Hi friends!
You know the fall season is here because you are all begging me to add more soup recipes to the blog! Don’t worry, I got you covered with this easy vegan minestrone soup. It’s warm, comforting, filled with veggies, beans and the best part: PASTA!
This is the perfect 20-minute dinner when you need something quick, easy and delicious. On the plus side, the leftovers are delicious.
First, you’ll cook the onion and carrots until the onion is translucent. Feel free to saute the veggies in a little broth or some olive oil – your choice! You know my recipes are ALWAYS oil-free optional!
Once the onions are cooked a bit, add in the rest of the veggies, the veggie broth and beans. Tip: Make sure to rinse + drain your beans before adding them into the soup.
In a separate pot, bring boil to a water to cook your pasta. You can use any pasta you like, I prefer a smaller noodle to make a more traditional minestrone, but choose whatever floats your boat. I love using a small shell, elbow or ditalini! I couldn’t find a whole wheat or gluten-free ditalini but elbow shaped pasta was absolutely perfect in this!
Don’t want to use pasta? This is also amazing with brown rice. If I want to switch it up, I’ll use lentils and brown rice instead of kidney beans and pasta. That’s what makes this easy vegan minestrone so great – it’s versatile and substitution friendly.
Important Tip:
Cook your pasta in a separate pot! I’ve learned this the hard way. If you cook the pasta directly in the soup, ESPECIALLY, if you’re making gluten-free pasta, it will actually cause two issues. One of the issues is that when the pasta cooks it will soak up all of the broth and two, it will make the soup very starchy and thick and yucky. So, moral of the story, cook your pasta separately, then add it into the soup when it’s done cooking.
I sometimes prefer to only add the noodles into the bowl of soup I am eating, rather than adding all of the pasta into the pot at one time. This way, the pasta doesn’t get soggy as it sits in the fridge. However, if you’re going to eat all of the soup at once, don’t worry about it!
Why it’s important to use organic produce (Featuring Josie’s Organics)
I used the fresh organic spinach for this easy vegan minestrone soup from Josie’s Organics, an amazing all organic company that grows their produce in the fertile California Valley. Their family farming business dates back to the 1920’s, when two young Swiss immigrants, Sebastian and Josie Braga decided to start growing beets, tomatoes, onions, hay and corn.
Today, three generations later, the organic family farming tradition is being kept alive! Josie’s Organics harvests over 25 varieties of USDA certified organic veggies. I love their inspiring story and love supporting them by buying their produce!
If I see Josie’s Organics in the grocery store, I snatch it up real quick because it’s truly such fresh produce. You can find their produce at stores like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Sprouts and many more.
Why organic?!
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Josie’s Organics doesn’t use any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their farms. This is so important!
Be sure to look out for Josie’s Organics in your local store! Use their store locator here!
A few details about the ingredients:
- I used gluten-free brown rice pasta – brown rice pasta make great gluten-free noodles that taste “normal”
- I used organic produce since most of the vegetables I used are part of the dirty dozen. It’s super important to get organic greens which is why I used Josie’s Organics spinach in this
- I used low sodium kidney beans in a BPA free can from Sprouts – make sure to drain and rinse them
- The veggie broth I used has simple ingredients, is organic and has no preservatives! Make sure to read the ingredient label!
- I got bakery bread from Whole Foods to dip into my soup
What makes this minestrone soup healthy?
Traditional minestrone soup is made with chicken broth, parmesan cheese and white pasta. I used veggie broth, omitted the cheese and used brown rice pasta! A whole grain pasta is a great alternative as it has more fiber and doesn’t spike blood sugar. Veggie broth is also better for your health than chicken broth as it doesn’t contain artery clogging properties.
It’s also filled with a ton of veggies like carrots, spinach, green beans, zucchini, tomato and squash. All of these veggies are filled with anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and good-for-your-gut fiber!
What kind of bread do you recommend to pair with this easy vegan minestrone soup?
Head to the bakery section of your grocery store instead of getting pre-packaged bread. Get a GOOD bakery bread like a rye, sourdough, or crusty Italian bread. I picked up a freshly baked bread from Whole Foods and picked out a whole grain variety. Nothing like a crusty bread to go with some comforting, warm soup! The best part about a freshly baked bread is that you don’t have to toast it! It tastes so good just dunked straight into the broth.
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Pin this warm, comforting cheesy vegan cauliflower potato casserole on Pinterest, share the link on Facebook for friends and family to see, or post a picture of your creation on Instagram. Also, be sure to follow me on my new tiktok account, I post a lot of great content on there.
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Easy Vegan Minestrone Soup (oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1 carton of veggie broth
- 3 cups spinach I use Josie's Organics
- your favorite pasta sub rice
- ½ large yellow onion diced
- 4 large soup carrots chopped
- 1 10 oz bag of cut frozen green beans
- 2 zucchinis chopped
- 1 yellow squash chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Saute carrots and onion in a large soup pot for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients except the pasta and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until veggies are cooked.
- While the soup cooks, bring a separate pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to box instructions. Strain then add into the soup.
- Serve and enjoy! Add more salt + pepper to taste if needed.
Notes
If you make this recipe and love it, please rate and comment down below at the bottom of your page with your honest thoughts. Your feedback means a lot to me here at HealthyGirl Kitchen. If you weren’t a fan of the recipe or substituted an ingredient/s, please let me know!
This blog was created in partnership with Josie’s Organics
Be sure to check out my other recipes including this cheesy VEGAN potato cauliflower casserole!
In good health,
Danielle
Sarah S says
Such a yummy and heath comfort recipe! Super easy to make too!
Bri H. says
This has been my go-to soup recipe ever since I came across it on TikTok 2 years ago. It is so flavorful and packed with nutrients! I also like to sauté the zucchini and squash with the carrots because I feel like it helps the veggies soak up the flavor more in the broth.
Tanya Broughton says
This recipe is so easy and quick . I’m currently 27 weeks pregnant and was craving it. So delicious !