Minestrone Soup
Minestrone Soup - a delicious and flavorful minestrone soup recipe that is packed with flavor and makes amazing leftovers!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 oz pancetta chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 1/2 cup carrots diced
- 1 1/2 cup celery sliced
- 1 russet potato diced
- 1 cup green beans cut into 1-inch pieces
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 4-5 cups chicken broth vegetable broth works
- 15 oz can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoons basil pesto
- optional parmesan rind (if you have one)*
- 1-2 handfuls fresh spinach
- kosher salt to taste
- optional pasta: ditalini pasta, cooked al dente**
- serving: additional pesto shaved parmesan cheese and side of crusty bread
Instructions
- Bring a large Dutch oven to medium-high heat (I used a 5.5qt). Add butter and let melt, swirl to coat the pan. Add pancetta and move around pan until the fat renders, approx. 2-5 minutes. Add garlic and onion to pan, saute for 2-3 minutes or until garlic becomes fragrant and onion softens a bit. Season lightly with a little salt and pepper.
- Add carrots, celery and potatoes - move those around the pan and let cook 4-5 minutes.
- Add green beans, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, cannellini beans, white wine, thyme, bay leaf, lemon zest, basil pesto and parmesan rind. Stir to combine. Cover and let simmer 15-20 minutes. Uncover and add in spinach leaves, stir to combine as they wilt.
- Taste and add any salt (I added 1/4 teaspoon), pepper or other seasoning - as desired.
- Serve over some ditalini pasta (cooked al dente), extra basil pesto, shaved parmesan cheese and some grilled bread!
Notes
- *Parmesan Rind: don't fret about this one if you don't happen to have a parmesan rind laying around - if you have one - great! If not, recipe will still turn out, but you might need a to add a bit more salt.
- **Ditalini Pasta: you can also use elbows, small shells or even a farfalle if you want - I would just choose a smaller pasta. Also, we recommend cooking the pasta separate and serving the soup over the noodles. If you cook the pasta in the soup it will soak up a lot of the liquid.
- *** Salt: as written, I only added an additional 1/4 teaspoon salt, but if you omit the parmesan rind you will need to add a bit more and if you use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth you will also need to add a bit more - so just be sure and taste and adjust as you go!
- Gluten-Free: to make this gluten-free use a gluten-free pasta and serve with gluten-free bread.
- Dairy-Free: to make this dairy-free use a plant-based butter, a dairy-free pesto and omit the parmesan cheese.
- Storage: store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days - store pasta and soup separate so pasta doesn't get mushy and soak up all the liquid.
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