Vegetable Minestrone Variations (Printable)

Hearty Italian soup with seasonal vegetables, pasta, and beans. Adaptable for any season with fresh ingredients.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, diced
03 - 2 carrots, diced
04 - 2 celery stalks, diced
05 - 1 small zucchini, diced (summer) or 1 small butternut squash, diced (winter)
06 - 1 cup green beans, chopped or 1 cup chopped kale/spinach (winter)
07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
09 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced (optional)

→ Broth & Beans

10 - 6 cups vegetable broth
11 - 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
12 - 3.5 ounces small pasta such as ditalini, elbow, or shells
13 - Salt and pepper to taste

→ Herbs & Seasonings

14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
16 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
17 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
18 - Grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

# Directions:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrots, and celery; sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in minced garlic, zucchini or squash, and green beans or kale. Cook for 3 minutes.
03 - Add diced tomatoes, diced potato if using, and bay leaf. Cook for 2 minutes, then pour in vegetable broth.
04 - Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
05 - Add drained beans and pasta. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes until pasta and vegetables are tender.
06 - Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Remove bay leaf and stir in chopped parsley.
07 - Ladle into bowls and top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve with crusty bread and extra virgin olive oil.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like homemade comfort without requiring you to spend your entire evening cooking.
  • The soup transforms completely depending on the season, so you'll never get bored making it again and again.
  • Beans and pasta together mean this actually fills you up, which feels like a small victory on a cold day.
  • You can throw it together with whatever vegetables aren't quite sad yet, making your fridge feel less like a graveyard.
02 -
  • Don't skip the initial 5-minute sauté of onion, carrot, and celery—this isn't a shortcut situation, and rushing it makes the soup taste thin and forgettable.
  • Add pasta and beans only in the last 10 to 12 minutes, otherwise they'll dissolve into the broth and turn everything into mush with no texture left to enjoy.
03 -
  • Keep your knife sharp and your cuts roughly the same size so everything cooks at the same pace and nobody ends up with hard carrot while their zucchini has turned to mush.
  • Taste the broth before you add salt, because it already contains some and you can always add more but you can't take it out.
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