Vegan Minestrone Soup
Vegan Minestrone Soup is brimming with garden vegetables, beans, spices, and pasta for a deliciously healthy and comforting meal! It’s simple, easy to make and a recipe keeper for sure!
This minestrone soup reminds me very much of Olive Gardens minestrone soup, which I used to eat by the bowl fulls back in the day. Soup, salad, and breadsticks were all I ever wanted!
Not only is this homemade soup delicious, but it’s low fat, can be made oil-free, and so easy to make. It just takes a little prepping of the veggies and a bit of simmering until you’ve got a hearty soup everyone will love!
This soup is jam-packed with veggies, making it a healthy recipe you’ll definitely want to add to your dinner or lunch rotation. It yields a pot full and makes great leftovers! Recipe adapted from Food Network.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe brings together a mirepoix simmered with a variety of garden vegetables, spices, and pasta, creating a deliciously healthy and hearty vegan meal.
Here is everything you’ll need:
- Mirepoix of carrots, celery and onion
- Zucchini
- Green beans
- Spinach
- Beans
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Pasta
- Herbs
- Veggie broth
How To Make Vegan Minestrone Soup
- Start by prepping the produce. Drain and rinse the beans.
- In a large pot, saute the onions, carrots, and celery with oil or water. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the spinach, bring to a boil, cover askew, reduce heat to low, and simmer at a gentle boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more broth or water as needed.
- Five minutes before soup is done, add a handful of fresh spinach, stir to mix. Season with salt & pepper.
Tip: You can add all the ingredients, except for the spinach, to a large pot, bring to a boil, and continue with the recipe as written. This makes for one less step!
Can I Make This Soup in a Crockpot?
Yes! Making Italian minestrone soup in the slow cooker is super easy, allowing you to set it and forget it. Take a look at this Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup recipe, it’s full of tips and tricks!
Minestrone soup Tips
This soup has a mild seasoning blend which lets the flavor of the vegetables shine, but you can add more herbs or spices to taste. Plus, here are a few more ideas of what you could add to your best minestrone:
- Change up the veggies. The ingredients for this Italian minestrone soup can be changed with the seasons using whatever is available to you. Use other seasonal veggies such as corn, potatoes, winter squash, peas, parsnips, cabbage, kale, etc. Use frozen veggies when applicable.
- Use different herbs. Fresh or dried herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, or marjoram all work well. Dried herb blends such as Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence are convenient and flavorful.
- Add a little heat. Red pepper flakes add a spicy kick.
- Use small pasta. For the pasta, use small pasta, such as elbow, shells, mini penne, and rotini. Using gluten-free pasta makes your soup gluten-free.
- Add vegan sausage. Add in sliced or diced vegan sausage for extra heartiness and protein.
- Time-saving tip: Prep the produce ahead of time, the night before or in the morning, and store it in the fridge until ready to make the soup.
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator in a covered container.
- Freezer: This minestrone soup is freezer-friendly and freezes well for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer-safe containers (affiliate link), leaving 1/2-inch head space for expansion. Let thaw before reheating. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags or containers.
- Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through. Alternately, reheat in the microwave using 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until warm. It makes a great meal prep for the week with homemade Vegan Cornbread, No Knead Bread, or Vegan Naan on the side for soaking up the juices.
Serving Suggestions
I like to garnish this minestrone soup with parsley, a squeeze of lemon, and a twist of fresh cracked pepper. Here are a few of my favorite sides:
- Salad: Serve with a side salad like this Vegan Caesar Salad or Green Salad + Lemon Tahini Dressing.
- Toppings: It pairs perfectly with this Almond Parmesan sprinkled overtop.
- Bread: Pair with homemade Artisan Bread, Sweet Chia Cornbread, or Vegan Naan Bread for soaking up the juices.
- Sandwich: For a hearty meal, serve alongside this Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich, Grilled Hummus Sandwich with Sauteed Onion, Tomato & Arugula, Sandwich or Favorite Vegetable Sandwich.
More Hearty Soup Recipes!
