This deliciously hearty plant-filled Minestrone Soup is based on a classic recipe that's common in Italy- specifically the island of Sardinia. Traditionally made with a variety of seasonal vegetables and pulses, this homemade soup is served nearly daily by the long-lived residents of the Blue Zone of Sardinia.
One of the biggest revelations from learning about how the world's longest and healthiest peoples live, is how often they eat pulses such as chickpeas, beans and lentils, as well as their connection to the land via gardening and growing produce as well as strong community ties.
The so-called Blue-Zones around the world include the Island of Sardinia, and this soup is inspired by one that I've eaten whilst visiting there. It's humble but packed with flavor. I'll include some hints below for how you can make it ahead of time and add to it to make it thriftier and easier for those of us with busy city lives.
I adore Italian cooking, and have spent many happy holidays and visits to Italy along with some of my favorite Italian friends for celebrations and just because. The link between delicious food and great produce is key to Italian cooking. Some of my favorite recipes are real celebrations of perfectly ripe tomatoes and basil, like this Tomato Pesto Bruschetta appetizer. Or a simple ingredient is turned into a star like in this Garlicky Cavolo Nero Pasta. And never forget to make your own Easy Vegan Basil Pesto whenever you can, the flavor is unbeatable!
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🍲Ingredients
Don't be alarmed at the quantity of vegetables below- all are easily substituted or left out if needed. Remember that this Sardinian minestrone is a celebration of plant-based and local cooking and reflects what you might pick from your garden in a day, or find down the local market.
- Beans:- I chose Fava beans, Borlotti beans and chickpeas for this version, however you can use butterbeans/lima beans, navy beans, adzuki beans or cannellini beans. I make this recipe most often with canned beans, however I'll include a method to make it with dried beans.
- Tin of tomatoes or tomato passata- for flavor, if you have ripe tomatoes you can use these instead. You can also add in a tablespoon of tomato paste for extra umami flavor.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- good quality olive oil is essential! Traditionally it would be a local harvest olive oil, so choose a good quality version.
- Onion- Onion for flavor- you can choose a leek instead if that's what's available.
- Celery- Optional, but a traditional part of the soffritto (or holy trinity) for making a good soup.
- Carrot- For sweetness and again is traditionally part of the soffritto.
- Fennel- fennel is sweet and has a faint aniseed flavor. If you have some left over it makes a delicious salad.
- Garlic- Of course! Fresh garlic is best.
- Potato- a few waxy type potatoes add bulk and texture plus help thicken the soup slightly.
- Oregano, Thyme, Bay Leaf- All or any of these herbs. Choose dried or fresh.
- Greens: Such as kale, broccoli or cabbage. Choose whatever greens you have that look fresh. I put Cavolo Nero (Italian Black Kale) in the photos, however any green is delicious.
- Fresh Parsley: Use this like a green, stirring in a big bunch.
- Nutritional Yeast: I've made this minestrone soup plant-based, so have substituted nutritional yeast for the traditional pecorino or parmesan cheese.
- Soup Pasta: Choose a short pasta such as orzo or little hoops as pictured. You can choose gluten-free pasta if you wish.
- Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper, plus optional red pepper flakes for a lil kick.
- Vegetable Broth : This is optional, but you can use veggie broth if you wish. Traditionally water is used as there is so much flavor from all the vegetables, however a good broth will add to the overall flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
👩🍳Instructions
Start by peeling and finely chopping all the vegetables into 1cm pieces (approx) . I like to keep my potato peel on, but you do you. Get out an extra large pot to cook in!
- In a large saucepan or stove top safe casserole dish sauté the onion, carrots, celery and fennel in plenty of olive oil until the carrot is softened and the onion translucent. Add the garlic and sautee.
2. Add the tomatoes, water, potatoes and beans along with the herbs. Season with salt and simmer until the potato is soft and it all smells delicious.
3. Once the potato is softened, add more water or vegetable stock as needed, then add in the soup pasta and nutritional yeast. Simmer until the pasta is nearly soft.
4. About 5 minutes before serving, add the parsley and greens you have chosen. Adjust the seasoning and serve once the greens are softened.
Hint: If making this soup ahead of time, make it up to the point you add in the pasta, then when ready to serve, bring to a simmer and add in the pasta, cook for 5 minutes and add the greens. This way you don't end up with mushy pasta and overcooked greens.
🥄Dried Beans Cooking Method
You will need about 125 g of each type of bean (or 375 g/ approx 2 cups dried beans) If you want to cook this soup with dried beans, first soak the beans overnight in plenty of water. Drain the beans when ready to cook.
Sautee the onion, celery and carrots etc (Step 1) and then add the beans into the pot along with the tomatoes, herbs and plenty of water or veggie broth. Simmer until softened (about 45 minutes). Top up water as needed. Add the potatoes when the beans are nearly soft. Then proceed with steps 3 and 4.
Serve this soup with plenty of crusty bread, a healthy glass of red wine and good company!
