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    Home » Recipes » Soup

    Easy Minestrone Soup

    Published by Melissa on February 22, 2022 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 19 Comments

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    This Easy Minestrone Soup with kidney beans, chicken broth, dried herbs, and veggies is a healthy and fast family-friendly weeknight meal. 

    bowl of easy minestrone soup

    ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Minestrone soup comes together in one pot in less than an hour. It’s also easy to make ahead of time and reheat for lunch or dinner the next day. 

    pinterest button for minestrone soup

    How to Make Easy Minestrone Soup

    This recipe comes together swiftly. I recommend having your ingredients chopped and measured out and ready to go so you can move through the steps smoothly.

    In this recipe, the pasta is cooked last. This is because pasta in the soup will continue to expand as it absorbs the broth. Adding the pasta last will allow the pasta to cook without swelling up. 

    Sautéing your carrots, celery, and onion together makes the foundation of flavor in this soup. Not only do the veggies flavor each other as they cook down, but the oil is also being flavored.

    The diced tomatoes do not need to be drained. The tomato juice in the can helps to add to the soup’s flavor and tomato base.

    The opposite is true for the beans, be sure to drain the beans and rinse them well. Adding the bean liquid will give the soup a cloudy color because of the starchy liquid.

    If you’re pressed for time, you can buy bagged, shredded cabbage in the produce section of your grocery store. Give the cabbage a good chop before adding to your soup as the bagged varieties tend to be cut in longer shreds than you really want. 

    preparing vegetables for easy minestrone soup

    Make-Ahead Tips

    If you are making this soup for dinner ahead of time, I have two tips regarding the pasta:

    1. Cook the pasta ahead of time in a separate pot. Drain and rinse it with cold water and refrigerate until ready to use. Then when you reheat your soup, add the pasta and reheat until warm. You don’t want to cook the noodles further, just heat them through. 
    2. Or, you can bring the cooked soup back to a boil on the stove. Then add the dry pasta and cook for 10 minutes. Just note that with this option, boiling the soup again for 10 min will continue to soften the veggies.

    Serving Suggestions

     This healthy vegetable soup is great served with a sprinkling of parmesan and a fluffy homemade Lion House Roll on the side. 

    collage of steps to cook one pot minestrone

    Storing Leftover Minestrone

     You can store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze minestrone in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 month.

    To serve, defrost the soup in the fridge overnight. Then transfer the soup to a bowl and reheat in the microwave. Start with 1 minute and then continue to heat in 10-second intervals if needed until the desired temperature is reached.

    Of course, you can also reheat the soup (even from frozen) on the stove. 

    bowl of easy minestrone soup

    More Easy Soup Recipes

    Try these other healthy and warming soups for dinner next:

    • Baked Potato Soup is a creamy and comforting meal with crispy bacon on top. 
    • Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is a light but satisfying dish with pasta, chicken and veggies.
    • Creamy Instant Pot Tomato Soup with Basil and Parmesan from Pressure Cooking Today is a super fast and family-friendly soup perfect on the side of grilled cheese. 
    bowl of easy minestrone soup
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    Easy Minestrone Soup

    This is the easiest minestrone soup recipe with one pot, tons of flavor, and vegetables for a healthy weeknight meal.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time40 mins
    Total Time55 mins
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: minestrone soup
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 365kcal
    Author: Barbara Bakes LLCThis is teh easiest minestrone soup recipe with one opot, tons of flavor and vegetables for a ehalthy weeknight meal.
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Equipment

    • CIA Masters Collection 6 Piece Measuring Spoon Set
    • Microplane Premium Classic Zester (baby blue)
    • OXO Good Grips Nylon Ladle

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 medium onion diced
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 2 carrots sliced thinly
    • 2 stalks celery sliced thinly
    • 3 cans diced tomatoes 14 ½ oz.
    • 4 cans chicken broth 14 ½ oz.
    • 2 teaspoons dried parsley or 1 tablespoon fresh
    • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
    • 2 teaspoons dried basil
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • pepper to taste
    • 2 cans kidney beans drained (15 oz.)
    • 2 cups shredded cabbage
    • 1 medium sized zucchini sliced
    • 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

