Classic Italian Minestrone Soup

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Classic Italian Minestrone Soup is a healthy, hearty, and budget-friendly one-pot meal. It’s loaded with vegetables and affordable items like beans and canned tomatoes that are often in your pantry. This Italian soup recipe is easy to adapt based on what you have in the kitchen so feel free to experiment. If you have never tried Minestrone soup then you’re in for a real treat. Once you realize how easy it is to make classic minestrone soup at home you’ll put it on the weekly rotation all winter long!

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:

• Great Northern Beans
• Bacon
• Olive Oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Celery
• Zucchini
• Potatoes
• Cabbage
• Spinach/Kale
• Crushed Tomatoes
• Chicken Broth
• Parmesan Cheese

WHY IS THIS RECIPE THE BEST MINESTRONE?

• This hearty soup is really easy to make.
• You can be creative with the ingredients and use what you have on hand and it also uses affordable pantry ingredients.
• The is great for lunch adding a grilled cheese sandwich would be awesome and this soup tastes even better the next day.
• It freezes and defrosts well, too.
• Homemade minestrone is definitely better than Olive Garden or anything store-bought soup Progresso could make. Yuk!

HOW TO PREPARE CLASSIC ITALIAN MINESTRONE SOUP?

To begin soak your beans overnight in water to cover them by two inches. Drain the beans and place them in a saucepan. Fill the pan with fresh water to cover the beans by two inches and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the beans are tender. Set aside to cool. You can avoid this stop completely if you use canned beans.

In a large Dutch oven cook the bacon over moderate heat. Continue stirring

until the bacon is crisp.

Add the onions and continue to stir until the onions soften.

Add the carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook the mixture for an additional five minutes.

Add the zucchini and potatoes and stir for another five minutes.

Add the cabbage and spinach. Continue to stir until the cabbage is wilted.

Add the grape tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and the chicken broth.

Bring the soup to a simmer, and cover, for one hour.

While the soup is simmering drain the beans and reserve one cup of the cooking liquid. With a blender or emersion blender measure 1/2 the beans and the one cup of liquid reserved and puree the beans until smooth. Once the soup is done simmering add the bean puree (as a thickener) and the last 1/2 of the whole beans to the soup. Stir to combine and allow the soup to simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

When serving top each plate with parmesan cheese and add fresh French bread.

MINESTRONE VARIATIONS

A pot of vegetable soup is an invitation for every home cook to be creative and use what they already have on hand. Here are a few ideas to make this classic Italian minestrone soup your own.

• Use what you have on hand and use what’s in season. In the summer months, use up the summer squash and zucchini from your garden. When the temperatures are cold use more root vegetables like potatoes or even parsnips. Adding leafy greens like spinach and kale is a way to add extra nutrition.
• Add the pasta. If you want less vegetables in your minestrone add more pasta.
• Variety of pasta choices: There are many pasta options out there such as orzo or elbow Or, if you’re gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free pasta or try quinoa.
• Add more protein like chicken or Italian Sausage. You can adapt this recipe by adding chicken or Italian sausage. Add the chicken early in the recipe and at the end pull it out, debone it, and add the meat back to the pot.

WHAT CAN YOU SERVE WITH MINESTRONE SOUP?

This delicious soup is full of veggies and can be perfectly eaten alone and can be a filling meal. It can be served in a bread bowl or with crusty bread for dipping or topped with croutons and extra parmesan cheese! This soup could be paired with my Parmesan Crusted Chicken Salad to make your meal complete.

HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT LEFTOVERs?

Make sure the soup has completely cooled, then spoon or pour it into an airtight container. It will keep for up to 4 days. When you’re ready to enjoy some leftovers, reheat the soup on the stove until it comes to a boil. Or you can heat an individual portion in the microwave. Heat in one-minute intervals make sure you stir the soup in between each minute until it reaches your desired temperature.