Name: Vegetarian Minestrone Soup
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 Onion, diced; 1 cup (150 g) of carrots, half moons; 1 cup (150 g) of celery, chopped; 1 cup (150 g) of zucchini, chopped; 1-15 oz (420 g) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained; ½ cup (75 g) of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half; ½ cup (75 g) of French green beans, cut into ½ in pieces; 1 ½ (210 g) cups of small shell pasta; 1 (150 g) cup of red potatoes, skin on, diced the same size as your shell pasta; 10 cups (2 liters + 480 ml) of vegetable broth; ¼ cup (60 ml) tomato paste; 3 cloves of garlic; 2 tbsp (30 ml) dried Italian seasoning (oregano, basil etc); 1 tsp (5 ml) salt; ½ tsp (2.5 ml) freshly cracked pepper; ½ cup (45 g) of parmesan cheese, freshly grated for garnish (1 tbsp per person); ½ cup (45 g) of fresh Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish (1 tbsp per person)

Jump to Recipe

This Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe is a veggie-packed dinner waiting to soothe the body and soul! It’s loaded with vegetables, beans, potatoes, and pasta making it a very filling “dinner soup”.

It also lasts throughout the week, making it easy to pack in the lunch box the next day! It’s very similar in flavor to my Chicken Tortellini Soup, which is another great “dinner soup” to try, and both freeze so well in my favorite new discovery for soup freezing, the Souper Cube! How did I ever exist without these things?!

Why You’ll Love This Soup:

The potatoes and pasta cook in the vegetable broth, allowing them to soak up the flavor while their starch thickens the soup at the same time
It freezes beautifully making it a great soup to have on hand for the season
The vegetables are hearty but soft, and full of nutrients making this a great soup to bring to a sick friend or new Mom!

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Use a Large Soup Pot

This soup has a lot of vegetables, pasta, and potatoes that go into it. It also calls for 10 cups of broth. So It’s best to use the largest pot you have to accommodate the volume.

Pick the best quality vegetable broth you can find, it really adds to the flavor of the soup. I really like Trader Joe’s brand of vegetable broth for this soup.

Beans For Extra Protein

This soup is so filling and the beans add extra protein for a vegetarian soup. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans before adding them to your soup. Especially if using the canned variety.

Prepping the Potatoes and Pasta

What you’ll love most about this soup is how velvety smooth and luxurious it becomes after 20 minutes of simmering the pasta and potatoes in the broth.
I like this method a lot better than adding already cooked potatoes or pasta into the soup because the starch that is emitted helps to thicken the soup at the same time.
Just be sure to dice the potatoes roughly the same size as the shells. That way they’ll cook at the same rate.

The Soup Thickens as It Cooks

When you first add all the ingredients, it won’t look like much…but wait 20 minutes! And you’ll see, as soon as the pasta and the potatoes are cooked and tender the soup will be velvety smooth and thickened.

A Great Lunch Soup

Because it’s so filling, Minestrone soup makes for a great lunch soup!
Just heat the soup up in the morning until it’s very hot. Then add it to your thermos immediately.
It’s best t pick a thermos that can hold the heat for at least 5 hours and I also fill it with hot water first while heating the soup, to give it a “head-start”.
Then you can pour the water out before filling the soup.

Don’t Forget To Pack the Garnishes!

This soup is really delicious when served with freshly grated parmesan cheese and freshly chopped parsley
And If packing for lunch it’s easy to pack the garnishes too! Place them in a small container (I use little baby food containers used for making fresh baby food. The size is perfect!)

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