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minestrone soup — Mediterranean Diet Hub

minestrone soup

Minestrone soup cooks in under 40 minutes and uses everyday vegetables plus canned beans. A filling, cozy meal that keeps well for lunch.
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Total Time 41 minutes
Servings: 6 bowls
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 270
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Soup base
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup yellow onion diced
  • 1 cup carrot diced
  • 1 cup celery diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt start with half and add to taste
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Veggies and beans
  • 1.5 cups zucchini diced
  • 2 cups green beans trimmed and chopped
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (400g/14oz)
  • 1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 can red kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
Add-ins and toppings
  • 1 cup small pasta ditalini, elbow, or broken spaghetti
  • 2 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
  • 0.25 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 0.25 cup grated parmesan cheese optional

Method
 

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Throw in the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until they soften and the onion looks translucent.
  2. Add the garlic, oregano, thyme, black pepper, and half the salt. Stir for 1–2 minutes until everything smells great — but don’t let the garlic brown.
  3. Mix in the tomato paste and cook for another minute, scraping the bottom if anything sticks. The paste gets sweeter this way.
  4. Dump in the zucchini, green beans, diced tomatoes (with their juice), both cans of beans, and broth. Give it a good stir and bring to a simmer.
  5. Once the soup boils, add the pasta. Stir right away so nothing sticks. Reduce heat and simmer about 12 minutes — the pasta should be just tender, veggies cooked but not mushy.
  6. Stir in spinach and cook 2–3 more minutes. Taste and add more salt only if you really need it.
  7. Ladle into bowls. Top with parsley and a sprinkle of parmesan, if you want. Grab some crusty bread and enjoy — I always do.

Notes

I make this minestrone whenever my fridge feels a little random and I need something filling that isn’t heavy. Minestrone is my way of using up odds and ends — and honestly, anything that gets more vegetables into my day without planning is a win.

How I Get the Best Flavor

Don’t rush the first step. Cooking out the carrot, celery, and onion (the Italians call this soffritto) until everything's soft is the backbone for the whole soup. If you skip this or speed through, the flavor just isn’t as round. I always start with half the salt, taste after simmering, then adjust. Salt hits differently after cooking, so you want to check it at the end.
Tomato paste trick: Make sure the paste cooks for a minute before adding liquid. It caramelizes slightly and gets sweeter, which makes a difference, especially if your tomatoes aren’t super sweet.
When you add the pasta, stir right away and keep it moving for the first minute. Small shapes love to sink and stick to the bottom, and you only notice once you’re cleaning up.

Swaps That Actually Work

You can swap in canned chickpeas or small white beans for kidney or cannellini. If you’re out of green beans, sub half a cup of frozen peas. No spinach? Tear in any soft leafy green near the end — even arugula works.
Harder vegetables like butternut squash are tasty but dice them small and give them five minutes extra with the onion/celery/carrot step.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Minestrone keeps well 3–4 days in the fridge. If you plan to keep leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add to each bowl before serving — pasta left in soup will soak up broth and get mushy.
If your soup thickens overnight, just loosen it with a splash of water or broth when reheating. The flavor’s even better the next day.