Minestrone Soup Recipe (Thick & Hearty)

This hearty minestrone soup is thicker than most minestrone soups. Brimming with colourful greens, protein-rich beans, and fragrant herbs, it’s as scrumptious as it’s satisfying. Be happy so as to add rice or pasta to the soup, too, and serve it with a slice of rustic selfmade bread for a filling vegetarian meal. You’ll love this soup’s uniquely wealthy texture—each spoonful is totally different!

That is vegetable soup and also you’re proper, it’s not flashy within the slightest. Nonetheless, I’m singing its praises as a result of a bowl of this cozy soup is just not solely wholesome, heat, and healthful, its savory flavors and thickness will hold you full and glad.

One reader, Megan, commented: “I’ve been looking for just a few years for the proper minestrone recipe. I’ve tried plenty of the net recipes, 6 in complete over time(they had been all bland with nearly no taste!!). This recipe is the one I’ve been looking for!! Stuffed with taste, my hard-to-please household all liked it too. ★★★★★“

I initially printed this recipe in 2018. We’ve liked it on chilly winter days, particularly served in big selfmade bread bowls. It’s a soul-warming vegetarian soup that may simply be vegan by utilizing vegetable broth and skipping the non-obligatory parmesan cheese topping.

It is a Thick Minestrone Soup

This minestrone soup is far heartier than what we’re used to, nearly like a chili, which is why I adore it a lot. The pasta/rice soaks up plenty of liquid, which helps thicken it up. I add an 8-ounce can of tomato paste, which is usually greater than most minestrone soup recipes. I additionally throw in recent zucchini, carrots, celery, and spinach plus plenty of canned beans. These are all fairly typical in minestrone. There’s additionally garlic, onion, diced tomato, and a healthy dose of seasoning. There’s a lot coloration and texture in 1 spoonful, how will you not be glad?!

Substitution Strategies

This soup is fairly forgiving. Simply as we do when making this biscuit vegetable pot pie, mess around with the greens you employ primarily based on what you want. Listed here are the substitutions I’ve tried over the past a number of years, so I do know they work splendidly.

1. Zucchini: You may go away this out, or use summer season squash as a substitute. I’ve additionally used chopped mushrooms as an alternative.
2. Kidney Bean & Butter Beans: I really like this mix of beans, however you should utilize all kidney or all butter beans as a substitute. Or substitute one or each for chickpeas, black beans, or cannellini (nice Northern) beans. Or substitute one with a drained can of corn.
3. Inexperienced Beans: You should utilize chopped recent inexperienced beans or frozen inexperienced beans as a substitute. Once I do that, I normally use round 1 and 1/2 cups. Add it whenever you add the opposite beans—they’ve sufficient time to prepare dinner and soften. No have to thaw if utilizing frozen.
4. Skip the Pasta/Rice: You may skip the pasta/rice. No modifications wanted. The soup can be a bit extra broth-y.
5. Spinach: Be happy to make use of chopped recent kale as a substitute, or go away it out. If you wish to use frozen spinach, add it 10 minutes earlier than ending as a substitute of 5.
6. Add Meat: Be happy so as to add 1 lb of floor rooster, turkey, or beef. Cook dinner it with the celery/carrots in step 1. Skip 1 can of the beans, and you could wish to add one other 1 cup (240ml) of broth. As a substitute, you’ll be able to add 1-2 cups cooked chopped/shredded meat whenever you stir within the spinach. Typically I add just a few hyperlinks of thinly sliced rooster sausage.

Whichever greens you employ, I like to recommend sticking with the seasonings, tomato paste, and broth; these all make up the flavorful tomato base of the soup.

Find out how to Freeze Minestrone Soup

This soup freezes splendidly! Freeze in a big freezer container for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge the day earlier than consuming, then reheat on the range till heat.

Can I Make This in a Sluggish Cooker?

If you would like the minestrone soup to prepare dinner all day, listed below are the sluggish cooker instructions. I additionally pasted these within the recipe beneath. Put together the soup via step 1 on the stovetop. Switch to a sluggish cooker, then add all the things else aside from the rice/pasta and spinach. Enable to prepare dinner for two hours on low, then add the rice/pasta and spinach. Cook dinner on low for 1 extra hour.

