Classic Italian Minestrone Soup

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!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 45

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Minestrone Soup

Servings: people

Calories: 277kcal

Equipment

Large Dutch Oven

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cups Beans Great Northern Beans (soaked over night) or (2) Cans of Beans
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 Pound Bacon diced
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Onion diced
1 Carrot diced
2 Celery ribs , diced
6 Cloves Garlic minced
2 Zucchini (cut into 1/2" dice)
3 Potatoes Yukon Gold Potatoes (cut into 3/4" dice)
4 Cups Cabbage Chopped
6 Cups Spinach or Kale (chopped)
28 oz Tomatoes Crushed
1 Cup Grape Tomatoes
4 Cups Chicken Broth
Parmesan Shredded

Instructions

To begin soak your beans overnight in water to cover them by two inches. If you want to avoid having to soak beans canned beans are a great option if you are in a time crunch.
Drain the beans and place in a saucepan. Fill the pan with fresh water to cover the beans them by two inches and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the beans are tender. Set aside to cool.
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 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, 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 beans that were not pureed 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.

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