Vegetable Minestrone Soup

This homemade vegetable minestrone soup is hearty comfort food at its finest! Load it up with veggies, beans, and pasta and enjoy a cozy one-pot meal.

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Some vegetable soups leave you hungry for more. But this vegetable minestrone soup? It’s definitely the kind of soup you can make a meal out of. Minestrone is satisfying and hearty, with beans and pasta in every spoonful.

And, of course, you can’t forget the vegetables! They’re simmered to perfection here and infused with savoury flavour thanks to the rich tomato base. While I used the veggies that I happened to have on hand, you don’t have to stick with those—vegetable minestrone is the perfect clean-out-your-crisper-drawer kind of recipe.

What Is the Difference Between Minestrone and Vegetable Soup?

A traditional vegetable soup typically contains vegetables in a tomato broth, while minestrone adds pasta and beans. Minestrone soups are often more heavily seasoned, with plenty of Italian herbs for a boost of flavour. Although it’s certainly not a traditional addition, I love adding za’atar to minestrone, which contains some of those classic Italian herbs, but also sesame seeds and spices like cumin and coriander, giving the soup more depth.

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Notes on Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

Oil – Olive oil is the traditional choice when making minestrone, but you can use any oil you keep on hand for cooking.
Red onion – Yellow or white are fine too, or swap the onion for shallots.
Celery
Carrot
Yellow squash – Zucchini is an easy substitute for yellow squash, or try an heirloom summer squash variety like pattypan or zephyr.
Garlic
Tomatoes – You can also use a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes with its juices.
Tomato paste – If you buy a can of tomato paste for this recipe, you can freeze the leftovers in 1-tablespoon portions so you have tomato paste on hand the next time you need it!
Salt and pepper
Italian seasoning – Or use 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, and 1 teaspoon dried basil.
Red kidney beans or cannellini beans
Vegetable broth – Use a high-quality store-bought broth, or use my homemade vegetable broth recipe.
Dry pasta – Shells, orecchiette, macaroni, or any other shape you’d like.
Spinach – Substitute kale for a heartier green, or use chard leaves and add the stems in with the onions, celery, and carrot.
Lime – The acid of fresh lime juice adds another layer of flavour to this vegetable minestrone. Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar can be substituted, or try lemon juice.
Optional ingredients and toppings – Extra-virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, parsley, za’atar, parsley, crusty bread, vegan Parmesan

Is Vegetable Broth the Same as Stock?

Although many people use the two terms interchangeably, vegetable broth and vegetable stock aren’t the same. Vegetable stock is unseasoned, while vegetable broth has salt and other seasonings added. You can use vegetable stock for this minestrone soup recipe, but you’ll need to add more salt to taste.

How to Make Vegetable Minestrone Soup

This minestrone soup recipe comes together quickly, so it’s perfect for a weeknight dinner. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

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Cook the vegetables. Set a large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of the oil and once it’s shimmering, stir in the onions, celery, carrots, squash, and garlic. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.

Add the tomatoes, beans, and seasonings. Stir the tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, seasonings, and the remaining oil into the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil.

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Cook the pasta. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then add the pasta. Continue to simmer the soup for about 20 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

Finish. Remove the soup from the heat and season to taste. Stir in the spinach and lime juice, then serve.

Tips for Success

Here are some simple tips to help you make the perfect pot of vegan minestrone soup.

Start with a high-quality broth. In a soup like this, the broth makes all the difference. I love using an all-natural veggie broth paste, or try making your own broth at home.
Cook the pasta until it’s al dente. The pasta will continue to soften in the warm soup even after you remove the pot from the stovetop (and if you have leftovers that you reheat), so to keep it from getting mushy, you’ll only want to cook it until it’s al dente—i.e., soft enough to eat, but still with a bit of bite to it.
Make it your own. Add green beans, switch up the greens, throw in some diced red bell peppers—the beauty of minestrone is that it’s easy to customize.

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Serving Suggestions

Traditional minestrone is often simmered with a Parmesan rind in the broth for extra flavour. That’s not an option with vegan minestrone, but you can sprinkle on some of my vegan Parmesan just before serving for some added cheesiness.

I love serving this minestrone with crusty roasted garlic bread , or you can pair it with my caprese sandwich with parsley pesto for a soup-and-sandwich dinner. A simple salad like my easy vegan Caesar salad is great with minestrone, too!

How to Store Leftovers

Refrigerate any leftover vegetable minestrone in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can either reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat.

Can This Recipe Be Frozen?

Like most soups, this minestrone recipe freezes beautifully. Place it in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat according to the instructions above.

