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Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

A delicious hearty soup

Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 Servings
Author Dinner at the Zoo

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3/4 cup onion diced
  • 1/2 cup celery sliced
  • 1/2 cup carrots peeled, quartered and sliced
  • 1 zucchini quartered and sliced
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 15 ounce can small white beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup frozen cut green beans
  • 1/2 cup small shell pasta
  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and zucchini to the pot.
  2. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste and Italian seasoning to the pot. Bring to a simmer.
  4. Add the white beans, kidney beans, green beans and pasta to the pot. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta and vegetables are tender.
  5. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the spinach leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
  6. Sprinkle the parsley over the soup and serve.

Recipe Notes

This soup can easily be made in the slow cooker if you’d prefer to go that route. You can add all the ingredients to the slow cooker minus the pasta, spinach and parsley, then let everything simmer for 4-6 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high. Stir in the pasta and spinach and let everything cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

You can use fresh or frozen green beans, whatever you prefer.

Try to cut all the vegetables the same size so that they cook at the same rate.

This soup freezes well, although the pasta and vegetables may be a little softer upon thawing and reheating.

Be sure to drain and rinse your beans before adding them to the soup, you want to get rid of all that extra sodium!

This soup is hearty enough to serve as a main course, but if you’d like an extra dose of protein, try adding some cooked Italian sausage.