Vegetable Minestrone Variations (Printable version)

Hearty Italian soup with seasonal vegetables, pasta, and beans. Adaptable for any time of year.

# Ingredients list:

→ Vegetables

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, diced
03 - 2 carrots, diced
04 - 2 celery stalks, diced
05 - 1 small zucchini, diced or 1 small butternut squash, diced
06 - 1 cup green beans, chopped or 1 cup chopped kale or spinach
07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
09 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced

→ Broth and Beans

10 - 6 cups vegetable broth
11 - 1 can (14 ounces) cannellini or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
12 - 3.5 ounces small pasta such as ditalini, elbow, or shells
13 - Salt and pepper to taste

→ Herbs and Seasonings

14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
16 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
17 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley plus more for serving
18 - Grated Parmesan cheese for serving

# Steps:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrots, and celery; sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in minced garlic, zucchini or squash, and green beans or kale. Cook for 3 minutes.
03 - Add diced tomatoes, diced potato, and bay leaf. Cook for 2 minutes, then pour in vegetable broth.
04 - Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
05 - Add drained beans and pasta. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes until pasta and vegetables are tender.
06 - Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Remove the bay leaf from the pot.
07 - Stir in chopped fresh parsley. Ladle into bowls and top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It's the kind of soup that gets better the longer it simmers, filling your kitchen with the kind of aroma that makes people ask what you're cooking before they even walk in the door.
  • You can make it exactly the same way twice and it'll taste different depending on the season, which somehow feels less like a problem and more like an adventure.
  • There's no fancy technique hiding here, just honest chopping and letting time do the heavy lifting while you do something else.
02 -
  • Don't add the pasta until the very end, or it'll keep cooking and turn mushy while the soup sits—I learned this the hard way on a Sunday in November when I had to start over with a second pot.
  • That Parmesan rind Marco mentioned isn't a shortcut, it's magic; drop it in during the simmer and the soup tastes like someone's been working on it for hours instead of minutes.
03 -
  • If the pasta is already cooked when you add it, use even less time—thirty seconds of simmering is sometimes enough to marry it to the broth without turning it to mush.
  • Keep tasting as you go; this soup invites adjustment in a way that makes you feel like you're cooking rather than just following along.
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