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Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons oil
1 large red onion, diced (188g)
4 stalks celery diced
1 large carrot (226g) diced or two medium size carrots
1 medium yellow squash chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced (12g)
26 ounces fresh tomatoes (737g) chopped - you can also use a 28oz can diced tomatoes with its juices
1 tablespoon tomato paste (16.5g)
salt & pepper to taste I use 3/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning or 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon za’atar optional but adds a boost in flavour
15 ounce can of red kidney beans or cannellini (white beans)
6 cups vegetable broth*
1 cup dry pasta such as shells orecchiette or tortellini or any gluten free pasta
1 cup spinach
Juice of one limes about 1-2 tablespoons squeezed over
Toppings Optional: Oil drizzle, red pepper flakes, parsley, and/or sprinkle of zaatar or parsley, Crusty bread and vegan Parmesan

Instructions

In a large, deep pot over medium high heat, add half of the oil.
Add the onions, celery, carrot, squash and minced garlic. Stir together and allow to sweat for about 8 minutes, to soften and release natural juices from the veggies.
Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper, Italian seasonings, za’atar, and kidney beans. Add in other half of the oil, stir together. Pour in the vegetable broth and stir again.
Bring to a boil, and then to a simmer. Add in the dry pasta and simmer for 20 minutes, until the pasta is fully cooked.
Remove soup from heat and taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed. You really want to ensure you’ve added enough to bring out all the flavours. Stir in the spinach and lime juice. The residual heat will help to add heat to all of these.
Allow soup to cool slightly then serve!

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Vegetable Minestrone Soup https://jessicainthekitchen.com/hearty-minestrone-soup-one-pot-comforting/ March 29, 2023

These vegan bacon crumbs are smoky, crunchy, and salty, just like real bacon! They’re made out of coconut, take just 20 minutes to make, and are gluten-free.

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Bacon is one of the most universally loved foods in the world. It has so many amazing flavors: it’s sweet, salty, smoky, savory, and rich. It’s also pure meat, so I decided to find the best recipe for vegan bacon crumbles. The goal was to find a plant-based recipe that had all the flavor and indulgence of bacon bits, that I could easily put together in my own kitchen.

This recipe does exactly that. It uses flaked coconut, which is rich, nutty, and has a fatty flavor. Tamari, liquid smoke , paprika, and maple syrup give the vegan bacon crumbles the traditional bacon flavor. This recipe is fun and easy to make, and only takes about 20 minutes. Plus, it’s gluten-free! Give this to a bacon lover in your life, and they might not even know that it’s not real bacon!

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Notes on Ingredients

Here are the five ingredients that you need to make vegan bacon crumbles out of coconut. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page to find the exact amounts for each ingredient.

Flaked coconut – Make sure to use unsweetened, un-toasted coconut for this recipe.
Tamari
Liquid smoke
Maple syrup – You want to use 100% pure maple syrup for vegan bacon.
Smoked paprika

What is Tamari?

Tamari is a sauce made from fermented soybeans. It is very similar to soy sauce, but usually uses no wheat, making it gluten-free (always check the label though, as some brands use a small amount of wheat). You can use soy sauce in this recipe if you’re not trying to make gluten-free vegan bacon crumbles.

How to Make Vegan Bacon Crumbles

Here’s how to make these super simple plant-based bacon bits. They only take 20 minutes!

Prep. Preheat your oven to 350F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put the coconut in a bowl. Place the flaked coconut in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the ingredients. In a smaller bowl, add the tamari, liquid smoke, maple syrup, and smoked paprika, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture over the coconut and mix until all the pieces of coconut are coated.

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Bake. Put the flaked coconut on the baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, then cool and eat!

Tips for Success

Here are some tricks and tips to use when making these coconut vegan bacon crumbles.

Spread out the coconut. When baking these plant-based vegan crumbles, spread the coconut out across the baking sheet so that the pieces aren’t touching each other too much. If you crowd the shaved coconut, the bacon bits will be a little bit limp and soggy instead of crispy and crunchy.
Watch for burning. This recipe can burn super easily, so keep an eye on it when it’s in the oven. Start checking on it before the 12 minutes are up, to make sure it’s not burning. If you notice that the vegan bacon is getting too dark, pull it out of the oven immediately.
Have fun with seasonings. This recipe has just 5 ingredients, but you can add to it if you want. Bacon is a food that you can buy with a lot of different flavor options, so have fun seasoning your plant-based bacon the way you like it. You can add more or less of the listed ingredients, or add other flavors like garlic, pepper, and chilis.

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How to Serve Vegan Bacon Crumbles

You can use these vegan bacon crumbles in any recipe that calls for bacon bits. However, my favorite way to use them is simply by putting them on top of a salad! Here are a few of my favorite recipes to add vegan bacon crumbles to.

Vegan quiche muffins with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach
Easy vegan caesar salad
The best vegan potato salad
Creamy garlic mushroom pasta

How to Store

You can store vegan bacon crumbles in an airtight bag or container in the fridge for up to a week. However, this recipe loses some of its texture when placed in the fridge.

Can I Freeze This Recipe?

Freezing is my preferred way to store vegan bacon crumbles. Put them in an airtight bag, get all the excess air out, and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. They’ll thaw at room temperature very quickly.