This Summer Minestrone Soup combines an abundance of fresh summer produce with tender pasta, white beans, a simple seasoned tomato broth, a dollop of fresh pesto for added brightness, and crispy Brussels sprouts for a bit of smoky crunch. It’s hearty, healthy, filling, flavorful, and brimming with protein and fiber.
Have a bunch of summer produce laying around in your fridge with no idea what to do with it? Have no fear, we’ve got you covered. That’s how we ended up with this Summer Minestrone Soup.
Any produce you have can basically be thrown into a Dutch oven and tossed with a few simple ingredients to make a delicious, healthy soup.
This recipe includes a whopping 10 veggies. Onion, garlic, celery, carrots, leeks, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, kale, and Brussels sprouts.
I know. Holy cow. It will take about 15 minutes to get all the veggies cleaned, peeled (if necessary), cut, and ready to go. But trust us, it is worth it!
After that it’s a total of 30 minutes of simmering time before you’ve got a yummy, filling soup on your table. Plus it makes amazing leftovers and is super freezer friendly for future meals (hello, meal prep friends!).
Right now, I’m 24 weeks pregnant and I’m already making a list of freeze-ahead family-friendly meals for when baby arrives in November. And you’d better believe this one is at the top of the list. I can’t wait to enjoy fresh summer produce in the middle of winter!
Summer Minestrone Soup Ingredients
- Fresh summer produce – onion, garlic, celery, carrots, leeks, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, kale, and Brussels sprouts. This soup is basically a massive collection of the best, fresh summer produce. Use it all or pick and choose, it’s up to you!
- Pasta – small pastas work best in this recipe (ditalini, mini bowties, mezze penne, small shells).
- Cannellini beans – add a robustness to this soup, plus they pack in some protein in this meatless soup.
- Vegetable broth – serves as the base for the simple soup broth.
- Fire roasted tomatoes – add a dose of peppery, tomatoy goodness give the broth more depth.
- Pesto – our favorite addition to this soup. Pesto gives this soup a bright and delicious herbiness. Try our kale pesto or pumpkin seed pesto for an extra boost of freshness!
- Seasonings – dried basil, oregano, salt and pepper add a ton of flavor to the broth.
- Parmesan cheese – a salty, nutty (and completely optional) topping. Omit or swap with vegan Parmesan or nutritional yeast to keep this recipe vegan.
How to Make Minestrone Soup
Prepare the Vegetables
First, prepare the vegetables. Dice the onion. Mince the garlic. Slice the celery. Peel and slice the carrots. Quarter the zucchini and squash. Trim and cut the green beans. Remove the green stalks from the leeks, slice the white end, and wash the sliced leek in a bowl of water to remove dirt. Remove the kale ribs and coarsely chop the leaves. Trim and slice the Brussels sprouts.
Prepare the Broth and Pasta
In a large dutch oven, heat the of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery (mirepoix). Cook 4 to 5 minutes. Add the leeks and cook 1 minute. Add the broth and tomatoes. Season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
During the last 10 minutes of simmering, bring a separate sauce pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook according to package directions, about 7 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside. Alternately, you can add the pasta to the soup 7 to 8 minutes before you are ready to serve. We recommend cooking pasta separately to prevent water logged, squishy pasta in leftover soup.
Roast the Brussels Sprouts
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
At the end of simmer time, toss the sliced Brussels sprouts with avocado oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Spread the sprouts out on a large baking sheet. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing halfway through. The sprouts should be blackened in spots and crispy (but don’t let them burn!). Remove from the oven and set aside.
Finish the Minestrone Soup
While the Brussels sprouts cook, add the green beans, zucchini, and squash and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the kale and beans and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Divide the pasta among bowls. Ladle the soup over the pasta and top with prepared pesto, crispy Brussels sprouts, and Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Tips and Modifications
- Cook the pasta separately – my favorite soup-making trick is to cook the pasta separately. It allows you to store the broth and pasta separately, preventing bloated, gummy pasta when you reheat or thaw frozen soup. Instead, add pre-cooked pasta to your bowl and ladle hot soup over it. No soggy noodles needed.
