Hearty Italian Vegetable Soup (Printer Version)

Italian vegetable soup with pasta, beans, tomatoes, and herbs. A comforting, wholesome meal in 50 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 large onion, diced
03 - 2 celery stalks, diced
04 - 2 medium carrots, diced
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 medium zucchini, diced
07 - 1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
08 - 1 cup baby spinach or chopped kale

→ Base & Liquids

09 - 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
10 - 6 cups vegetable broth
11 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste

→ Pasta & Beans

12 - 3/4 cup small pasta such as ditalini or elbow
13 - 1 can (15 oz) cannellini or kidney beans, drained and rinsed

→ Herbs & Seasonings

14 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
15 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
16 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
17 - 1 bay leaf
18 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
19 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley plus more for garnish

# How to Make It:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in minced garlic, diced zucchini, and green beans. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
03 - Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
04 - Add pasta and drained beans. Cook for 10 minutes or until pasta reaches al dente texture.
05 - Stir in spinach or kale and fresh parsley. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until greens are wilted.
06 - Remove bay leaf. Adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls, garnish with additional fresh parsley, and serve hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in under an hour but tastes like you've been simmering it all day.
  • You can raid your vegetable drawer and the soup only gets better with whatever you throw in.
  • One pot means less cleanup, and honestly, that's half the reason I make it on weeknights.
02 -
  • Don't add the pasta until the very end or it will absorb all the broth and turn the soup into something more like risotto than minestrone.
  • The greens will seem like too much when you dump them in raw, but they wilt down dramatically in just a few minutes.
03 -
  • Don't skip tasting the broth before you add salt, because some vegetable broths are already quite salty and you might not need much.
  • If your soup tastes flat at the end, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a splash of red wine vinegar can brighten everything up instantly.
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