Vegan Minestrone Recipe
This vegan minestrone is what happens when a garden, a can of tomatoes, and 30 minutes of your life collide into 1 pot. It takes 30 minutes and tastes like something a very talented Italian grandmother has been fussing over since dawn. She hasn't. You won't either. Make it anyway.
Servings: 12 Cups
Calories: 114kcal
Cost: $11
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 cup celery diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 28 oz. diced tomatoes canned
- 6 cups unsalted vegetable stock
- 15 oz. Kidney beans or white beans (canned), drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups green beans chopped
- 1 cup zucchini diced
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- ¾ cup small pasta shells elbow macaroni, or ditalini
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ¾ teaspoons salt or to taste
Optional to garnish:
- Vegan parmesan cheese grated
- Parsley leaves chopped
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté, stirring regularly, for 7-8 minutes until the vegetables soften, and onions are fragrant.
- Add the garlic, oregano, smoked paprika, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes if using. Cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute until the seasonings are well distributed amongst the veggies.
- Add the diced tomatoes with their liquid, and vegetable stock. Stir to combine, then increase to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to medium-low heat and maintain a steady simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the drained canned beans, chopped green beans, zucchini, parsley, and pasta. Stir well and continue cooking over medium-low heat for 10–12 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the vegetables are fully cooked.
- Stir in the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, pepper, and salt, adjusting to taste.
- Remove from heat. When portioning the soup into bowls, garnish with vegan parmesan and additional parsley if you like.
Notes
🌶️ Spice Spice Baby
That 1 minute with the garlic and spices is doing more work than it gets credit for. Keep the heat controlled and stir constantly because burnt garlic and scorched paprika will take a perfectly good soup down with them fast.
🍝 Harvey Al Dente
Pasta goes from perfect to sad and bloated faster than you'd think, especially in a hot broth. Pull it a little early, and if you're packing leftovers away, definitely undercook it so it's not just sitting there absorbing all the liquid in the galaxy turning your container of comforting soup into a food brick.
Nutrition
Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 372mg | Potassium: 438mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2325IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 2mg