    Instructions

    • In a large soup pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery and saute until tender.
    • Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, parsley, Italian seasoning, dried basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring all to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes.
    • Add kidney beans and shredded cabbage and simmer for 10 minutes.
    • Add zucchini and elbow macaroni and simmer for 10 minutes, or until macaroni is tender.
    • Serve topped with Parmesan Cheese or shredded Pecorino Romano cheese.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 365kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 1964mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 15g
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    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Teri Eskandari

      October 25, 2017 at 10:26 am

      I needed a soup recipe that I can adapt for my daughter who loves soup and is a Vegan. This is perfect. You’ve helped me again. Thank you Barbara. When I need help with a recipe I always start with your blogs. 

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        October 25, 2017 at 5:48 pm

        Thanks Teri – that’s so nice!

        Reply
    2. Karen

      December 15, 2016 at 6:52 pm

      When I’m 8th the mood for something spicy I add pepperoni.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 15, 2016 at 8:16 pm

        Fun idea – thanks for sharing Karen!

        Reply
    3. Sophie

      October 27, 2008 at 4:08 pm

      This soup sounds delightful, great adaptation :). I can certainly see myself gobbling this up on a cold day.

      Reply
    4. Lisa magicsprinkles

      October 22, 2008 at 1:16 pm

      {{snow?}} eyck. We’re not even into fall here. I will be making this though when the weather turns a little more. This looks so hearty and so comforting.

      Reply
    5. Aggie

      October 22, 2008 at 2:43 am

      I’ve been craving some good minestrone soup, I think I might need to make some this weekend! This looks delicious and like it would hit the spot!

      Reply
    6. Lisa

      October 21, 2008 at 1:39 pm

      It is getting chilly and I love this soup recipe.

      Reply
    7. Pam

      October 21, 2008 at 1:11 pm

      I have the worst cold right now and would give anything for a hot bowl of this minestrone.

      Reply
    8. Veronica

      October 21, 2008 at 12:44 pm

      It’s getting pretty cold here and I am really starting to crave soups…this looks like a keeper.

      Reply
    9. Maria

      October 20, 2008 at 3:53 pm

      I love minestrone soup!! Yours look great!

      Reply
    10. Marisa

      October 20, 2008 at 4:10 am

      That looks perfect for the cold day that finally set in here. It was doubly cold because they couldn’t quite figure out how to get the air conditioning to turn off in our church with this change in weather :-). So I’ve totally been craving soup today. I’m glad you posted this!

      Reply
    11. Jenny

      October 19, 2008 at 9:55 pm

      Yum Barbara, your soup looks and sounds so good!

      Reply
    12. The Blonde Duck

      October 19, 2008 at 2:30 pm

      Oh goodie! I needed a new soup!

      Reply
    13. Matt

      October 19, 2008 at 1:57 pm

      Despite the fact that it’s 8:55 a.m. in Illinois, I am craving this soup. Your picture is so incredibly tempting… The best cooking, in my opinion, comes out in the cold weather seasons. That’s when the hearty flavor and textures have a chance to shine…

      Reply
    14. RecipeGirl

      October 18, 2008 at 1:19 pm

      This totally beats the minestrone I had yesterday at a sub-par restaurant. It looks quite delicious!

      Reply
    15. HoneyB

      October 18, 2008 at 12:07 pm

      There is nothing better than a warm bowl of soup on a chilly evening. We have gotten quite chilly and snow is is our forecast! Eeks!

      Reply
    16. Tami

      October 18, 2008 at 4:29 am

      Looks delish! On a chilly evening, there’s nothing better than a warm bowl of soup. I’m definitely going to try this one! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    17. *Priscilla*

      October 18, 2008 at 3:58 am

      looks so yummy and perfect for snowy kind of weather….still can’t believe it is already snowing places!

      Reply

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