Serve in bread bowls or alongside delicate dinner rolls, artisan bread, brown butter sage dinner rolls, selfmade breadsticks, or olive bread. Or, attempt a brand new favourite, grilled cheese sandwiches on selfmade entire wheat bread.

Print

Thick & Hearty Minestrone Soup

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  Creator: Sally
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  Prep Time: quarter-hour
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  Cook dinner Time: 60 minutes
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  Complete Time: 1 hour, quarter-hour
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  Yield: serves 10
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  Class: Soup
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  Methodology: Cooking
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  Delicacies: Italian

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Description

This hearty minestrone soup is thicker than most soup recipes. It’s crammed with scrumptious colourful greens, loads of spices, and a novel wealthy texture. You’ll make this minestrone soup recipe many times!

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Directions

1. Warmth the olive oil over medium warmth in a big stockpot or dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook dinner, stirring sometimes, for six–7 minutes because the greens soften up and set free some juices.
2. Add broth, water, purple wine vinegar, bay leaf, all of the beans, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Carry to a boil, then add raw rice or pasta. Cowl and simmer for 35 minutes. Stir within the chopped spinach and simmer for five extra minutes. Take away bay leaf.
3. Serve soup heat in selfmade bread bowls (or common bowls, after all!) and prime with recent parmesan cheese, if desired.
4. Preserve leftovers in a big lined container within the fridge for as much as every week. To reheat, merely pour right into a pot over medium warmth and prepare dinner till heat. Be happy so as to add extra broth to the leftovers because it cooks whether it is too thick—I at all times do. (It thickens within the fridge because the veggies and rice/pasta absorb the liquid.)

Notes

1. Make Forward Directions – Freezing: Soup freezes splendidly! Freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge the day earlier than consuming, then reheat on the range till heat.
2. Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Giant pot or dutch oven 
3. Zucchini: You may go away this out, or use summer season squash as a substitute. I’ve additionally used chopped mushrooms as an alternative.
4. Italian Seasoning: In the event you don’t have Italian seasoning, you should utilize any mixture of Italian spices that you just like. Dried basil, rosemary, oregano, and so on.
5. Broth: Anyplace between 6–7 cups (about 1.5L) of broth is nice. I exploit 7. The rice or pasta absorb plenty of liquid.
6. Vinegar: The vinegar balances out all the flavour. A number of splashes of a dry-ish purple wine works too!
7. Kidney Bean & Butter Beans: I really like this mix of beans, however you should utilize all kidney or all butter beans as a substitute. Or substitute one or each for chickpeas, black beans, or cannellini (nice Northern) beans. Or substitute one with a drained can of corn.
8. Inexperienced Beans: You should utilize chopped recent inexperienced beans or frozen inexperienced beans as a substitute. Once I do that, I normally use round 1 and 1/2 cups. Add it whenever you add the opposite beans—they’ve sufficient time to prepare dinner and soften. No have to thaw if utilizing frozen.
9. Rice / Pasta: Use brown or white rice or any dry pasta you want finest. Stick to smaller formed pasta so it matches in your spoon. It’s also possible to skip the rice/pasta. The soup can be thinner.
10. Spinach: Be happy to make use of chopped recent kale as a substitute, or go away it out. If you wish to use frozen spinach, add it 10 minutes earlier than ending as a substitute of 5.
11. If You Need to Add Meat: Be happy so as to add 1 lb of floor rooster, turkey, or beef. Cook dinner it with the celery/carrots in step 1. Skip 1 can of the beans, and you could wish to add one other 1 cup (240ml) of broth. As a substitute, you’ll be able to add 1-2 cups cooked chopped/shredded meat whenever you stir within the spinach. Typically I add just a few hyperlinks of thinly sliced rooster sausage.
12. Sluggish Cooker Directions: Put together the soup via step 1 on the stovetop. Switch to a sluggish cooker (affiliate hyperlink), then add all the things else aside from the rice/pasta and spinach. Enable to prepare dinner for two hours on low, then add the rice/pasta and spinach. Cook dinner on low for 1 extra hour.

Key phrases: minestrone soup