- Don’t cook all the produce at the same time – it is tempting (especially in this lengthy recipe) to throw all the veggies in the pot at the same time, mix in some broth, simmer and call it a day. Don’t. We add veggies in a specific way because we want to retain the crispness of the produce in the soup. Crunchier veggies go first (carrots, onion, celery), followed by soft veggies (zucchini, squash) or veggies that wilt quickly (kale) at the end. This makes for a fresher soup when first served. Left overs and frozen soup will have softer vegetables no matter what you do.
- Add meat – In the last few minutes of cooking, toss in pre-cooked rotisserie or shredded chicken, mini turkey meatballs, or Italian or spicy chicken or turkey sausage. If the meat is raw, add it to the pan when you add the first vegetables. If you want to keep it vegan but want another dose of protein, consider adding a second can of beans (cannellini, chickpea, kidney, etc.) or top with crispy tofu before serving.
- Use fresh herbs – we used dry herbs in this recipe because you’ll likely have those on hand. But fresh herbs take this soup to the next level. Just increase the herb quantity by a factor of 4 for fresh herbs.
How to Store Minestrone Soup
Refrigerate – Allow the soup to cool. Store the pasta and the soup in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, add the broth to a saucepan and warm over the stove. Add the desired amount of pasta to individual bowls and ladle reheated soup over the pasta.
Freeze – Allow the soup to cool. Ladle the soup into a gallon size freezer bag until the bag is about halfway full. You don’t want to fill it too much, as the soup will expand when frozen and could tear the bag. Repeat until all of the soup is stored in a bag. Lay the bag(s) of soup flat on a cookie sheet and freeze overnight. Remove the soup from the cookie sheet and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To reheat, thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Then heat the soup in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed. As the soup heats, make fresh pasta according to package directions. Add pasta to individual bowls and ladle the soup over the pasta.
Let us know what you think about this Summer Minestrone Soup by dropping a comment and/or rating below! Please also consider sharing on social media/Pinterest if you enjoyed this recipe (we greatly appreciate it)! 💕
Be sure to check out our other crowd-pleasing soups!
- Chickpea Minestrone Soup
- Fall Minestrone Soup
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Pumpkin Miso Ramen
- Coconut Chickpea Green Curry
Summer Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
Minestrone Soup
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 celery ribs, sliced
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 bunch leeks, green ends removed, white portion thinly sliced
- 6 c low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 c uncooked small pasta (mini bowties, ditalini, mezze penne, etc.)
- 1½ c green beans, cut to 1 inch pieces
- 1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
- 1 yellow squash, sliced and quartered
- 2 c kale, stems removed and coarsely chopped
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained
- ¼ c pesto (try kale pesto or pumpkin seed pesto)
- ¼ c shredded Parmesan or vegan Parmesan
Crispy Brussels Sprouts
- 8 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil (or other high heat oil)
- ½ tsp granulated garlic
- ¼ tsp salt
- cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- First, prepare the vegetables. Dice the onion. Mince the garlic. Slice the celery. Peel and slice the carrots. Quarter the zucchini and squash. Trim and cut the green beans. Remove the green stalks from the leeks, slice the white end, and wash the sliced leek in a bowl of water to remove dirt. Remove the kale ribs and coarsely chop the leaves. Trim and slice the Brussels sprouts.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery (mirepoix). Cook 4 to 5 minutes. Add the leeks and cook 1 minute. Add the broth and tomatoes. Season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
- During the last 10 minutes of simmering, bring a separate sauce pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook according to package directions, about 7 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside. Alternately, you can add the pasta to the soup 7 to 8 minutes before you are ready to serve. We recommend cooking pasta separately to prevent water logged, squishy pasta in leftover soup.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- At the end of simmer time, toss the sliced Brussels sprouts with avocado oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Spread the sprouts out on a large baking sheet. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing halfway through. The sprouts should be blackened in spots and crispy (but don't let them burn!). Remove from the oven and set aside.
- While the Brussels sprouts cook, add the green beans, zucchini, and squash and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the kale and beans and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Divide the pasta among bowls. Ladle the soup over the pasta and top with prepared pesto, crispy Brussels sprouts, and Parmesan cheese.
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