Quick and simple Minestrone Soup. This Minestrone Soup is a classic, healthy, veggie-based soup that includes broth, pasta, beef, beans and veggies.
Do you love Minestrone soup?
Hands down, minestrone is one of my all-time favorites when the weather starts to cool down and winter sets in. (Although.. here in Phoenix, it doesn’t really ever ‘cool down’ as much as I hope for!)
This Italian favorite is loaded with veggies and either rice or pasta. In many cases, it can also include tomatoes, beef or chicken stock, celery, beans and onions. Keep it vegetarian or add beef or your choice of meat-based stock.
Minestrone Soup – Use What you Have
When it comes down to minestrone soup, use what you have on hand at the time.
Take your pick of seasonal vegetables, and combine them with pasta or rice, a little ground beef, and whatever else you can conjure up:
- kidney beans
- cabbage
- onions
- celery
- carrots
- white beans
- zucchini
- kale
- tomatoes
Add some tomatoes, and wrap it all up in your favorite veggie or meat-based stock and let it simmer away on the stove until ready to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week and reheated on low via stove top when you’re ready for your next bowl.
Or, opt to freeze the leftovers – though I have found that freezing this soup with pasta tends to make the pasta mushy when reheated. If you plan to freeze, I’d definitely hold back on the pasta and add it after you thaw. Or simply opt for rice in lieu of the pasta.
Serve up this soup with your favorite crusty bread or roll recipe:
- Cheater Sourdough Bread
- Sweet Potato Sea Salt Dinner Rolls
- Sweet Molasses Rolls
- Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
- Sourdough Popovers
Minestrone Soup with Pasta or Rice?
Though minestrone soup can be made without pasta, adding pasta definitely can make for a heartier soup. If you do plan on using pasta, try to use a smaller variety – or, in a pinch, macaroni. Keep the pasta to a minimum so as not to crowd the soup – 1/2 – 3/4 C. of dry pasta is a good amount.
You can boil the pasta before adding to the soup.
Or opt to cook with the soup in one pot, adding the pasta 10-12 minutes into the cook time.
After the soup is done, the pasta will continue to absorb the soup and make the soup thicken up. To prevent this from happening, you can cook the pasta separately to the soup and add it once drained, before serving. If you choose to freeze the soup, try to do so without the pasta – as the pasta will get mushy after it is frozen, thawed and reheated.
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery thinly sliced
- 1 carrot diced
- 8 oz kidney beans
- 8 oz can corn
- 1/2 head cabbage chopped
- 29 oz stewed tomatoes with juices
- 1 C elbow macaroni
- 3 C water
- 4 beef bouillion cubes
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, add oil and brown ground beef and drain.
- Add olive oil, onion, and garlic to ground beef, sauté until onions are translucent.
- Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, cabbage, water, bouillon cubes, pasta, and tomato sauce to boiling.
- Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 7 minutes, covered.
- Uncover and add beans and corn, stir.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat but keep covered. Allow sitting for 20 minutes before serving.
Did you make this minestrone soup recipe? If you did, please take a minute to rate the recipe – comment and let me know if you kept the recipe as-is or made changes!
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Rebooted Mom.
[…] Minestrone Soup […]