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When you’re looking for a soup as a meal in cooler winter days, this Vegetarian Minestrone Soup is an excellent choice. The Italian inspired soup recipe has 19 grams of protein per serving and only bout 350 calories. It’s a hearty healthy soup recipe that’ll leave you feeling satisfied and full! And best part is you can make it with simple pantry ingredients and any vegetables.
This vegetarian minestrone soup is one I’ve been making for years! It’s a flavorful minestrone that’s very filling with enough flexibility to make it your own. You can swap the pasta for a gluten-free kind, leave out the parmesan cheese to make it vegan, and you can switch out the vegetables based on what’s in season. It’s common to make a spring minestrone or winter minestrone, for example.
How to make minestrone soup
- Start by cooking the aromatics: I include the usual onions, celery and carrots.
- Sauté them until they’re fragrant and fork tender but not too soft; only a few minutes.
- Next, add in zucchini (and any other vegetables), along with garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. This is where you can get really flexible with this vegetarian minestrone soup.
- Cook all those together until they’re fragrant.
- Now add the tomato paste and the crushed tomatoes, along with vegetable broth. Bring it all to a boil and then let it simmer for 20 minutes. You want to thicken the broth and soften the vegetables.
- Then it’s time to add the canned beans along with the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente only.
Once the pasta is cooked, you can taste to adjust for seasoning and add more broth or water if the mixture is looking thick. I like to enjoy the vegetarian minestrone soup as a thick hearty soup. Keep in mind that the pasta will continue to absorb more liquid and will get even larger the next day, thereby reducing the broth.
As it is, this soup is actually a vegan minestrone soup because there’s no dairy used in the recipe. However, I do love topping it off with some shaved parmesan cheese along with fresh parsley.
Tips for making minestrone soup
- Swap the zucchini for any seasonal vegetables and greens. The word minestrone literally translates to a thick vegetable soup. So the vegetables are important in vegetarian minestrone soup. And I recommend using what’s in season like green beans, squash, peas or even potatoes.
- Add a piece of Parmesan rind to the soup. This is one of those amazing flavor enhancers that’s very simple to achieve. Add it while the broth is boiling and be sure to remove the rind right before you serve it.
- Use short pasta cuts. The best pastas for making this vegetarian minestrone soup are the short ones so that each spoonful of the soup contains pasta, veggies and beans. Look for macaroni, orechiette, mini wheels or ditalini, which is what I like to use.
- Cook the pasta separately to keep it al dente. The pasta will absorb more liquid as it sits, and especially the next day. So the consistency can get much softer after a while. To avoid that, you can cook the pasta separately and then add it on top of the soup when you serve. I do this if I’m serving to guests for best presentation, but I cook everything together when it’s just for my family.
Frequently asked questions
Can you freeze minestrone soup?
Yes you can, but without the pasta. If you know you are making extra soup to freeze, be sure to freeze it without the pasta. Otherwise the pasta will absorb too much liquid in the freezer and become mushy. When ready to reheat, you can either add freshly cooked pasta to the reheated soup or cook the pasta while reheating the soup on the stovetop.
How long can you store the vegetarian soup?
Since there’s no meat in this vegetarian minestrone, you can store the soup in the fridge for 4-5 days in an airtight container. I like to store them in individual servings, which makes for perfect leftover lunch. You can add a splash of water when you reheat it if you notice the broth is too thick.
What to serve with this soup?
Because it’s an Italian recipe, I like serving it as a starter when I make my homemade lasagna recipe, along with some olive oil garlic bread and caesar salad. It can be a full meal on its own though!
For more vegetarian soup recipes:
- Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
- Tomato Cabbage Soup
- Mediterranean White Bean Soup
- Vegan Asparagus Soup
- Vegetarian Lemon Rice Soup
- Roasted Tomato Soup
- 5 Ingredient Tomato Soup
- Creamy Vegetable Soup
- Spinach Tortellini Soup
If you’re a fan of the Olive Garden minestrone soup, you’re going to love my homemade version because it has a similar flavor, but it’s healthier for you with a fresher taste! This is a tasty, affordable and nutritious soup that is one of my favorites to make. Because it’s full of protein, vegetables and carbs, it makes for a well-balanced meal on its own!
