Mouthwatering Minestrone soup you will love to make again and again
This is one of those soups you will wonder why you have never made before! It does take a little bit of preparation time for chopping, but it is so worth it! This is a Mouthwatering Minestrone soup you will love to make again and again! I would suggest that you make a large batch as everyone will love this and you can have it as a satisfying lunch or add a few more foods and make it the star of dinner. Why Minestrone? Well, yesterday, one of my friends sent me a short video clip of her making a potato soup, and as I had no plans for dinner, it just inspired me to make soup.
I was a bit shocked that my blog was missing a Minestrone recipe as it is one I make often as it is so popular! In our house we usually make a lentil soup, a chickpea tomato based soup, or a Minestrone! Now… Italian friends of mine, please forgive me if this recipe is not as authentic as it should be! I have tried my best to encapsulate the full delicious flavours and aromas of this traditionally Italian soup, but feel free to add your suggestions below!
The Minestrone Recipe
This recipe is made with a mixture of fresh and storecupboard ingredients. The base of the soup is finely chopped onion, carrot and celery, with a bit of garlic. Then there is tomato puree, tinned chopped tomatoes, white beans (I used cannelini but you could use haricot or butter beans too) and your liquid – either water, vegetable stock or even some vegetable broth. Of course, most people know that Minestrone has pasta in it and you can choose any small pasta you like. I used little flowers, but you could break up spaghetti into smaller 1cm or so pieces. There’s a smattering of spring greens added at the end, which could be ommited, or you could use green cabbage or even spinach or chard. The extra flavourings in this soup come from bay leaves and oregano, with black pepper and a bit of salt if needed.
A hearty flavoursome filling tomato based soup full of vegetables, beans and pasta.
- splash of oil of choice
- 1 medium onion finely chopped/diced
- 4-5 stalks celery finely chopped/diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped/diced
- 3-4 medium carrots finely chopped/diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes (or regular tinned tomatoes chopped)
- 2 litres water or stock (that's 5 empty tomato tins full) (boiling water preferred)
- 4-5 small bay leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 x 400g tin white beans (canellini)
- 100 g small pasta shapes (or chopped spaghetti)
- small handful spring greens/green cabbage
- black pepper
- salt
Heat the oil in a very large lidded saucepan. Add the onion and allow to cook through until translucent. Add the celery and cook for a further minute, then add the garlic and stir through, followed by the carrot. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the tomato puree and the tinned tomatoes, followed by the water/stock (if using the empty tin to measure boiling water remember that it will be hot!) Stir it all together.
Put the bay leaves in the pan, then stir in the oregano. Bring the soup to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
Tip the beans into the soup, then the pasta, cover again and allow to simmer for 10 minutes more.
Now it's time to have a taste, and add your black pepper and salt as you wish. You can now turn the soup off at this stage and save it for later, or, if you are eating it immediately, sprinkle the spring greens over the top and allow to cook for a couple of minutes.
Serve the soup piping hot with some delicious bread on the side!
Enjoy!
Have a look below to see all the stages in making this soup!
Chop the vegetables 
Soften the onion 
Cook the celery 
Add the garlic 
and the carrot 
Cook it all together 
Add the tomato puree 
and the chopped tomatoes 
Pour in your water or stock 
Add the bay leaves 
and oregano 
Mix together 
Bring to the boil, cover, simmer 
Add your beans 
Tip the pasta in & leave to cook 
Scatter over the greens 
Dish up and serve!
What do I need?
You can (as with most of my recipes), make this soup customised to your own tastes (or pantry)! by making a few adjustments. Use leeks instead of onions, use fresh tomatoes instead of tinned, use gluten free pasta or use chickpeas instead of beans for example.
If you are new to cooking or your kitchen needs a refresh, here are a few useful things for this recipe. I receive a small commission if you click and purchase through these links (this is at no additional cost to you)!
