Jeanette's Healthy Living

Where delicious and healthy come together

Easy Vegetable Minestrone Soup

by 10 Comments

Easy Vegetable Minestrone Soup with Whole Wheat Pasta and Lots of Vegetables

Today is the last in a series of soup classes I’ve been teaching at our local community center. It’s been a tremendous experience, sharing some home cooking with a group of seniors in the hope of encouraging them to get back into the kitchen to cook healthy meals versus buying processed foods.

We’ve had lots of fun and exchanged useful tips about the best local supermarkets to buy fresh produce, talked about what everyone’s favorite soups are, and enjoyed a number of hot healthy lunches. I’ve been especially pleased to hear that a number of the students in my class have made the soups I’ve been demonstrating since that was the original intent of the soup series.

So far, we’ve made a Simple Lentil Soup, Mushroom Barley Soup, and Cuban Black Bean Soup. To go along with these soups, we’ve also been making some healthy green salads. For our last class, I am making an Easy Minestrone Soup based on popular request, served with a simple tomato artichoke salad and some garlic herb toasted whole grain bread.

Minestrone Soup used to be one of my favorite soups, but I haven’t made it in a while. I’m so glad the class requested Minestrone Soup as it reminded me of why I love this soup (I made a big pot and have been enjoying it over the weekend!). Minestrone Soup is typically chock full of vegetables, beans and pasta. It’s thick and hearty, almost like a stew, perfect for the wintry days we’ve been having in the Northeast. Almost any vegetables can be included in Minestrone Soup, but I like mine with some chunky vegetables and leafy green vegetables to add different textures to the soup. Sometimes pasta is cooked directly in the soup, but I prefer to add cooked whole grains or cooked pasta to the soup before I serve it. That way, the grains or pasta don’t absorb all the soup. Also, since I have a gluten-free child, I can add gluten-free pasta or brown rice to a portion of this Minestrone Soup, and other grains or pastas to the rest of the soup if I choose.



To make this soup even healthier, I used kidney beans (which are high in fiber), cabbage (a cruciferous vegetable), baby spinach (a leafy green vegetable) and whole grain farro (I also made some with whole wheat pasta). To add a some bright flavor to this soup before serving, I like to stir in a spoonful of pesto. A sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese is optional, but adds even more flavor and umami.

Easy Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup is really versatile. Feel free to use cannellini beans or other beans, kale or other leafy green vegetables, and any loose vegetables sitting in your refrigerator. You can also throw in a chopped potato for an even heartier soup. This soup freezes well, just don’t add any pasta (you can add whole grains before freezing however).  

Easy Vegetable Minestrone Soup with Farro and Spinach Basil Pesto
Printable Recipe
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 cup green cabbage or savoy cabbage, shredded
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup green beans, fresh or frozen
1 zucchini, diced
1 cup cooked farro, brown rice, or small whole grain pasta
3 cups baby spinach
Spinach Basil Pesto, for serving, optional
fresh grated parmesan cheese, optional

 

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrot, celery and garlic and saute until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cabbage, kidney beans, oregano and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes. Add green beans and zucchini. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta and cook until warm. Stir in baby spinach and cook one more minute until just tender.To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Top with a spoonful of pesto and stir in. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.
Related Posts
Filter by
Post Page
vegetarian gluten-free Pasta and Noodles green leafy vegetables Dinner main courses csa Clean Eating chicken back-to-school allergies whole grain vegan dairy-free lunch Pantry Recipe College Meals snacks Desserts and Cookies College Cooking Weekly Meal Plan appetizers Asian Seafood Fish Holiday Appetizers side dishes Holidays Easter
Sort by
Spinach Tomato Parmesan Pasta © Jeanette

Easy Pasta with Spinach Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese Recipe

2019-06-03 05:00:58
jeanette

18

20 Easy Healthy Back-To-School Dinner Recipes - a collection of simple recipes that take less than 30 minutes to cook plus easy slow cooker recipes

20 Easy Healthy Back-To-School Dinner Recipes

2018-09-05 05:00:06
jeanette

18

Stovetop Chicken Recipes

100 Easy Healthy Back-To-School Chicken Recipes

2018-08-27 05:00:00
jeanette

18

Tomato Paste Pasta - only 3 ingredients - cheap, quick and easy

Easy Tomato Paste Pasta Sauce Recipe

2018-02-21 05:00:00
jeanette

18

Pan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables - this is an extremely versatile recipe that works with almost any vegetable and spice/herb mix

Easy Pan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables Recipe

2017-10-09 05:00:25
jeanette

18

Salted Dark Chocolate Peanut Bark - just 3 ingredients to make this easy treat. Perfect for Valentines Day

Easy Salted Dark Chocolate Peanut Bark Recipe

2017-02-06 05:00:10
jeanette

18

Easy College Dinner Weekly Meal Planner

2016-10-16 22:02:04
jeanette

18

Easy College Dinner Recipes , Tips and Weekly Meal Plan - easy dinner recipes for college students, including lots of tips for budget-friendly, time-saving meals. Free printable weekly dinner plan, shopping list and recipes

Easy College Dinner Recipes with Printable Weekly Meal Plan and Shopping List

2016-08-29 05:00:00
jeanette

18

Asian Salmon Cucumber Appetizers - these are so easy to make and perfect for entertaining - only 5 ingredients

Easy Asian Salmon Cucumber Appetizers Recipe

2015-05-11 05:00:00
jeanette

18

15 Easy and Healthy Easter Side Dish Recipes

2015-03-27 05:00:22
jeanette

18

Comments

  4. Pretend Chef says

    I've been enjoying the soups you've come up with to present to your class. This one sounds and looks delicious especially with that spinach basil pesto on top. Love it!

    Reply

  7. Georgia (The Comfort of Cooking) says

    Jeanette, your minestrone looks just wonderful! So comforting and easy and absolutely delicious. It's one of my favorite winter soups! You have a beautiful blog and I’m so glad to have found it. I’m looking forward to exploring your recipes and seeing more! 🙂 – Georgia

    Reply

  8. Jeanette says

    Thanks Georgia, minestrone is definitely a keeper. So easy and it freezes well. You have gorgeous pictures on your blog!

    Reply

  10. Jeanette says

    Thanks for stopping by – I was actually thinking of making some minestrone this week for dinner with the weather getting cooler

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.