- Quinoa Vegetable Soup
- Lemony Chickpea Orzo Soup
- Kale Quinoa & White Bean Soup
- A Very Good Split Pea Soup
- Rustic Cabbage, Potato & White Bean Soup
- Hearty Chickpea Noodle Soup
If you try this easy soup recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintVEGAN MINESTRONE SOUP
Loaded with veggies, beans and pasta, this Vegan Minestrone Soup is healthy, comforting and so easy to make in one pot and ready in about 30 minutes!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Soup, Entree
- Method: Simmer, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan, Italian
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water for water saute
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 zucchini, cut into half moons
- 1/3 pound green beans (about 1 1/2 cup), cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 can (14oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (14oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
- generous pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 – 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup small pasta (elbow, shells, mini penne, rotini)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 – 4 cups water
- 2 handfuls fresh spinach
- mineral salt & pepper to taste
To serve, optional
- lemon, juice of
- fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
Saute: In a large dutch oven or pot, add the oil or water and saute the onion, carrot and celery for 5 minutes.
*Alternately, you can skip sauteing and add all the ingredients, except for the spinach, to a large pot, bring to a boil and continue with the recipe as written. This makes for one less step!
Cook: Add remaining ingredients, except the spinach, bring to a boil, cover askew, reduce heat to low and simmer at a gentle boil for 20 – 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Soup is done when veggies are tender and pasta is cooked. Add more broth or water as needed.
Add spinach: Five minutes before soup is done, add the spinach and stir to mix.
Let soup cool a few minutes and serve with a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley on top. Pairs will with homemade Vegan Cornbread, crusty Artisan Bread or soft and chewy Vegan Naan for soaking up the juices.
Serves 4 – 6
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This soup also freezes well and will last for up to 2 months.
Notes
Various herbs to use: If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand, use 1 teaspoon EACH dried oregano, basil, thyme. Also, 1 tablespoon of herbs de provence would be great.
Change up the veggies. The ingredients for this Italian minestrone soup can be changed up with the seasons using whatever is available to you. Use other seasonal veggies such as corn, potatoes, winter squash, peas, parsnips, cabbage, kale, etc. Use frozen veggies when applicable.
Add vegan sausage. Add in sliced or diced vegan sausage for extra heartiness and protein.
Time saving tip: Prep the produce ahead, the night before or in the morning, and keep stored in the fridge until ready make the soup.
Slow-Cooker: Take a look at this Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup recipe, it’s full of tips and tricks!
Recipe adapted from Food Network.
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This soup is perfect the way it is or to riff on with what you may have on hand. Thank you!
I don’t have veggie broth, would this still turn out alright with water? Thanks!
Yes, it just may not be as full of flavor, but it will still be delicious. You can always add extra garlic and onion powder to help ramp up the flavor as needed. Enjoy the soup, Amber!
Me and my partner make this as lunch meal prep at least every second week of the month. We LOVE it!! Thanks so much for such a yummy, versatile and healthy recipe :)
I made this recipe three days ago and have been enjoying it every day since. It’s easy, flavorful, and nutritious!
So good – always trying to find recipes both me and my nonvegan partner will like. So thick and filling, we make it a couple times a month! We double the pasta so it ends up being more of a stew or pasta salad once it cools down and is refrigerated but really filling.
Delicious! Husband loved it too. Used chickpea pasta also, I’ll be making this again.
Delicious and hearty!
I tried this recipe for the first time last night for my dinner, i eat wfpb/sos, and my husband said it smelled so good that he wanted to try it, and he’s a carnivore, who does not care for very many cooked vegetables. He ended up eating a bowl full last night, and had another bowl for lunch today, and i am so shocked and happy, i’m always trying out new recipes, hoping my husband will want to eat something healthy, Thank you so much for posting this recipe, i will definitely put this in my regular rotation!!! I did only 2 things different, i used some chickpea pasta shells, and i had forgotten to get fresh green beans so i used 1 can salt free green beans, so that may have factored into the broth flavor.
Hi, how much soup goes into 1 serving size?
I would say about 2 1/2 – 3 cups. Honestly, I never measure portion sizes. Once the soup is made I judge how big my portion is compared to what’s left. This could also easily be an 8 serving soup. Hope that helps!-
I have a crookneck squash from the garden that is calling for me to make this soup with! There’s nothing better than a bunch of lovely veggies :) What a beautiful soup, Julie!
Ah, sounds wonderful and this is a great place to your garden squash! Thanks Kathleen! Enjoy :)