This easy vegetable minestrone soup is hearty, budget-friendly, and packed with flavour. With loads of vegetables, cannellini beans and pasta in a rich tomato broth, it’s a wholesome and satisfying dairy free meal, made with simple pantry staples.
This recipe is part of my budget-friendly meal series and comes in at approximately $2.30 per serve!
I love foods that are healthy and nourishing, but also warm and cosy, and this vegetable minestrone soup is exactly that. It’s your daily serve of veg with a side of comfort and I just love that this winter.
I am very much in a stage of my life where I am loving soup recipes! There is just something so comforting about a big pot of soup bubbling away on the stove on a cold day. It’s cosy, nourishing, and a delicious way to get in all the veggies.
While I have a slow cooked beef cheek minestrone recipe on my site, I really wanted to have a classic, vegetable version that was simple, flavourful, and suitable for dairy free and vegan diets. This soup is loaded with vegetables, beans, and pasta (all the good things!), in a rich tomato broth.
You really don’t need anything fancy to make it. It’s one of those rustic dishes that you can make with pantry staples and whatever veg you’ve got lying around.
Serve it up with some crusty bread for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love. It’s one of those meals you’ll keep coming back to whenever you need something wholesome and satisfying.
Key Ingredients
This vegetable minestrone soup is a great recipe to use up leftover vegetables at the end of the week and mostly comes together with pantry staples.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Vegetables – the key ingredient for this soup is the base of vegetables used. We’re using onion, garlic, carrot, celery, zucchini and potato. This recipe is however meant to be flexible so feel free to just use any leftover vegetables you have.
- Canned diced tomatoes – creates the tomato soup base of the minestrone.
- Tomato paste – adding some depth of flavour to the soup.
- Mixed herbs – you can use a mixed herb or Italian herb blend or simply use a combination of dried oregano and/or basil.
- Vegetable stock – I like to use a salt reduced version so I can control how salty the soup is. You can use a premade stock or use a combination of stock cubes and water for a more budget-friendly option.
- Cannellini beans – these add protein and fibre to the soup making it more filling and nutritious. I use canned beans to make this recipe more weeknight friendly but if you’d like to soak and cook your beans then you can also do this.
- Small pasta – I used ditalini which is a small macaroni style pasta that I picked up at an international food store, but really any type of macaroni, or even small shells would be perfect in this soup.
- Baby spinach – boosting the nutritional value, I like a little spinach mixed through at the end but this is completely up to you if you’d like to add it or not as it wont impact the flavour of the soup.
Equipment and Tools
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Cast Iron Dutch Oven – there are so many different brands (and colours!) of these types of pots but investing in one that matches your budget is going to be such as asset to your kitchen! I use mine at least once or twice a week.
Step-By-Step Instructions
The very first thing you’re going to need to do for this minestrone soup recipe is to prep all the veg! There is something very comforting about standing in the kitchen and just chopping, so if you’re like me then you’ll actually like this step!
Grab all the veg you want to use and wash, peel, and chop away so you have everything ready to go. This is a rustic soup so you don’t need to be too precious but I personally prefer all the vegetable pieces to be a similar size for eating enjoyment – but again, that’s just me!
Next, grab your Dutch oven or big soup pot and heat the oil. Add in the onion and garlic and sauté until softened.
Add in the rest of the veggies (carrot, celery, zucchini and potato) and continue to cook giving them a good stir and mix around for around 5 minutes until then start to soften as well.
Next, add in the flavours! Add the can of diced tomatoes, the tomato paste, dried herbs and the stock. Mix everything together and then let the pot come to a simmer.
Let the soup simmer away for 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables have softened (we don’t want crunchy veg!). Add in the drained cannellini beans and the pasta and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or so or until the pasta has cooked.
Finally, mix through the baby spinach if you’re using and give it a taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve it while hot!
🍲 Serving suggestion – honestly when I am making soup, the only side I need is crusty bread! You could also serve this minestrone with garlic bread, or a slice of homemade olive and herb focaccia which would be delicious!
Storage and Reheating Instructions
This soup is best enjoyed freshly made, as the pasta tends to soak up the broth as it sits. However, it is one of those soups that does develop more flavour as it sits so if you would like to to make it ahead of time then I recommend cooking the pasta separately and storing it on its own. Just stir it into the hot soup when you’re ready to serve.
To store, let the soup cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you’re planning to freeze the soup, I recommend doing so without the pasta and then cooking and adding this freshly before serving. You can portion into freezer-safe containers, leaving a little room for expansion, and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, warm on the stovetop over medium heat until hot, adding a splash of water or stock if it’s too thick. You can also microwave individual portions in 1-minute bursts, stirring in between, until heated through.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Simply swap the pasta for your favourite small-shaped gluten free variety or swap with an additional can of cannellini beans. Also, be sure to double-check that the stock you’re using is labelled gluten free, as some store-bought brands may contain wheat-based ingredients.
Small pasta shapes like ditalini, macaroni, shells, or even risoni work best, but use whatever you have in the pantry. Just keep in mind that pasta will continue to absorb the broth as it sits.
Yes, definitely! Minestrone is super flexible, so feel free to use whatever veggies you have on hand. Sweet potatoes, green beans, or peas all work well. It’s a great clean-out-the-fridge recipe.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More vegetable soup recipes:
Vegetable Soup with Barley and Lentils
Dairy Free Potato and Leek Soup
Easy Vegan Tomato Soup
Mum’s Pumpkin Soup
Vegetable Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 brown onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 medium potato peeled and diced
- 400 grams canned diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs or mixed herbs
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 400 grams canned cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup small pasta such as ditalini, macaroni, or small shells
- 1 cup baby spinach optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Freshly chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cooking for 2-3 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Stir in the carrot, celery, zucchini, and potato. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian herbs, and vegetable stock. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
- Stir in the drained cannellini beans and pasta. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked. Add a splash of water or extra stock if the soup thickens too much.
- Stir in the baby spinach and cook for a final 1-2 minutes, just until wilted.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm with crusty bread and freshly chopped parsley if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Billy Mayer says
Would recommend this recipe! Loved that you get leftovers
Sally says
Thanks Billy, so glad you enjoyed it!