It’s fall again! I absolutely love making soups and stews in the fall and winter. Minestrone is one of my favorites. It’s full of veggies and beans and is super easy to make vegetarian. My recipe has pancetta in it, but you can for sure leave it out. If you leave out the pancetta and use vegetable broth, you have a delicious vegetarian meal. Another great thing about this soup is that you can use pretty much any veggies you have on hand. For me, this soup is comfort food at its finest. Serve this with good Italian bread or even cornbread if you prefer.
You’ll need:
- Some type of small pasta (I used small shells, but I also use Ditalini
- 1 can red kidney beans
- 1 can cannellini beans
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onions
- Pancetta (leave this out if you want to make it vegetarian)
- Garlic
- Vegetable or Chicken Broth
- 1 can diced tomatoes (I used Rotel because it’s what I had on hand)
- Any other veggies you want to add – zucchini, spinach, potatoes, etc.
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
First you’ll need to chop up all your veggies. Next, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the pancetta and cook over medium heat until it’s starting to brown a little. Add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic. If you want to use potatoes, now would be the time to add those as well. Cook this for 2-3 minutes.
Now drain and rinse your cans of beans. Add the beans, tomatoes, and zucchini if you are using it. Next, add the tomato sauce and about 3 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and let it all simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until all your vegetables are tender.
While the soup is simmering, cook about 1/2 pound of whatever pasta you are using. Drain the pasta and add it to the soup. Finally, add spinach if you are using it. Note: If you want to use frozen spinach instead of fresh, you can add it when you add the carrots, celery and onions.
This soup really is ridiculously easy to make and so good! It’s also easy to double the recipe if you need to feed a lot of people!
Minestrone
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Loading...This hearty, fall soup is easy to make and can be vegetarian.
Ingredients
- 2 T Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 oz diced pancetta (leave out for vegetarian option)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 celery rib, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 or 2 zucchini, diced
- 8 oz small pasta cooked and drained (or use diced potatoes instead)
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- Any other vegetables you want to throw in!
Instructions
In a large soup pot, cook pancetta in olive oil. When it starts to crisp a bit, add celery, carrots, onions and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes.
Add all other ingredients except pasta and zucchini.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, adding zucchini for the last five minutes.
Stir in the cooked pasta right before serving.
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