Best Ever Minestrone Soup
April 25th, 2018 / By theAdmin
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This vegan minestrone soup is the PERFECT way to celebrate spring. Jam packed with so many new veggies, it tastes just like spring should; while being warm enough to battle the still cool evenings that April brings.
Spring has definitely sprung in the Rocky Mountains! The birds are singing, the worms are creeping and crawling around the garden and the weather is beautiful. There is always such an ENERGY this time of year. It’s a season of rebirth and new beginnings. We are loading up on all kinds of amazing fruits and vegetables that we have missed all winter long. Everything tastes so fresh and looks so colorful, it’s an exciting time of year.
Our family is celebrating new beginnings as well. What a perfect season to do that. We are so excited to announce that we are moving to the Eagle River right here in the Rocky Mountains. We will be building a little house, a BIG garden and (as Lucy loves to tell EVERYONE) a tree house. Living on the water with some space to stretch out has been a dream of ours for a long time, but has gotten even more important since we’ve had Lucy. We want our family to grow up in a place where we can all enjoy and appreciate the beauty and wonder around us.
So as we are planning and pondering the new beginnings for our family, we have been loving on all of the fresh spring bounty. This minestrone soup recipe speaks to the spring season better than I can. It’s full of beautiful fresh produce that just tastes like the season, fresh new beginnings and the certainty that it all comes around again.
Check in for updates on the new house and our exciting new beginnings. It’s going to be fun sharing this process along the way! We’ll have tips and tricks, and of course some good photos. Stay tuned for some really fun TRAVEL posts in the oming weeks too. We’ll have some exciting destinations as well as camping recipes to share.
Best Ever Minestrone Soup
This minestrone soup the PERFECT way to introduce spring. Jam packed with so many new veggies it just tastes like spring should, while being warm enough for the still cold evenings this time of year.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1.5 C Onion diced
- 5 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 C Carrots diced
- 1 C Celery diced
- 1 C Zucchini diced
- 1 C Green Beans sliced into 1/2" pieces
- 2 T Basil chopped
- 1 T Dried Oregano
- 1 sprig Fresh Rosemary
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 15 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes
- 1 15 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
- 6 C Vegetable Broth
- 1.5 C Whole Wheat Macaroni
- 3 C Baby Spinach roughly chopped
- 1 15 oz Can Kidney Beans
- 1 15 oz Can Cannelini Beans
- Kosher Salt to taste
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
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Over medium heat in a dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and sweat until they are translucent but with no color.
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Add in the zucchini and green beans along with the oregano, rosemary and bay leaves and saute for a few minutes to toast the herbs.
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Add the tomatoes and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
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Add in the beans and macaroni and simmer until the macaroni is tender, about 6 minutes.
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Stir in the baby spinach and fresh basil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
This minestrone soup is one of our family's favorite recipes for early spring in the Colorado mountains. It's so great for utilizing some of the fresh flavors of the first of spring veggies while keeping us warm on our cold Colorado nights. It freezes great so make a big batch! One tip though... If you're going to freeze some, cook the macaroni separately and add it in to the soup when you heat it up so it doesn't get mushy.
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barbara
GREAT. EASY, HEARTY AND DELICIOUS!
KellyLiken
We make it once a week this time of the year!