Minestrone Soup Recipe | Healthy & Delicious

This minestrone soup is one of my favourite homemade soups. I’ve tried quite a few versions over the years, but this is the one I keep coming back to. It comes from one of my old Time-Life books, The Cooking of Italy, although over the years I’ve made a few small changes using ingredients that are easier to find today.

What I really love about this minestrone soup recipe is that the vegetables are added gradually rather than all at once. They keep their shape beautifully and give the soup such a lovely balance of flavour and texture.

Finished with a simple garlic and herb garnish and a little grated parmesan or pecorino, it’s a delicious and nutritious bowl of soup that’s filling, comforting and perfect served with some buttered toast or crusty bread. If you’d like something homemade to serve alongside it, this German Grain Bread recipe is especially lovely, and it also includes a gluten-free version — the same bread you’ll see me buttering in the video.

Minestrone Soup Recipe | Healthy & Delicious

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 8 servings

This healthy and delicious minestrone soup is full of vegetables, beans, rice and finished with a simple garlic and herb garnish. Based on a recipe from an old Time-Life Italian cookbook, it’s a delicious and nutritious bowl of soup that is filling and perfect served with buttered toast or crusty bread. I’ve used tinned beans here for ease, but I’ve also included the dried bean option in the notes.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

 

For the Soup:

• 60 g butter, 3 tablespoons
• 1 large zucchini, diced, approx. 400g
• 2 medium carrots, diced, approx. 250g
• 1 large or 2 medium potatoes, diced, approx. 400–450 g
• 1 large stick celery, diced
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, if needed, depending on how much fat renders from the bacon
• 2 rashers bacon, diced, approx. 100g
• 1 small leek, sliced and rinsed well, (or use another small onion)
• 1 small onion, finely diced approx. 150g
• 440 g whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, or 500 g fresh ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1.5 litres water 6 cups Australian
• 3 teaspoons chicken stock powder or vegetable stock powder or use 1.5 litres chicken stock instead of the water and stock powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 parsley sprigs
• 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
• 120 g arborio rice, rinsed, or plain white rice, ½ cup Australian
• 1 x 400 g tin cannellini beans, rinsed and drained, or any white beans or pinto beans
• 1 heaped cup frozen peas, or fresh peas if available (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon sugar, optional

For the Garlic & Herb Garnish:

• 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 scant teaspoons dried basil, or 2 generous tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped

To Serve:

• Freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

Instructions

 

• Step 1.

  In a large heavy-based stock pot, 5 – 7 litres, melt the butter over moderate heat. Once foaming, add the zucchini, carrots, potato and celery. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly coated in the butter but not browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. This step seals the vegetables and adds a lovely flavour to the soup.
• Step 2.

  In the same pot, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the bacon and cook over moderate heat, stirring often, until crisp and the fat have rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel, leaving the bacon fat in the pot.
• Step 3.

  Add the leek and onion to the bacon fat and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes until softened and lightly golden.
• Step 4.

  Add the crushed tomatoes, water, chicken stock powder, sautéed vegetables, bay leaf, parsley sprigs, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover partially with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes.
• Step 5.

  Meanwhile, make the garlic herb garnish by combining the parsley, garlic and basil in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Step 6.

  Remove and discard the bay leaf and parsley sprigs from the soup.
• Add the rinsed rice, beans, peas and cooked bacon to the soup. Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
• Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed. Stir in the sugar, if using.
• Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the garlic herb garnish and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese before serving.

Video

Notes

• If using fresh peas, sauté them with the zucchini, carrots, potato and celery at the beginning of the recipe.

• If you prefer, you can use small pasta noodles instead of rice. I like using arborio rice because it gives the soup a lovely texture, but plain white rice can also be used.

• This soup can easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the bacon and using vegetable stock.

• For a vegan version, replace the butter with olive oil and omit the cheese.

• The soup keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freezes beautifully.

• Using dried beans: Use 115 g dried white haricot beans. Bring 850 ml water to a bubbling boil in a heavy-based medium saucepan. Add the beans and boil briskly for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave the beans to soak undisturbed for 1 hour. Return the saucepan to the stove and simmer the beans gently, uncovered, for 1 to 1½ hours, or until barely tender. Drain the beans well before adding them to the soup.