Vegan Minestrone Soup
on Apr 22, 2021, Updated Aug 26, 2024
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This easy vegan minestrone soup recipe is the perfect recipe for a 30-minute weeknight meal packed with hearty beans and veggies.
About the Recipe
This soup is loaded with veggies, pasta, beans and a delicious tomato broth. It’s a go-to at my house for busy weeknights when I don’t feel like cooking. This Vegan Vegetable Barley Soup and Vegan Curried Chickpea Stew are great for this too.
This recipe can be on the table in 30 minutes including prep time and makes a healthy, filling meal that the whole family will love. Here’s a bit more about it:
- Vegan, oil-free, can be gluten-free.
- Makes 6 large meal-sized servings or can be served as a starter or side for 8-10.
- Each serving contains just 131 calories and 1 gram of fat while providing 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.
- Easy to customize with different veggies like green beans or kidney beans for cannellini beans.
For more soups with pasta, this Vegan Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup and Vegan Lasagna Soup are really good too.
Ingredient Notes
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
- Pasta: Try bows, penne, shells or rotini, for a gluten-free recipe, use a gluten-free pasta like brown rice or quinoa (or lasagna noodles try my vegan lasagna soup).
- Kidney beans: Canned works just great, drain and rinse well before adding, chickpeas, white kidney beans or pinto beans make a good sub!
- Vegetables: For the flavour based use carrots, celery, onion, garlic. Feel free to add any other veggies you like, such as green beans or zucchini.
- Vegetable Broth: Homemade, carton, powder or cubes all work great. Choose no salt-added or low-sodium to keep the recipe lower in sodium.
- Canned diced tomatoes: I like fire roasted best but any kinds works, choose no salt-added if sodium intake is a concern.
- Dried Herbs: If you don’t have basil or oregano on hand, you can use 2 tsp Italian seasoning.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery to a large soup pot with 2-3 tbsp of water, broth or olive oil and cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes until soft and fragrant.
If the pan starts to dry out, add a little more water or broth as needed.
Step 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer lightly until the pasta is cooked al dente. This may take anywhere from 8-15 minutes depending on the pasta you use.
Quick Tip: Err on the side of slightly underdone and definitely for the pasta as it will continue to cook even after you turn off the heat and you want to avoid mushy pasta!
Step 3. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy! A sprinkle of fresh parsley and vegan parmesan are also yummy for topping.
Quick Tip: If you’d like to add some greens to the soup, stir in a few handfuls of spinach or chopped kale at the end.
FAQs
Sure! You can use any veggies you like, up to 2 cups in addition to the onion.
I would keep the onion and garlic in there but from there you can sub in other veggies like brussels sprouts, green beans, zucchini or bell peppers.
I sometimes add 2 cups of fresh spinach, collard greens or chopped kale at the end just to get some greens in there.
Since the soup already has pasta, potato wouldn’t be my go-to for this soup, though you can it them if you like. I would recommend peeling and slicing into small 1 cm cubes before adding so they cook fairly quickly. Add them when you add the diced tomatoes.
You can use any kind of pasta you like!
I’ve used whole wheat pasta like bows, rotini and fusilli. I would recommend sticking to short pasta shapes but if you want to use spaghetti or linguine, break the pieces in half or into thirds before adding to the soup for a more even cooking time.
To make it gluten-free minestrone, you can use chickpea pasta, lentil pasta or a quinoa or brown rice pasta.
Just check the cooking time for the type of pasta you use so you have a general idea of how long it will take to cook in the soup.
Sure! Chickpeas, white beans, black eye peas, pinto beans or even cooked green lentils would work! Simply swap out the can of kidney beans for whatever you have on hand.
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to comment section below to leave your star rating and review.
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Vegan Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large white onion, diced, approx. 2 cups (300 g)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 carrots, chopped, approx. 1 heaping cup (150 g)
- 2 ribs celery, chopped, approx. 1 cup (125 g)
- 1 x 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional, omit if sensitive to spice
- 1 1/4 cups small uncooked pasta of choice, such as bows or rotini, 85 g
- 19 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed , approx. 2 cups cooked beans, 330 g
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach , optional
Instructions
- Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery to a large pot and cook over medium heat in 2-3 tbsp of water or broth (or olive oil) for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently and adding water as needed if it starts to dry out.
- Add the canned diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, beans, broth and pasta and simmer lightly until the pasta is tender and cooked al dente, approximately 10-15 minutes depending on the kind of pasta you use.
- If you want to add some spinach or kale, stir that in now and turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally pubslihed September 28, 2018.
I make soup for unhoused neighbors and get a variety of donated canned goods….I’ve made this soup many times, using random combos of canned beans/veggies/tomatoes and seasoned with the giant donated container of Italian herb mix (subbing same amount as the total herb in the recipe.) If I don’t have fresh onions or garlic I use the dehydrated stuff from Costco, and just before serving I add whatever pasta I happen to have. As long as the tomato and herb balance are maintained it’s a very forgiving recipe and the result is always well received. A big plus if we have any parmesan for garnish!
That’s so awesome, thanks for sharing that! I’m so glad everyone enjoys it.
Your recipe calls for 4 cups broth but doesn’t specify when to add it. Can you please clarify?
It’s added in step 2. Thank you.
I made this the other night and it was great! We used macaroni since that was what was handy, as well a rehydrated cannelini beans. We added a little sirarcha to our to kick it up a bit and loved it. My kids also liked it blended up since they’re still not fully into chunky soups. Thanks!
Nice! That sounds great. You can’t go wrong with a little sriracha 😉 Glad you enjoyed it!
WOW!! This was really yummy and so easy to make. I added Frontier brand Italian Seasoning Blend and celery to frozen mixed veggies and it turned out great. Plus, it also looked fantastic!
This is really good — super quick and easy and just right on a cold winter’s night — and we’ve got plenty of those here in Boston! Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it! Agreed – quick, easy and so cozy. Thanks for the review!
Could I substitute garbanzo beans for kidney beans?
Sure. Enjoy!
Just made this tonight . Very good and simple. Liked it alot
Glad you enjoyed it!