Vegan Minestrone Soup

Vegan Minestrone is simply delicious. Enjoy this delightful vegan minestrone recipe for lunch or dinner, or freeze it for future meals.

I find myself on a treadmill at the gym, watching Rachel Ray occasionally. Unfortunately, I watched her take a potentially vegan minestrone soup and turn it into a fat-filled pot of unnecessary calories and fat. So, as always, I thought about how I would make a vegan minestrone soup recipe healthier than I see on TV.

Jump to:

• Soup Ingredients
• Soup Ingredient Substitutions
• Cooking the Soup
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• Try These Vegan Soup Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Although Rachel used many vegetables, she sautéed them in olive oil. I love cooking shows, but I shake my head and say, "I can make that just as good without all that fat." So, I made a fabulous vegan minestrone soup recipe inspired by Rachel Ray. 

Rachel's "key" to her minestrone is slowly cooking layer on top of a layer of vegetables in a particular order. So, I did the same without drowning them in oil, with vegetable broth and oil-free for my version of vegan minestrone soup.

Instead of using fatty chicken and beef broth, I used Organic Vegetable Broth, and in place of that nasty cheese rind, I used nutritional yeast.

Additionally, I added a  few more vegetables to my vegan minestrone soup recipe because I love veggies, and I'm vegan. And all the ingredients, including the noodles, cook in one pot. That's right; another one-pot meal! 

Soup Ingredients

• White Onion: White onion has a strong flavor, yet when cooked, it becomes sweet.
• Garlic: I prefer fresh garlic whenever possible for the deep flavor.
• Carrots: Carrots' fiber can help control blood sugar levels. And they're loaded with vitamin A and beta-carotene, which there's evidence to suggest can lower your diabetes risk. In addition, they can strengthen your bones. Carrots have calcium and vitamin K, both of which are important for bone health.
• Celery: Celery is a low-calorie vegetable. It consists mainly of water, but it also provides antioxidants and fiber. 
• Yellow Zucchini: Unlike yellow squash, yellow zucchini (sometimes called "golden zucchini" doesn't taper at the neck. The only difference between yellow zucchini and green zucchini (besides the noticeable color difference) is yellow zucchini is slightly sweeter in flavor.
• Zucchini: Zucchini is a long, slender, cucumber-like green vegetable called squash. The green variant has firm flesh and a mild flavor.
• Baking Potatoes: A type of potato, such as russet or white potato, that has brown skins and white flesh and is commonly used for baking
• Dark Red Kidney Beans: Dark red kidney beans, like chickpeas, hold their structure in soups and stews.
• Chickpeas: Chickpeas are lovely in soups and stews because they maintain their firmness.
• Fresh Green Beans: I used fresh green beans from the mark t.
• Organic Spinach: I always buy organic spinach because it's on the dirty dozen list.
• Organic Fire-Roasted Tomatoes: Fire-roasted tomatoes are canned tomatoes that are fire-roasted over an open flame to accentuate their flavor. They taste sweet and subtly smoky right out of the can instead of bitter and acidic like most standard canned tomatoes.
• Orecchiette Pasta: Orecchiette Pasta, or any pasta (gluten-free, wheat, or whatever you prefer) 
• Organic Vegetable Broth: I buy organic vegetable broth in bulk at Costco because I use vegetable broth so often.
• Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional Yeast is vegan cheese in powder form. So, I use nutritional yeast instead of Rachel Ray's parmesan cheese rind.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder enhances the flavors of the ingredients in the soup.
• Ground Pepper: I like fresh ground pepper the best for soups.
• Chili Powder: Chili powder gives the soup a slightly spicy deep flavor.
• Onion Powder: Onion powder enhances the flavors in the soup.

Soup Ingredient Substitutions

• Choose any small variety of pasta.
• Any vegetables work well in Minestrone soup. There aren't any rules other than trying to cut the vegetables into similar sizes, so they cook evenly.
• Canned and frozen vegetables work well, but remember to add softer vegetables like canned green beans last so they don't overcook.

I make chopping more effortless and more uniform using my favorite vegetable chopper. This chopper has two different settings for small and larger-sized cuts, but it also cuts vegetables in identical sizes for uniform cooking. 

I used the small chopping size for my vegetables for this recipe.

Cooking the Soup

For instance, I combined garlic, onions, and celery to cook vegan minestrone.  

Then I added the carrots and potatoes and half the vegetable broth. Next, I added the green beans, followed by the partially pureed fire-roasted tomatoes and another can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes.

Next is the yellow and green zucchini, remaining broth, noodles, nutritional yeast, and spices.

Although Rac el suggested light red kidney beans, I used dark red kidney beans and chickpeas. But you can choose any beans you prefer.

As a result of cooking in stages or layers, the flavors meld perfectly, and the vegetables cook ideally based on their nutrient density. The spinach, because it wilts immediately, is added last. 

Even though the vegan minestrone cooks in layers, the beauty of this recipe is that it all cooks in one pot. 

This vegan minestrone soup recipe is savory, full of vegetables, and easy to make. And it is easily achieved without fat and calories in a typical minestrone soup recipe. Making it clean is always better than adding unneeded fat and calories.

I like to make a pot of vegan minestrone on Sunday, and Paul and I eat it all week long. Then, I fill up soup crocks and make o her vegan salads for easy packing in the morning.

Cooking and prepping food beforehand makes taking a healthy lunch work easy.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Cooking the soup in layers is the secret to cooking everything perfectly in one pot.
• If using canned green beans, add them at the end and heat through. They are already soft and will overcook if added at the beginning of making the soup.
• I used a vegetable chopper to cut my vegetables into equal-sized pieces so they cooked evenly. It also reduces food preparation time.
• I enjoy this soup as an entree with bread, or I like to serve it with vegan Nicoise salad, or blueberry salad.
• Because my family enjoys vegan Minestrone soup, I usually make two batches and freeze the second batch in Souper Cubes.
• The soup will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, and it is possible to freeze it. Cool and chill the soup as quickly as possible within 2 hours of making it. If the soup is frozen, put it in resealable containers, freeze it for up to 3 months, and thaw the soup overnight in the fridge.
• I recommend thawing the soup entirely before reheating it.

Enjoy this healthy version of Minestrone soup! You will love the flavors and combination of vegetables, pasta, and beans.

Try These Vegan Soup Recipes

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