Packed with vegetables, bacon, beans, and pasta, this Minestrone Soup makes for a hearty, filling, and delicious meal.
I’m giving you a big fat winter hug in the form of soup! This is what you eat when you want to keep warm, feel full AND be satisfied.
Friends, I’m on a soup-bender and I don’t want to stop. It’s bad. Just ask the people that live with me. I’ve been serving soup thrice a week for the past 2 months.
Minestrone is one of our favorites! Minestrone is a hearty Italian soup that is typically made with a variety of vegetables, beans, and pasta in a tomato-based broth. It is a flavorful and nourishing meal that is perfect for cold days or as a way to use up about-to-go-bad-vegetables that you have on hand.
Some common ingredients in minestrone soup include diced tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, and small pasta shapes or broken spaghetti. You can also add meats such as sausage, ham, or bacon to the soup for added flavor and protein. Minestrone is typically seasoned with herbs, and it is often served with grated Parmesan cheese on top.
BUT I swear this isn’t the same old Minestrone Soup that it appears to be. I swear! I know it looks like any other Minestrone, but it’s not. Maybe it is, but I think mine is better. Is that obnoxious or what?! But, really, mine is finger-lickin’ good. I can eat a loaf of bread with it and be the happiest girl, ever!
Speaking of! I have a question. Do you put beans in YOUR Minestrone?? I never have because I *think* that’s supposed to be Pasta e Fagioli. Right? I’m no Italian, so I could be wrong, but I could also be right. So… I added beans. Peer pressure!
In other words, this is what I like to call eating-all-the-colors, also known as “eating all the veggies left at the bottom of the crisper drawers”. Really, there is a good bit of everything in here, too. Plus bacon. (!!!)
It’s easy, it’s DELICIOUS, it’s quick, and it’s versatile. Add whatever veg you’ve got and eat up. AND if you stick to the serving size, it’s a healthy choice. I mean, if I could do one thing right now it would be to slurp up every last bit of that pot up there.
ENJOY!
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, diced
- 1 small zucchini, halved longwise and sliced into half-moons
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
- 2 cans (14-ounces each) diced tomatoes
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup whole wheat ditali pasta
- 1 can (15-ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 bag (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach leaves (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach leaves
- freshly grated parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.
- Add bacon and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Add the onions, carrots, zucchini, garlic, and thyme; season with salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth and the bay leaf; turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to medium-low and let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes; add uncooked pasta and continue to cook until pasta is cooked and vegetables are tender; about 8 minutes.
- Add the beans and spinach; continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until beans are heated through and spinach is wilted.
- Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
- If soup is too thick, add a bit more vegetable broth.
- Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and let stand few minutes.
- Ladle into soup bowls, top with parmesan cheese, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