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Vegetarian Minestrone Soup recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Vegetarian Minestrone Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 ounces tomato paste
- 1 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 15 oz can kidney beans drained/rinse
- 15 oz can white beans drained/rinsed
- 1/2-3/4 cup small pasta of choice
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving
- Fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the zucchini, thyme, oregano and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes with their juices and vegetable broth. Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables soften, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the kidney beans, white beans and pasta. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 6-8 minutes or according to pasta package instructions.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
I am a fan of ALL your recipes Thank you!
Also ~ can you share where you buy your cute Tshirts?
Thank you, that is so kind! I have an outfit highlight on instagram where you can get an idea of where some of them are from!
This recipe is the reason that i started making meals in the kitchen. It is the perfect comfort food, also healthy! It has a very special place in my heart, thank you Yumna 🙂
That is such a compliment! I am so happy to hear it. Yay!! You’re so welcome.
This is so amazing! I followed it to the letter with some minor exceptions..didn’t have all the herbs so just used oregano and some finely chopped fresh basil stalks. Only had kidney beans and used Orzo as my pasta. Added loads of black pepper (personal fave) and a couple of drops of red wine vinegar! Husband and kids cannot get enough of this! Thank you 😊
Thank you! I’m glad you made it work with what you had on hand and enjoyed. Hope you and your family continue to love the soup!
This is the best minestrone soup recipe! I make it at monthly! Thank you for all your lovely recipes❤️
Wow, thank you so much! Of course!!
Love , love , love , this recipe !
So flavorful and delicious. I will be making it in a regular basis for now on.
Thank you so much! Hope you continue to enjoy!
A very tasty soup, that I will definitely make again
Thank you so much! I’m so glad to hear that!
I really enjoyed this simple and healthy soup- I have tried minestrone recipes before and I never thought the flavor was just right. This minestrone recipie gave me all the flavors I was missing in previous recipes. Definitely a keeper and would recommend!
I’m so glad you came across this recipe! Thank you so much!
So delicious! I crave it so frequently but don’t want to get sick of it, so I try to save it as a treat! Also perfect for leftovers for a busy week. Thanks Yumna!
I know what you mean! It’s one of my favorites!!
As a Med student spending a lot of time in surgery, I look for easy, fast recipes with staple ingredients. This recipe is great, even for heating up the next day. Love it.
So glad to hear it! I love making a big batch of this for a few days!
Hi I made this soup and it was a bit acidic.. what can I do to cut this down? Otherwise soup was great! Just found you after listening to So Money podcast and I’m excited to try your recipes for the fam jam!
So glad you found me through the podcast! I recommend adding a tablespoon of sugar. It will cut through the acidity. Hope that helps!
Just started meatless Monday and this was my first meatless dish.
The soup is amazing ! So balanced, so fresh, so clean and filling !
Looking forward to my next meatless Monday !
Thanks Yumna 😃😃
So happy to hear it!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Made this soup yesterday and it was AMAZING!! So easy and SO GOOD! Even my 5 year old niece had two bowls of it hehe. Thank you for the amazing recipe:)
Yay! That’s awesome. Love when the kiddos enjoy the recipes too!
WOW! So easy, so flavorful, so yummy!! Definitely going to add this into the rotation!!
Yay, so glad to hear that you liked it!! Thank you for sharing your feedback 🙂
Thank you for this recipe!! So delicious!!
So glad to hear it. Thanks so much!!
This was incredible and super easy. We only had orzo pasta on hand but it worked great. I took your recommendation to use whatever veggies I had on hand and it was such a tasty soup. My husband had made some bread and with this recipe, that was all we needed for a delicious meal! Thank you!
So glad to hear that it worked well for you with whatever veggies you had on hand. It’s such a great forgiving soup. Thank you!!
Delish! Super easy and very, very tasty ?
So glad to hear that! Thanks so much for sharing!
I actually tried the recipe for dinner last night! It was my first time that i cook a soup like that and i was not disappointed at all! It was freaking good… the pot is actually big, so we’re gonna have it for lunch today and i also packed some for my friends to try it!
I recommend it..
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much and shared with your friends! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Awesome!
Thank you!
Flavorful, filling and healthy. Best of soups.Thanks for all the tips.
I’m in love with your recipes!!! But always gets complicated with measurments (live in Europe) any chance to have European version? 🙂
I’m loving all the soup content! My 6 year old gave the thumbs up, it was delicious!
Made your minestrone recipe this morning!! Super simple and smells just like my Nonna’s ? Added a little twist with some spinach and it is amazing!
Oh wow, that’s the biggest compliment if the soup smells like your Nonna’s! Thanks so much for sharing!!