How to Serve
This soup is fairly filling so you can serve it just on its own! If you wish to add some bread, try a slice of this delicious loaf, or how about trying English muffins with it? You could even serve this to spoon onto some bulghur or rice with some chopped salad.
Storage
This soup will store well in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months. If freezing, portion into your regular bowl, then find a container it will fit in (jam jars are great for freezing soup in!)
Sharing
I hope you find time to make this minestrone soup! I love seeing your adaptions and interpretations of my recipes and I’d love to see your soup photos! Do you have any suggestions or changes you would make?
What will you serve your soup with? I’m currently loving sourdough bread studded with olives and this goes perfectly with this minestrone! Please share and tag me @LifeDietHealth or using #LifeDietHealth on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.
Leave me a comment below… I love to chat!
I hope to speak with you soon
Laurena x
Hi Laurena, I make a variation of this minestrone quite regularly☺️I must remember to send you a photo next time I make it…with the animal-shaped soup pasta I bought recently😋I always think of you whenever I make chickpea and tomato soup- so quick and tasty (and healthy)👍
Ooo, what goes in your minestrone Eva? Animal shaped pasta sounds fun – reminds me of Scooby Doo pasta I used to have to get! 😛
The ingredients are more or less the same as yours🙂 I’ve got fresh dried bay leaves and oregano at the moment if that makes sense. I sometimes grate tomatoes instead of tinned (but mostly used tinned/canned). I try adding some cabbage to most things I cook, even though hubby’s not keen lol. I usually soak dried borlotti beans but I think I’ll use a tin of cannelloni beans next time. These pasta shapes are new for me haha, I normally add vermicelli at the end, along with some spinach. Have a nice weekend in advance, if possible xx
Haha… that makes perfect sense as my bay leaves are fresh dried too! I’ve a small bay tree on my herb table outside the kitchen window (I just had a look and it’s looking full of leaves again)! Grating tomatoes? that’s a new one on me! I usually finely dice or pulse in the mini processor. What sort of cabbage? I tend to only cook red cabbage as red cabbage, or savoy cabbage to put in foods/have as a vegetable (although I do have plans to grow sweetheart cabbage this year). Most of my cabbage goes in salad! Any plans for this weekend? It’s still really cold here (-3c this morning) but I do need to think about the allotment…
From what I gather, grating tomatoes seems to be a Greek/Turkish/Middle-Eastern thing lol. I buy the ordinary green cabbage, although Savoy or sweetheart cabbage would be better in soups. I love grated cabbage salad too🙂Usual exciting weekend plans of going to supermarket and recycling centre lol…and plumber supposed to be coming to fix dripping tap. Still chilly here but I’m sure it will pick up again soon. I’m quite sure I was wearing my summer clothes this time last year haha. Wrap up nice and warm if you venture out to your allotment x
Haha… I thought of you last night as I chopped tomatoes for my curry! Do you peel them before grating? I hope your plumber came and your tap is all water saver friendly again! Oh, and I did go to the allotment in the frost with my bobble hat on, only to be asked if I was cold an hour or so later when the sun had woken up and it was about 10c! Slowly slowly it will get there – maybe by the time the weeds have gone it might actually be warm enough to start planting!
Hi Laurena, I don’t think my comment went through due to our internet connection so I’ll try again… It’s not really necessary to peel tomatoes when grating, it may be even messier if you do lol (just used to my Mum doing this). Yes, we have a new shiny, non-drippy tap ☺️ We’ve not had any frost over here for a while but I hope you had a well-deserved hot chocolate/drink when you got back from all your hard work at the allotment…and a very warm bath! xx
I’m guessing it was your internet Eva. Well, maybe I’ll see how grating tomatoes works! Ooo, lovely new tap which you will now try to keep all dry and sparkly and clean (or is that just me lol). Haha, how do you know exactly what I did when I got back! I have been again since and it’s starting to resemble a plot again… well, if you just look at one end that is!
Haha, I must be psychic😋…and there are at least two of us in the world who are obsessed with clean, sparkly taps lol
Indeed! Love my sparkly taps too!
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