as a substitute. I’ve additionally used chopped mushrooms as a replacement.
2. Kidney Bean & Butter Beans: I like this mix of beans, however you need to use all kidney or all butter beans as a substitute. Or substitute one or each for chickpeas, black beans, or cannellini (nice Northern) beans. Or substitute one with a drained can of corn.
3. Inexperienced Beans: You should utilize chopped recent inexperienced beans or frozen inexperienced beans as a substitute. Once I do that, I normally use round 1 and 1/2 cups. Add it while you add the opposite beans—they’ve sufficient time to prepare dinner and soften. No must thaw if utilizing frozen.
4. Skip the Pasta/Rice: You possibly can skip the pasta/rice. No modifications wanted. The soup will probably be a bit extra broth-y.
5. Spinach: Be at liberty to make use of chopped recent kale as a substitute, or depart it out. If you wish to use frozen spinach, add it 10 minutes earlier than ending as a substitute of 5.
6. Add Meat: Be at liberty so as to add 1 lb of floor rooster, turkey, or beef. Cook dinner it with the celery/carrots in step 1. Skip 1 can of the beans, and you could wish to add one other 1 cup (240ml) of broth. As a substitute, you possibly can add 1-2 cups cooked chopped/shredded meat while you stir within the spinach. Generally I add a couple of hyperlinks of thinly sliced rooster sausage.

Whichever greens you employ, I like to recommend sticking with the seasonings, tomato paste, and broth; these all make up the flavorful tomato base of the soup.

Learn how to Freeze Minestrone Soup

This soup freezes splendidly! Freeze in a big freezer container for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge the day earlier than consuming, then reheat on the range till heat.

Can I Make This in a Gradual Cooker?

In order for you the minestrone soup to prepare dinner all day, listed below are the sluggish cooker instructions. I additionally pasted these within the recipe beneath. Put together the soup via step 1 on the stovetop. Switch to a sluggish cooker, then add every thing else apart from the rice/pasta and spinach. Permit to prepare dinner for two hours on low, then add the rice/pasta and spinach. Cook dinner on low for 1 extra hour.

Serve in bread bowls or alongside mushy dinner rolls, artisan bread, brown butter sage dinner rolls, do-it-yourself breadsticks, or olive bread. Or, attempt a brand new favourite, grilled cheese sandwiches on do-it-yourself entire wheat bread.

Print

Thick & Hearty Minestrone Soup

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  Creator: Sally
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  Prep Time: quarter-hour
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  Cook dinner Time: 60 minutes
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  Complete Time: 1 hour, quarter-hour
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  Yield: serves 10
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  Class: Soup
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  Methodology: Cooking
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  Delicacies: Italian

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Description

This hearty minestrone soup is thicker than most soup recipes. It’s stuffed with scrumptious colourful greens, loads of spices, and a novel wealthy texture. You’ll make this minestrone soup recipe time and again!

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Directions

1. Warmth the olive oil over medium warmth in a big stockpot or dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook dinner, stirring sometimes, for six–7 minutes because the greens soften up and let loose some juices.
2. Add broth, water, crimson wine vinegar, bay leaf, all of the beans, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Carry to a boil, then add raw rice or pasta. Cowl and simmer for 35 minutes. Stir within the chopped spinach and simmer for five extra minutes. Take away bay leaf.
3. Serve soup heat in do-it-yourself bread bowls (or common bowls, after all!) and high with recent parmesan cheese, if desired.
4. Hold leftovers in a big lined container within the fridge for as much as every week. To reheat, merely pour right into a pot over medium warmth and prepare dinner till heat. Be at liberty so as to add extra broth to the leftovers because it cooks whether it is too thick—I all the time do. (It thickens within the fridge because the veggies and rice/pasta absorb the liquid.)

Notes

1. Make Forward Directions – Freezing: Soup freezes splendidly! Freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge the day earlier than consuming, then reheat on the range till heat.
2. Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Giant pot or dutch oven 
3. Zucchini: You possibly can depart this out, or use summer time squash as a substitute. I’ve additionally used chopped mushrooms as a replacement.
4. Italian Seasoning: If you happen to don’t have Italian seasoning, you need to use any mixture of Italian spices that you simply like. Dried basil, rosemary, oregano, and so on.
5. Broth: Wherever between 6–7 cups (about 1.5L) of broth is nice. I take advantage of 7. The rice or pasta absorb loads of liquid.
6. Vinegar: The vinegar balances out all the flavour. A number of splashes of a dry-ish crimson wine works too!
7. Kidney Bean & Butter Beans: I like this mix of beans, however you need to use all kidney or all butter beans as a substitute. Or substitute one or each for chickpeas, black beans, or cannellini (nice Northern) beans. Or substitute one with a drained can of corn.
8. Inexperienced Beans: You should utilize chopped recent inexperienced beans or frozen inexperienced beans as a substitute. Once I do that, I normally use round 1 and 1/2 cups. Add it while you add the opposite beans—they’ve sufficient time to prepare dinner and soften. No must thaw if utilizing frozen.
9. Rice / Pasta: Use brown or white rice or any dry pasta you want greatest. Persist with smaller formed pasta so it suits in your spoon. You can even skip the rice/pasta. The soup will probably be thinner.
10. Spinach: Be at liberty to make use of chopped recent kale as a substitute, or depart it out. If you wish to use frozen spinach, add it 10 minutes earlier than ending as a substitute of 5.
11. If You Need to Add Meat: Be at liberty so as to add 1 lb of floor rooster, turkey, or beef. Cook dinner it with the celery/carrots in step 1. Skip 1 can of the beans, and you could wish to add one other 1 cup (240ml) of broth. As a substitute, you possibly can add 1-2 cups cooked chopped/shredded meat while you stir within the spinach. Generally I add a couple of hyperlinks of thinly sliced rooster sausage.
12. Gradual Cooker Directions: Put together the soup via step 1 on the stovetop. Switch to a sluggish cooker (affiliate hyperlink), then add every thing else apart from the rice/pasta and spinach. Permit to prepare dinner for two hours on low, then add the rice/pasta and spinach. Cook dinner on low for 1 extra hour.

Key phrases: minestrone soup