Vegetable Minestrone Soup

LeAnn

Vegetable minestrone soup is a hearty and filling soup made with vegetables, chicken broth, tomato paste and ditalini. A true comfort food!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Servings

Calories 247 kcal

1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped into rounds
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 32 oz carton low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 small or medium zucchini, cut in half and chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 handful fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil (you can substitute fresh if desired)
fine sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup ditalini pasta (cook desired amount to be added to soup when ready to serve)

Prepare vegetables by chopping everything up. (I like them fairly chunky)
Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven pan and saute only the onion, celery, and carrots until they are starting to become tender. When the veggies are tender add two minced garlic cloves and saute for a minute or two.
Next add a carton of low sodium chicken or vegetable broth and two tablespoons of tomato paste (I like the tube tomato paste). Bring everything to a boil.
While soup is heating up, start to cook ditalini pasta in salted, boiling water to al dente in a separate medium saucepan. I use 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta depending on how much you like in your soup. You can also leave out the pasta if you want this to be strictly a vegetable minestrone soup.
Add the zucchini to the veggies and broth in the dutch oven and boil for about 5 minutes or until slightly tender.
Add the potatoes and boil for five minutes or less until they are barely tender. The potatoes usually cook fairly quickly. You don't want to end up with overcooked and mushy vegetables.
Add chopped parsley, basil and salt and pepper to taste and simmer a couple of minutes longer and serve immediately. I add the ditalini pasta to individual bowls so that it doesn't absorb the broth. Add some fresh grated parmesan cheese and a few dried red pepper flakes to taste!
Calories based on using 1 cup ditalini.

Calories: 247kcal

Keyword Vegetable minestrone soup, vegetable soup, minestrone soup

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