Nonna’s Minestrone Soup Recipe
Today we are making Nonna’s Minestrone Soup Recipe! This classic Italian soup name (the word minestrone) literally means “big soup” in Italian! It is a thick and hot soup with a depth of flavor from Italy that is made of elbow pasta and a potpourri of vegetables.
I’ve heard that it can also use rice instead of pasta. However, I’ve really only ever seen it made with the little elbow pasta (which I always thought was called elbow pasta because it’s shaped like little elbows).
Some of the common ingredients that go into a traditional minestrone soup recipe, aside from pasta and a soup (or stock) base include carrots, celery, onion, tomatoes, beans, other vegetables and a pinch of salt and spices!
Elbow pasta also goes under the names “pipe pasta” (very original – it looks like a tiny pipe), “lumachine” or “lumache”, which means “little snails” (since, you know – it’s like you’re eating tiny snails in the form of pasta), or “gomito/gomiti” pasta since it means “elbow” in Italian.
Origin of Minestrone
So aside from the elbow pasta that’s added into this delicious soup, the origins of minestrone go back to (allegedly) 2nd century BC, when Rome conquered Italy. Economic growth during this time had allowed many new vegetables to be sold. Being able to now gather food from leftover meals, peasants in Italy would make “poor man’s soup.” This was a mix of all these different vegetables + beans + grain + pretty much everything. So even if you don’t have the correct beans – or the correct vegetables, or the right pasta type – you could pretty much substitute in any other pasta, vegetable, or bean type in a 1:1 ratio, and you should be golden!
Why You’ll Love Nonna’s Minestrone Soup Recipe
Great Meal Prep: This recipe is full of fresh vegetables, grains and you can add a protein (such as vegan meat, tofu, soy chunks or more) for a whole meal prep recipe!
Kitchen Sink Soup: This soup is like an “everything but the kitchen sink” recipe. You can switch up the vegetables, grain or beans in the recipe if you don’t have a specific item available and use up all those leftovers in the fridge!
Substitutions
Olive Oil: Substitute with avocado oil or refined coconut oil (the one that doesn’t smell like coconut)!
Onion: I used white onion, but you can also use red onion (red is more bitter though).
Pinto Beans: Substitute with cannellini beans, red kidney beans, whole soybeans, borlotti beans, broad beans or another type of dry bean.
Bay Leaf: Bay leaves add a flavor into the broth while the soup simmers. Do not substitute anything here.
Celery: Whole celery stalks consist of “sticks,” which are also called “ribs”. I used one celery rib here. You can also use more zucchini or a third cup of green peas instead.
Kale: You can also use baby spinach or swiss chard.
Squash: I used butternut squash, but you can also use sweet potato.
Garlic Clove: Don’t use pre-crushed garlic cloves. Fresh garlic has a whole different flavor (and has no preservatives)!
Pasta Sauce: Use tomato passata or tomato paste instead. The pasta sauce I used had Italian seasoning added in, so feel free to add more dried spices such as oregano, basil, thyme and more.
Pasta: The addition of pasta in this recipe makes it stand out from other soup recipes! You don’t have to add cooked pasta to the soup, but rather just use dry pasta and it will cook with the rest of the vegetables.
To keep it gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta (I love Banza’s chickpea pasta)!
Vegetable Broth: Usually this recipe uses chicken broth, but I use vegetable broth to keep it vegan. You can buy a carton of vegetable broth, make your own from a broth recipe or use stock cubes mixed with hot water.
Serve or Top This Recipe With
- Crusty bread
- Fresh green beans
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh herbs (Italian parsley!)
- Drizzle of olive oil
More Plant-Based Recipes You’ll Love
If you make this Minestrone Soup Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos with @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Nonna’s Minestrone Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Large Soup Pot
Ingredients
- 1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ medium white onion finely diced
- 2 medium cloves fresh garlic finely grated
- 2 tbsp vegan pasta sauce
- 7 cups vegetable broth
- ½ large carrot diced
- 1 medium celery stick (a rib) diced
- 1 cup zucchini diced
- 1 cup butternut squash diced
- 1 cup kale chopped into small pieces
- 3 small firm tomatoes diced
- 1 cup uncooked elbow pasta gluten free or regular
- ¾ cup dried pinto beans soaked overnight before using
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp pink salt add extra salt as per taste
- lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil drizzled over top before serving, optional
- black pepper optional
Instructions
- Add the oil to a pot over medium heat. Once this is warm, add in the chopped onions and garlic. Sautee these for a few minutes, until they are fragrant and the onions are tender.
- Then add in the pasta sauce, and the carrot, celery, zucchini and squash. Sautee these for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
- Add in the chopped tomatoes, and saute for 2-3 minutes more. Then add in the broth, salt, beans, and bay leaf. Increase the heat to medium-high and let this mixture come to a boil.
- Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 minutes with a lid partially on (just enough space to let steam escape).
- Add in the pasta, and cook it with the same lid partially on so that the beans get cooked. Leave it to cook for another 20-30 minutes.
- I would check on this every 5 minutes, and make sure that the beans are getting softer. By the time the beans are softened, the mixture (including the pasta) should also be cooked.
- Remove the pot from the heat, add in more salt and pepper as desired, and remove the bay leaf.
- Drizzle in the optional lemon juice and olive oil before serving!
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
