Basic Minestrone Soup Recipes

CONTEST-WINNING EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute the carrots, celery and onion in oil and butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, cabbage, basil, parsley, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni; cook, uncovered, 6-8 minutes or until macaroni and vegetables are tender., Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with cheese. Freeze option: Before adding cheese, freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

ITALIAN MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, roughly chopped onion, carrots, celery, garlic clove, and pancetta cubes. Sautee on medium heat for a few minutes stirring a couple of times in the process.
• Add potatoes, butternut squash, tomatoes, bay leaf, rosemary sprigs and a couple of pinches of salt.
• Give a nice stir and add enough water to cover all the veggies.Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Add more liquid if needed.
• Past this time veggies will become super soft and will "melt" one into another creating delicious creamy texture.
• Once veggies are cooked add chopped savoy cabbage or other leafy greens and drained canned beans. Add more water if needed. Give a nice stir and cook for another 15 minutes.
• As a last step, add pasta or rice. Let cook for 5-15 more minutes depending on how long pasta or rice will take to cook.
• If you're not planning to serve minestrone right away, don't add pasta or rice immediately.Instead, bring the soup to a boil when you're ready to serve it and then add pasta or rice.
• Minestrone is ready to serve when pasta (rice) is cooked. I takes about 5-6 minutes for ditalini pasta and about 15 minutes for rice.
• Serve hot or warm generously topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onions are turning translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes.
• Add the seasonal vegetables, garlic, oregano and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the diced tomatoes and their juices, broth and water. Add the salt, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper.
• Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pot with the lid, leaving about a 1" gap for steam to escape. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
• Cook for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and add the pasta, beans and greens. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the the pasta is cooked al dente and the greens are tender.
• Remove the pot from the heat, then remove the bay leaves. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste and season with more salt (I usually add about 1/4 teaspoon more) and pepper until the flavors really sing. Garnish bowls of soup with grated Parmesan, if you'd like.

MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.
• Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.

QUICK AND EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, rosemary and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to darken in color, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until the paste is smooth and incorporated into the liquid.
• Add the whole can of diced tomatoes (including the liquid), and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the pasta, the white beans and reserved liquid and the soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the pasta is al dente, 7 to 8 minutes, stirring in the green beans during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Serve in individual bowls with a little oil drizzled on top.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, red-pepper flakes, rosemary, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn golden, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes; cook until some of the liquid evaporates, 1 minute. Add potato, cabbage, cannellini beans, and 7 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in green beans.
• Reduce to a simmer, and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; stir in garlic, if using, and basil. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and, if using, torn basil. Drizzle with more oil, if desired.

EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 11 ingredients. Cook, covered, on low 6-8 hours or until vegetables are tender. , Just before serving, stir in macaroni; heat through. Serve with cheese.

EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Cook and stir garlic in hot oil until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir until slightly softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in carrots until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Pour chicken broth and diced tomatoes into onion mixture; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add red wine, reduce heat to low, and stir green beans, pinto beans, spinach, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper into broth mixture. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook seashell pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and stir pasta into soup. Ladle soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.

EASY MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add celery, carrots, and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add vegetable broth, marinara sauce, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until carrots are soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add pasta and zucchini. Cook until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in beans, kale, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat and allow soup to cool slightly. Spoon into individual bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.