Minestrone Soup

This minestrone soup is everything I love about soup season. It’s light and healthy, layered with Italian flavors, and will fill you up in the best way possible.

Why You’ll Love This Minestrone Soup

When it comes to soups that eat like a “full meal” it’s hard to beat minestrone. It’s an Italian classic where leftover veggies from the fridge are all just tossed together to make a hearty soup. But fun fact, back in my corporate days, I used to eat minestrone soup for lunch at the Olive Garden that was across the street from my office. Today, I’m gluten-free so I’ve learned to adapt it from that pasta-filled restaurant version and put my own spin on it. And in my opinion, it tastes FAR better! Just think of it as a blend of my vegetable soup and lentil soup in the sense that it’s light all around, yet hearty and filling, with a fragrant Mediterranean tomato broth. But here’s a few more reasons to love it:

• No pasta is needed! You can use rice or beans to make this a satisfying, standalone vegetarian meal. And I personally love white beans and sweet potato for extra fiber and heft.
• It’s easily customizable. There’s no one right way to make this. Use any leftover veggies you have on hand to build the perfect fall soup.
• It’s nutrient-packed. Between all the veggies and white beans, it’s a meal I can always add to my weekly dinner plans… and feel good about it!

Minestrone Soup Ingredients

• Vegetables: I’m using a mix of onion, carrots, celery, diced tomatoes, green beans, sweet potato, zucchini, and spinach. But again, use what you have on hand!
• Beans: White beans are one of my favorite alternatives to pasta. You can also use other types of beans, like kidney beans or pinto beans, or even white or brown rice.
• Seasoning: A simple mix of Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper is all you need.
• Aromatics: Bay leaves, lemon juice, and parsley are my go-tos for adding brightness and depth to soup recipes.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How To Make Minestrone

This vegetarian soup is all about layering in the ingredients at the right time so everything cooks perfectly. Here’s how it comes together:

Step one: Start by sautéing the onion, carrots, and celery for 4 to 5 minutes, until they’ve softened a bit. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, and cook for another minute or so. Your kitchen will start to smell amazing!

Step two: Pour in the tomatoes, cannellini beans, green beans, sweet potato, bay leaves, and broth. Give everything a good stir, bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

Step three: Stir in the zucchini and baby spinach, and let them cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, finish with a splash of lemon juice and fresh parsley, and you’re ready to ladle up bowls of minestrone. Top with freshly grated parmesan if you’d like (highly recommended!).

Seasonal Vegetable Substitutions

One of my favorite things about minestrone is how flexible it is. You can easily swap in any vegetable that’s fresh and in season. Just make sure to always use 3 cups of veggies to keep the proportions the same.

• Fall: Instead of carrots, use diced pumpkin or butternut squash (my favorite!). And swap spinach for kale.
• Winter: Parsnips and turnips are great alternatives for sweet potatoes. For leafy greens, think Swiss chard, kale, and collard greens.
• Spring: This is a great time to add spring peas and asparagus. And instead of sweet potatoes, you can use baby potatoes.
• Summer: Go heavy on zucchini, bell peppers, and of course, corn!

More Soup Recipes

• Butternut Squash Soup: A fall soup staple!
• Potato Leek Soup: So cozy and creamy.
• Cabbage Soup: The best low-carb soup.
• Black Bean Soup: It’s more flavorful than you think.
• Or enjoy my full list of soup recipes!

Behind The Scenes

I just love the “fridge clean-out” nature of a minestrone soup. It’s sorta like the soup version of my egg scrambles, where I often toss in a variety of leftover veggies from the fridge (in fact, it’s what inspired my Greek scrambled eggs).

So moral of the story, be inspired by what you have in your fridge. There’s no right or wrong way to combine vegetables. Amazingly, they all work beautifully together… maybe that’s Mother Nature’s way of just nudging us to eat more of them. 😉