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Springtime Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

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Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won’t miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup!

Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won't miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup! @WholeHeavenly

This soup. It’s bringing us outta thick-and-hearty soup season in style and throwing us into spring veggie paradise all at the same time.

Also, um. No meat in sight. WHAT? Who the heck am I and what have I done with Sarah the Carnivore?

You sure wouldn’t know it if you took one look at my dinner archives, but believe it or not, guys, I’m actually okay without meat every now and then. I certainly ENJOY meat, but really the only meats I actually like are leaner ones like chicken and turkey. And I don’t need to have them every day either…

My carnivorous brothers think I’m insane that I would choose chicken over beef any day. Just like I think they’re insane that they would choose pasta over quinoa. I mean, SERIOUSLY guys! Get with the trends for today!

Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won't miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup! @WholeHeavenly

Disclaimer: I love pasta with a huge and slightly-disturbing passion, but I also love quinoa equally.

Lastly, don’t cry, Mr. Quinoa because we’re giving Ms. Penne the spotlight today. Your turn is coming, I promise.

So this minestrone business. Love it or hate it? If you know me at all I’m guessing you probably know what my answer is:

Love. Love, love, LOVE.

And FYI: That’s a lotta’ love right there. And it’s all poured into this minestrone which makes it all the much more amazing.

Also, I’m pretty much the corniest person I’ve ever met. Eeeek….

Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won't miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup! @WholeHeavenly

Everyone I know has their own special way to make minestrone. This just so happens to be MY way. It’s the way my mom always made her minestrone when I was a kid and it’s the way I’ll probably always make mine. Granted, my mom did usually add meat to hers and I didn’t for mine. I found that it was already so loaded with veggies, pasta, and comfort, I didn’t even need it.

And I kinda wouldn’t love it any other way. ♥

Vegetarians, rejoice!

Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won't miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup! @WholeHeavenly

The veggie-list itself in this minestrone adds up to probably about 57 kinds of veggies in total. I happened to be cleaning out my fridge at the same time I was making the ingredient list for this minestrone, so somehow um, all the veggies in the fridge ended up getting thrown into the pot.

Good life decision on my part. More veggies = Longer and and just plain happy life. And a pretty dang-good minestrone. TRUTH! There’s so much flavor loaded into this pot, I swear your tastebuds will faint from happiness.

The great thing about minestrone soup is that it’s SO adaptable in the veggie department. Out of carrots? Throw in some extra celery. Don’t like spinach? Toss in a few handfuls of kale!

Of course, for the meat-lover there’s always the option of throwing in some cooked chicken too. I won’t juuuuuuuuudge ‘ya.

Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won't miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup! @WholeHeavenly

But still: Never underestimate the power of veggies and pasta. They are a total dark horse in the minestrone department.

This potful of springtime comfort food is calling your name. You’re gonna looooooove it.

All hail the springtime soups! Bring iiiiiiiiit.

Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won't miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup! @WholeHeavenly

5 from 3 votes
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Springtime Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

Loaded with tons of spring veggies and packed with an unbelievable amount of flavor, you won't miss the meat at all in this comforting vegetarian minestrone soup!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 cups zucchini diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 can 28 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 can 15 oz kidney beans, drained
  • 6 cups vegetable broth OR chicken broth for a non-vegetarian option
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups uncooked penne pasta
  • 2 cups baby spinach coarsely chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil until just barely tender. Reduce heat to medium and stir in tomato paste, tomatoes, and beans.
  2. Gradually add vegetable broth and Italian seasoning. Bring to a low simmer, stirring occasionally. Stir in penne pasta and spinach, then let soup simmer until pasta is cooked and veggies are tender, about 7 minutes. Season minestrone with salt and pepper and serve warm.

Comments

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    • Oooh sausage thrown into the mix sounds absolutely awesome! So gotta try that next time.
      Thanks for all the pin love, Helen! You’re the best, girl. xoxo 🙂

      Reply

    • It’s my go-to dinner too, Denise! Seriously soooo simple and flavor-loaded. You just can’t beat it on a crazy weeknight! 😉 Thanks for the sweet words and for the photo love, girl!

      Reply

  18. I so agree “more veggies = Longer and and just plain happy life”!!! Which means eating this gorgeously flavorful minestrone will leave me happy all day – heck, I need to make me enough so I have leftovers for the whole week! 🙂

    Reply

  23. I just guessed at what point does the onion and spinach goes in the pot. I read it over and over if I skiped a part.

    Reply

  26. Hey Sarah the carnivore! I am just wondering if you used an old picture of your minestrone because those little pieces of ground turkey look just like little pieces of ground turkey. If not, what ingredient created those little pieces? Thanks!

    Reply

  27. I made this soup last night and it was amazing! Minestrone soup is one of my favorites and have recently started looking for vegetarian soup recipes. This is a keeper!!!

    Reply

  28. Making this savory soup for dinner! It smells so delicious! I have never made any type of soup before! Your recipe inspired me to try making something new!! Im sure it will be a recipe in my cook book forever! Great recipe!

    Reply

  31. Win! simple, and easy. I pre-cooked celery, garlic, onions, with olive oil, so the wouldn’t be crunchy in the soup. Also, I bought organic precooked carrots. good recipe! thank you for sharing! 🙂

    Reply

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