Feel-Good Healthy Minestrone Soup Recipe

Jump to Recipe·5 from 4 reviews

You’ll love this healthy soup recipe! Loaded with vegetables (8 different ones to be exact) and beans (3 different types) this minestrone soup simmers away in a rich tomato broth and is both hearty and healthy at the same time. When you find yourself craving veggies, this is what you’ll want to make and it’s the perfect way to use up some veggies! It’s cozy, comforting, delicious, and nutritious on a cold day or chilly night! Serve with some garlic toast or add pasta to the veggie soup to make it ultra-satisfying.

If you love feel-good recipes like this one, be sure to give my turkey squash chili, crockpot chicken and potatoes, or turkey taco skillet next time.

Table of Contents

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

What You’ll Love About Minestrone Soup

Delicious dinner with comfort-food flavor
Warm and cozy meal
Easy to prep
Loaded with vegetables!
Hearty vegetarian meal
Great source of protein (more than 15 grams)
Great source of fiber (15 grams of fiber)
Made with simple ingredients

Ingredients

Onion – I’ve used white onion, but you can also use yellow onion.
Celery – Look for celery without any browning or bruising.
Carrots – I like whole carrots best, but you could also dice up baby carrots as well.
Garlic – Use whole garlic cloves for best flavor or frozen or jarred garlic for an easy shortcut.
Zucchini – Look for small to medium zucchini without any bruising.
Green beans – Look for fresh green beans or haricots verts.
Baby spinach – Look for fresh spinach. The spinach cooks down a lot, so it might look like a lot, but it isn’t that much! You can also roughly chop if you want the pieces smaller.
Olive oil – Use high-quality olive oil for best results.
Canned beans – I used a blend of three different beans: red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and great Northern beans. If you don’t like one of those, you could easily swap out the varieties of beans, you’ll just want 3 15-oz. cans of beans total. Cannellini beans or other white beans would also be delicious. You can also cook your own dry beans if you prefer.
Broth – You can use any type of broth – vegetable, chicken broth, or bone broth. Obviously if you’re keeping this minestrone soup vegan, use vegetable broth! Bone broth will add a richer flavor and extra protein.
Marinara sauce – This is the secret ingredient! Marinara sauce is used instead of diced tomatoes and I think it makes for a richer soup, I also have come to prefer the smooth texture instead of diced tomatoes in soups and chilis. If you prefer to use diced tomatoes, stir in a tablespoon or two of tomato paste for the rich tomato flavor.
Parmesan cheese – Optional topping, but delicious! I prefer freshly grated parmesan cheese, but use your favorite.
Sea salt & black pepper, red pepper flakes (optional if you like some heat)
Extras – Add in cooked pasta when serving,

Emily’s Tip

In this classic minestrone soup, I used a jar of marinara sauce instead of the traditional canned tomatoes (which is something I saw on a TV commercial a decade ago and still do!). This helps add a deeper, more developed flavor in less time and it also creates a smooth base for the soup instead of a brothy-base with tomato chunks, which I think is the trick to making this the best minestrone soup.

How to Make Healthy Veggie Soup

This is an overview on how to make this simple veggie soup, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.

Prep ingredients. Dice onion, celery, carrots, and zucchini. Mince garlic, and slice green beans. Drain and rinse beans.
Cook mire poix. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot and cook onion, celery, and carrots seasoned with salt and pepper until soft.
Cook fresh vegetables. Add garlic, zucchini, and green beans to mire poix.

Pot of healthy veggie soup before cooking

Simmer soup. Add rinsed beans, broth, and marinara and stir together. Bring to a boil, lower heat to low and simmer.
Finish soup. Stir in spinach and stir until wilted. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly cracked pepper, flaky sea salt, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese if desired.

Grating parmesan over bowl of minestrone soup

Cooking Lesson

The mirepoix is the aromatic base (usually a mix of onion, celery, and carrots) which helps give soups, stews, and other dishes flavor. You can easily dice your own, but many stores also carry a pre-cut and prepped version which you can also definitely use if you’re looking for a kitchen shortcut.

FAQs

Is minestrone soup vegetarian?

It will obviously depend on the recipe, but this is a vegetarian and vegan minestrone soup! If you want it fully vegan, don’t add any Parmesan while serving, or use your favorite vegan Parmesan alternative.

Is minestrone soup gluten-free?

It will again depend on the recipe, but this healthy veggie soup is gluten-free. Many minestrone recipes contain pasta (more on that below), which would make them not gluten-free, but this minestrone soup is made without pasta and doesn’t contain any gluten.

Storage

Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove until heated through.

Can you freeze minestrone?

Yes, you can also freeze minestrone. Store soup in the freezer in an airtight container (souper cubes or glass storage containers work well!) for 2-3 months and let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Freezing note: The zucchini texture may change a bit if you freeze it, but it works.

How to prep ahead

If you want to cut down on prep time, chop all of your veggies a day or two in advance! Then you can cook the veggie bean soup in less than 30 minutes.

Bowl of healthy veggie soup with a spoon

What to Serve with Minestrone Soup

This vegetarian minestrone soup doesn’t need much as it’s already loaded with veggies! You can keep it super simple with some bread or pasta, or add some more veggies on the side.

Pasta – Many traditional minestrone soup recipes also include rice or pasta, so add your favorite short-tubed pasta like ditalini or tubetti or other small pasta. Cook pasta to al dente and add to bowls before spooning the hearty soup over the top.
Crusty Bread – Grab take-and-bake rolls or a baguette or simply toast up some garlic bread with whatever bread you have.
Green Salad – Pile salad greens with some fresh veggies and your favorite dressing or try my simple green salad or lemon kale salad that are favorites at our house!
Veggie Side – Want more veggies? Add a side of raw veggies and Greek yogurt dill dip.

How to Serve this to the Whole Family

Soup can be hard for the youngest eaters, so when you’re serving, add more chunks and less broth to their bowls so it’s easier for them to eat with a spoon.

Serve the healthy soup recipe with bread, fruit, and a glass of milk. Even if they don’t eat much of the soup, they’ll get enough nutrition without you needing to make a separate meal.

More Soup Recipes

If you like this recipe for minestrone soup, you might also like some of these other easy soup recipes:

Chicken Taco Soup
Easy Dumpling (Potsticker) Soup
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Slow Cooker Turkey Butternut Squash Chili

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