Minestrone Soup (Vegetarian Recipe)
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This Minestrone Soup Recipe is for when you’re craving a cozy and comforting soup, but want to keep it on the lighter side. This Vegetarian Minestrone is hearty and warm and will make you feel good inside and out.
There’s nothing quite like a warm bowl of hearty minestrone soup to chase away the chill. Here in Maine, our winters are long, and we need comfort food that not only warms us from the inside out but makes us feel good, too.
Loaded with vegetables, tender pasta, and a rich, flavorful broth, this vegetarian version of a classic minestrone is perfect for weeknight dinners or meal prepping ahead.
Why You’ll Love This Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Loaded with Veggies: This soup has a ton of colorful, nutrient-rich vegetables for a wholesome meal.
- Makes a Lot: This recipe makes a big batch, so it’s great for busy families and leftovers.
- Meal Prep Friendly: Enjoy a fresh bowl now and save the rest for later—it reheats beautifully.
- Freezes Well: Perfect for stocking your freezer with ready-to-eat meals.
- Hearty and Nourishing: Comforting and satisfying, especially on cold evenings.
If you’re looking for more cozy meatless recipes, try my meatless baked ziti or one of these cozy fall salads for a hearty and satisfying vegetarian meal!
Ingredients
This vegetable soup is packed with all kinds of good stuff. This recipe was originally inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe. In Ina’s Minestrone, she uses white wine, pancetta, and chicken stock. I’ve adapted the recipe to make it vegetarian and omitted the wine.
- Ditalini Pasta– this is a small tube pasta. You can use tubetti or tiny shells if Ditalini is unavailable.
- Olive Oil – for sauteeing the vegetables
- Onion
- Fresh Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic – Minced cloves of garlic.
- Dried Thyme– you can use fresh thyme as well
- Chopped Tomatoes – I use canned diced tomatoes. Both regular diced and petite diced work. You’ll use both the tomatoes and their juice.
- Tomato Sauce – not marinara or pasta sauce. I use canned or boxed tomato sauce.
- Vegetable Broth or Stock– prepared or homemade.
- Dried Bay leaf
- Coarse Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper
- Cannellini Beans – I use canned beans
- Yellow Squash– This is also referred to as summer squash, but is available all year round. See the variations section for other squash options.
- Frozen Leaf Spinach– Cut leaf variety.
- Prepared Pesto– use homemade pesto your favorite brand of premade.
- Balsamic Vinegar or Lemon Juice – This is optional, but it adds a nice balance to the minestrone soup.
- Parmesan Cheese and Red Pepper Flakes– These are optional for serving.
Instructions
Step 1:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8-10 minutes until softened.
Step 2:
Stir in garlic and dried thyme and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Step 3:
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, diced squash, vegetable stock, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
Step 4:
Stir in the cannellini beans, frozen spinach, and pesto. Cook for an additional 5 minutes to warm through and blend flavors. Add the cooked pasta, balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice if using. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese, and garlic crostini or fluffy dinner rolls on the side.
Top Tip For The Best Minestrone Soup
Dice the vegetables around the same size. This will make sure all the ingredients cook evenly, and they’ll fit on the spoon better for a perfect bite!
Storing Leftover Minestrone Soup
- Refrigerator: Cool soup completely and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat.
- Freezer: Freeze cooled soup in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Variations
Any of the vegetables can be swapped for your preference.
- Kale or fresh spinach can be used in place of the frozen spinach.
- Red kidney beans or any other small white beans can replace the cannellini beans
- If you need the clean out the vegetable drawer, this is the soup for it.
Minestrone Soup For Every Season:
- Winter Minestrone: Replace summer squash with cubed butternut squash for a hearty winter twist.
- Spring Minestrone Soup: Swap spinach for fresh asparagus, adding it in the last step to keep it crisp.
- Summer Minestrone Soup: Use zucchini or green beans, and fresh garden tomatoes. Use two teaspoons of fresh thyme instead of dried, and add in other fresh herbs like basil, oregano, or parsley.
Vegan Minestrone Soup
To make this recipe vegan-friendly, read the labels on any boxed or canned products to make sure it’s 100% vegan. Use a prepared vegan pesto and garnish with vegan parmesan cheese.
This vegetarian minestrone soup is versatile, hearty, and perfect for every season. Enjoy experimenting with variations and making it your own!
Serving Suggestions
Serve this minestrone soup with any of the following to make this a soup to remember.
- Cheesy Topping: Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese or a dollop of ricotta.
- Side Pairings: Serve with garlic bread, fluffy dinner rolls, or a crisp side salad.
- Spice it up: Add red pepper flakes for a little heat.
FAQs
Absolutely! Swap the ditalini pasta for your favorite gluten-free pasta, or use rice or quinoa for a grain-based alternative.
Yes, but the pesto adds an extra layer of flavor. You can’t tell it’s there, but you’ll notice that when it’s missing.
Minestrone is a hearty soup made with a variety of vegetables, beans, and pasta in a tomato-based broth, making it a more filling meal. Vegetable soup, on the other hand, is typically a lighter dish, often made with just vegetables in a clear broth, and may not include pasta or rice.
Minestrone is a vegetable-heavy soup with pasta, beans, and a tomato-based broth, while pasta e fagioli focuses on beans and pasta (and sometimes meat) in a thicker, broth. Both are hearty, but minestrone emphasizes vegetables, and pasta e fagioli highlights the pasta-bean combination.
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Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked Ditalini pasta 2 cups uncooked
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups diced yellow onions
- 2 cups 2-3 carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2″ cubes
- 2 cups 4 stalks celery, diced into 1/2” pieces (see note)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic 3-4 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons of fresh minced thyme leaves
- 2 cans 14.5 ounces each chopped or diced tomatoes, with the juice
- 8 oz tomato sauce canned. Not marinara or pasta sauce
- 6 cups vegetable stock or broth
- 4 cups 3 medium unpeeled yellow squash, diced into 1/2″ bite sized pieces (see note)
- 1 dried bay Leaf
- 1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cans 15-ounce each cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups 10-12 ounces frozen cut leaf spinach
- 2 tablespoons of prepared pesto
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the diced onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the veggies begin to soften.
- Add the minced garlic and thyme and cook for one minute.
- Add the diced tomatoes with the juice, tomato sauce, vegetable stock, diced yellow squash, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.
- Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook vegetables for 10-15 minutes or until the squash is tender.
- Add the drained cannellini beans, frozen spinach, and pesto. Cook for 5 minutes more to warm the spinach and let the flavors blend.
- Once the spinach is warmed through, add the cooked ditalini pasta and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Dicing Celery: slice the thinnest part of the stalk down the middle lengthwise and slice into 1/2" pieces. For the wider part of the stalk, make 3-4 slices lengthwise into sticks. Then dice the celery sticks into 1/2" pieces
- Yellow squash is often referred to as summer squash. It's similar to a zucchini.
- Dicing the Squash: Slice in half lengthwise and then in half again to make four long squash spears. Then chop the spears into 1/2" pieces from there.
- Cutting the vegetables around the same size will ensure even cooking
- You can use fresh spinach or kale in place of frozen.
