Vegetable Minestrone Variations (Printable)

Hearty Italian soup with seasonal vegetables, pasta, and beans. Adaptable for any season. Serves 6.

# What You Need:

→ 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 (summer) or 1 small butternut squash, diced (winter)
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 (optional)

→ Broth and Beans

10 - 6 cups vegetable broth
11 - 1 can (15 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 additional for serving
18 - Grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

# Directions:

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, diced zucchini or squash, and chopped green beans or kale. Cook for 3 minutes.
03 - Add diced tomatoes, diced potato if using, 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.
05 - Add drained beans and small pasta. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, or until pasta and vegetables are tender.
06 - Season with dried oregano, dried basil, salt, and pepper. Remove the bay leaf and stir in chopped fresh parsley.
07 - Ladle into bowls and top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve with crusty bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It adapts to whatever's in your kitchen or at the market, so you never feel like you're following a rigid formula.
  • One pot, minimal cleanup, and you end up with enough soup to feed people or carry you through the week.
  • The combination of beans, pasta, and vegetables makes it satisfying enough to be a complete meal.
02 -
  • Add the pasta only at the end—if you add it too early, it will absorb too much liquid and turn the soup stodgy and thick instead of brothy.
  • The bay leaf is doing important work flavoring the broth, but you must remove it before serving or risk someone getting a bitter, leathery surprise.
  • Fresh parsley should be added after the soup is off the heat or stirred in at the very end; cooking it kills its brightness and turns it dark and sad.
03 -
  • Keep the heat at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil—aggressive heat breaks down vegetables into mush and makes the broth cloudy instead of clear and bright.
  • If you're doubling this recipe for a crowd, use a wider, shallower pot so everything cooks evenly and nothing ends up stuck at the bottom.
  • Save vegetable scraps (carrot peels, celery tops, onion skins) in the freezer to make your own broth—homemade broth transforms this soup into something transcendent.
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