Minestrone Soup
Minestrone Soup is a healthy soup loaded with vegetables and it is amazingly flavorful as well. One special ingredient makes this soup so delicious that even those who don’t like vegetables will love this soup.
Minestrone Soup
This is by far the best Minestrone Soup I’ve ever tried and it’s all attributed to one simple ingredient. Cheese!
I don’t mean sprinkling some fresh grated Parmesan cheese over the top of soup, which is a must of course, I mean infusing every bite of broth and vegetables with delicious Parmesan flavor.
Simply adding Parmesan cheese rind to soup while it’s cooking, will infuse every bite with amazing flavor. Even those who don’t like vegetables will polish off the whole bowl.
My husband is the perfect example of that. He hates vegetables and getting him to eat veggies is same as getting a stubborn kid to eat veggies, it’s nearly impossibly. It took me a little while to get him to even try a bite but once he did, he ate the whole bowl.
I watched him scarf down a bowl of vegetable soup in amazement. This is truly the best healthy soup.
Want To Add Pasta?
Many people are used to having pasta in their Minestrone Soup so naturally, I anticipate this question will pop up.
Good news is that pasta can absolutely be added. Add raw pasta right after adding chicken broth and increase the amount of broth added. Cook until pasta is just done.
If you don’t want pasta to get too soft while it’s sitting in soup in the refrigerator, cook and store pasta separately and add some to each bowl when needed. It doesn’t taste as good because pasta doesn’t get a chance to get infused with broth and Parmesan flavor but some people really don’t like soft pasta.
Want To Add Meat?
Yes, chicken or turkey can be added.
To add meat, dice raw chicken into small cubes and cook it in the same pot you will be making soup until almost done. Take the meat out and cook veggies as directed in the recipe.
Add chicken back to the pot before adding broth. Continue making soup according to the recipe.
More Italian and Italian Inspired Soup Recipes
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 bulb of fennel
- 8 oz celery (2-3 ribs)
- 8 oz medium carrots (2 medium)
- 1 zucchini
- 4 garlic cloves
- 14 oz diced tomatoes can
- 16 oz cannellini beans can
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 5 basil leaves
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese rind
- 3 oz fresh spinach
- salt
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Slice vegetables and set them aside.
- Preheat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil.
- Add sliced onion, fennel, carrots, and celery. Stir and let it sweat for a few minutes.
- Smash and mince garlic and stir it in.
- Add a can of diced tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
- Add sliced zucchini. (If you prefer zucchini softer, add it earlier.)
- Strain the bean liquid off and add beans to the pot. Stir and simmer for a few minutes.
- Add salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and chicken stock. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and lower the heat to medium-low.
- Add Parmesan cheese rind right into the soup and let it cook in soup until soup is done.
- Cook soup for about 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in minced basil and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted.
- Discard Parmesan cheese rind and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Gluten Free Recipes, Healthy Dinner Ideas, Most Popular Recipes, Soup Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
My Italian Grandmother brought me up and I miss anyone of her soups. I am now 80 years old and love YOUR soups.
Minestrone Soup is as Italian as it gets and it never has any meat, just garden vegetables and herbs with parmesan cheese and marrow bones (when available). I ask- what is your ‘special ingredient”?
No matter, your recipe for Minestrone is as delicious as Grandma’s. thank you.
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story and for your kind words! It warms my heart to know my recipe brought back cherished memories of your Italian grandmother’s soups!