🍅Substitutions & Variations
I think the most wonderful thing about this healthy minestrone soup, is that you can customize it in so many ways, so you can be sure your whole family will enjoy it. Here are some ideas:
- Gluten-Free- For a gluten-free option, simply choose gluten-free pasta, or omit the pasta altogether and add some rice or barley.
- Other Fresh Veggies: This soup is one you can really go to town on with all kinds of fresh veggies. Why not try fresh green beans or baby spinach (add at the end), bell peppers or yellow squash.
- Other Beans: I like to make this soup with a variety of hearty beans for texture. Try a combination of white beans, dark red kidney beans, adzuki beans or butter beans.
- Seasoning: If you don't have the herbs specified in the recipe, add a teaspoon of Italian Seasoning to replace them. You can also add a hint of red pepper flakes for a bit of heat.
- Sweet Potatoes: Choose sweet potatoes in place of regular potatoes.
- Fresh tomatoes: if you are lucky enough to have great tomatoes available to you, simply use diced tomatoes in place of the canned tomatoes.
- Onions/Leeks: In place of the white onion you can use a red onion, shallots or leeks. I do think some kind of onion flavor is key however.
🔪Equipment
I make this soup in a large stove-top casserole dish on the stove top, however you could make it in a slow cooker or your Instant Pot should you have one.
🥫Storage
Like any good homemade soup, it tastes better the next day, and is perfect for meal prepping. Store leftover soup in an airtight container either in the fridge for up to 5 days, or portion out in one or two person portions, and freeze. You can reheat the soup from frozen (great for a quick dinner on busy weeknights!)
❗Top tip
If you make a large batch of this minestrone soup but prefer your pasta al-dente, separate out the soup you want to eat and only add the pasta and greens to that portion. Freeze or refrigerate the rest of the soup and add cook the pasta and greens in the soup as you reheat.
FAQ
Yes you can freeze minestrone soup. Ideally freeze in one or two person portions so you can easily have a single serve of soup for lunch. If you freeze the soup with pasta added the pasta might be softer when reheated.
Minestrone soup is so hearty it can feel like a meal on it's own. I like to serve mine with crusty bread, some extra fresh parsley on top and maybe a side salad.
Minestrone soup is very healthy as it has plenty of plant-based protein from the beans, is packed with vegetables and is low in fat.
Love soup?
Try some of my other delicious and hearty soup recipes.
Pasta lover?
Here are some other easy and healthy pasta recipes.
📖 Recipe
Hearty Plant-Based Minestrone Soup-Sardinian Style
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 ⅖ cups) borlotti beans (equivalent to 1 standard 400g tin/15 oz can)
- 250 g (1 ½ cups) chickpeas (equivalent to 1 standard 400g tin/15 oz can)
- 250 g (1 ½ cups) fava beans (equivalent to 1 standard 400g tin/15 oz can)
- 125 g (⅘ cups) onion (1 small onion)
- 125 g (1 cups) carrot (1 small)
- 65 g (⅔ cups) celery (1 medium stick)
- 3 cloves fresh garlic (more if you love garlic)
- 100 g (1 cups) fennel (about half a bulb)
- 200 g (1 cups) potato (about one medium)
- 400 g (2 ⅔ cups) chopped tomatoes (1 400g/15oz can)
- 150 g (1 3/7 cups) short soup pasta (orzo, ditaloni or similar)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary (and/or oregano)
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 litre (35 ¼ oz) water (OR veggie stock)
- 100 g (5 cups) kale, cavolo nero or broccoli (about 5 leaves)
- 15 g nutritional yeast
- 50 g (⅚ cups) fresh parsley (and maybe more to sprinkle )
Instructions
For the soup
- Wash and finely dice all the vegetables into 1-2 cm pieces. (so they are easy to scoop up with a spoon) . Open the cans of beans and rinse before using.
- Use a large pan - and into this add the onion, carrot, fennel and celery and sweat it slowly in the olive oil until the onion caramelises. (This creates a lovely rich flavour, so be sure to not miss out this part!)125 g onion, 125 g carrot, 65 g celery, 100 g fennel, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the garlic and potatoes, cook until the garlic softens.3 cloves fresh garlic, 200 g potato
- Add the beans to the pan, along with the tomatoes (see instructions notes if using dried beans)250 g borlotti beans, 250 g chickpeas, 250 g fava beans, 400 g chopped tomatoes
- Add the herbs, nutritional yeast and water or veggie stock. Simmer slowly for at least half an hour until the flavors start to meld and the cubes of potatoes are fully soft. .1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, 1 teaspoon thyme, 2-3 bay leaves, 1 litre water, 15 g nutritional yeast
- Add the pasta and cook until al dente.150 g short soup pasta
- about 5 minutes before serving, add the greens and the parsley and cook until wilted.100 g kale, cavolo nero or broccoli, 50 g fresh parsley
- Serve immediately with extra parsley and nutritional yeast on top
mlz says
are we adding the canned liquid or rinsing the canned beans before adding them??
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
I prefer to rinse my beans before adding them for soups and stews. (Will update the recipe to reflect that)
Anna says
Fantastic and so easy to make. I loved the addition of fava beans and chickpeas, makes it so filling. Will be repeating it very soon!