Vegan Minestrone Soup

Minestrone is one of our favorite classic soup recipes – this version is vegan and packed with healthy, delicious vegetables, beans and pasta. So comforting!

Every minestrone recipe is a little different, but the best ones always have a rich, savory, delicious tomato broth that makes even the most boring vegetables taste good.

We kept ours pretty simple on vegetables – carrots, celery, garlic and onion – and loaded it up with plant-protein rich beans. Pasta is optional, but really makes this a full meal!

I always top my minestrone with a generous amount of vegan parmesan and extra red pepper flakes. With a side of crusty, warm bread, it's such a cozy, healthy weeknight dinner.

Plus, vegetable minestrone is really pretty easy to make. Just throw everything into a pot and you're good to go! Perfect for meal prep or freezing (instructions further down in post).

Vegan Minestrone Soup Ingredients

Our healthy vegetable minestrone starts with a base of olive oil sautéed onions, garlic, carrots and celery.

Once the veggies are softened, it's time to add the tomatoes, broth and seasoning. We use both tomato paste and canned, diced tomatoes. The higher quality, the better! Vegetable broth makes up the rest of the base.

Seasonings include a basic Italian seasoning blend (basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, garlic, etc.), plus extra dried parsley, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for some heat. A dash of red wine vinegar helps add extra acidity and depth.

After 20 minutes of simmering, it's time to add in a few cans of beans and pasta. We use canned chickpeas, kidney beans and frozen lima beans. For pasta, most shapes will work. We used elbow pasta (a gluten free variety).

Cook until the pasta is tender, then taste and add more salt or red pepper flakes if desired! Serve hot with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan, fresh parsley and more red pepper flakes.

Alternatives and substitutions

• Beans: you can substitute just about any variety of beans you have on hand – cannellini, Great Northern, even black beans or lentils would work.
• Lima beans: don't like 'em? Substitute with frozen shelled edamame instead. Or, sub with another bean (or more pasta).
• Potatoes: potatoes are a great ingredient to add more heft to minestrone soup. You can either use them in place of pasta, or as an extra ingredient.
• Vegetables: you can either substitute or add vegetables like zucchini, winter squash, green beans, peas or kale.
• Protein: Want to add extra protein? Try adding vegan (or regular) spicy Italian sausage or a similar alternative.

How to store minestrone soup

Meal prep

Minestrone is a great soup to meal prep. However, if you plan to make it ahead of time and freeze or store in the fridge, wait to prepare the pasta until just before serving.

We don't recommend storing this soup with the cooked pasta in it. It will soak up a ton of liquid and the pasta will get very mushy, especially if you're using a gluten free alternative. Simply cook the pasta separately and add when you're ready to eat.

When reheating, you may need to add a little extra vegetable broth to loosen up the soup. Heat over medium-low, stirring often, until it's fully warmed. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Freezing

Again, if you plan to freeze this soup, we suggest adding the cooked pasta separately.

Let the soup cool completely on the stovetop before transferring to a freezer safe container. Soup will last up to 6 months in the freezer, so make a few batches at once if you think you'll go through them quickly!

To defrost, transfer frozen soup to the refrigerator overnight. Fully defrost in a pan heated over low, stirring often until soup is completely warmed. You may need to add a touch more vegetable broth.

More favorite vegan soup recipes

• Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Soup
• Homemade Miso Soup
• Split Pea Soup with Crispy Mushroom Bacon
• Tofu Chicken Noodle Soup
• Lemon Rice Soup
• Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup
• Super Green Vegetable Soup

If you make this vegan minestrone soup recipe, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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