A Weekend Recipe to Satisfy All Tastebuds: Minestrone

by Ashley on September 20, 2013

Happy Friday! The weekend is here!

If you missed yesterdays post, be sure to check it out and join in on the giveaway that ends tonight at midnight!

I am headed down to south Georgia this afternoon with my parents for a wedding but first I wanted to share one of my favorite fall/winter recipes that a few of you asked about over on Instagram.

With a fall chill in the air, this soup is sure to warm up any guests you might have this weekend. A perfect soup to keep hot on the stove all day long, welcome fall with this easy, oh so healthy Minestrone soup.

This was one of the first recipes that I cooked as a newly wed, and it still remains one of my go to one-pot dinners. In fact, even my meat eating husband even requests it quite often!

Classic Minestrone

Recipe adapted from here.

Prep time ~15 minutes; Cook time

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive or organic canola oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1 small green bell pepper, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 zucchini, diced
  • 1/3 lb (1.5 cups) green beans, trimmed into 1-2 inch pieces
  • 1 cup chopped spinach
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1, 28 oz can no salt added diced tomatoes
  • 1, 14 oz can no salt added crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 6 cups unsalted vegetable stock
  • 2 cups kidney beans (I used dried and soaked beans but canned would work too, just buy no salt added)
  • 1 cup garbanzo beans (I used dried and soaked beans but canned would work too, just buy no salt added)
  • 2 cups whole-grain (gluten free if necessary – I used rice pasta spirals but elbow or any variety would work too)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • parmasean cheese or nutritional yeast for topping (optional)

Directions

  1. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, ~4 minutes.
  3. Add the celery, carrot, bell pepper and garlic, cook until tender, ~5 more minutes.
  4. Add the zucchini, green beans, spinach and herbs, cook for ~3 more minutes.
  5. Add both cans of tomatoes, red wine and vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
  6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for ~10 minutes.
  7. Stir in both beans and continue to cook until the  vegetables are tender, ~5 more minutes.
  8. Stir in the pasta, season with salt and pepper and ladle into individual bowls.
  9. Top with parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast and enjoy.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure to check back tomorrow (yep! Saturday!) for my second post as a member of The Recipe Redux. Not giving anything away, but you don’t want to miss this sweet Saturday treat!

Good health!

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Page September 20, 2013 at 12:06 pm

Yes! Thank you for this! Been looking for a good one. Read my mind.

Reply

Ashley September 21, 2013 at 10:54 am

Haha! Yay! Great minds think alike ;-) Let me know if you try it out!!

Reply

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