As a seasoned vegan cook that’s been blogging recipes for over 10 years, I’m finally sharing my favourite vegan minestrone soup recipe. This is the vegan soup that I make most, often with bits of veg that need using up. You can use this recipe as a framework! Made entirely on the stovetop, it’s loaded with 9 different vegetables, garlic, rosemary, oregano, vegetable stock, pasta, potatoes, and satiating beans. Ready in a little over 1 hour, this hearty, but still brothy and light recipe is the perfect one-pot dinner with the best leftovers. I have a little trick to boost the umami without using parmesan that I explain in the post and recipe. For a Fall-inspired spin, check out my butternut minestrone!
Minestrone is a classic Italian soup recipe. The name itself is derived from the Latin minestra, which translates to the idea of serving in general, or the act of the person who cooked the dish administering it to others. This soup dates back to the Roman Empire, where it was largely vegetable-based. Today, minestrone refers to a very substantial soup of vegetables, beans, greens, sometimes meat, pasta, sometimes tomatoes etc. Many cooks don’t follow a particular recipe, but use the dish as a rough guide for using up odd bits of veg and other ingredients on hand.
Developing umami depth in vegan minestrone soup:
- Simmering with a parmesan rind is common practice with minestrone soup! It boosts the umami and overall depth of flavour. Without it, minestrone soup is naturally vegan.
- Of course I’m sharing a vegan minestrone soup recipe here, so I utilize a naturally plant-based and umami-rich ingredient: miso!
- At the end of cooking, I dissolve a tablespoon of light miso with a few ladlefuls of hot broth from the pot. Then, I simply pour that mixture back in and stir to distribute. It’s salty, savoury, and well-rounded–similar to parmesan!
- Of course, you can also top bowlfuls with vegan parmesan if you like for a little added deliciousness.
There is a lot of room for flexibility when you’re cooking this. I love using whole wheat pasta in mine, but regular or gluten-free varieties sub in well. Any type of beans are excellent, too. My favourites are white kidney and chickpea, but apparently Borlotti (also known as Roman or cranberry bean) is the most traditional type. I do insist on fire-roasted diced tomatoes though! They just have more flavour in my opinion and work so well here. Bianco Dinapoli makes the best ones.
I hope that you try and enjoy this recipe! It’s perfect to make on a weekend for lunch leftovers all week.
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One-Pot Vegan Minestrone Soup with Potatoes & Beans
One-pot vegan minestrone is the coziest dinner. This recipe is flavoured with garlic, rosemary, chili & oregano, and it makes a big batch. Loaded with beans, fresh veggies, whole wheat pasta, and comforting potatoes. Miso adds salty umami depth in place of parmesan.
Servings 8 -10
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
- 2 medium carrots, small dice
- 2 sticks celery, small dice
- 1 small fennel bulb, cored and diced small (about 250 grams)
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried chili
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, chopped (about 300 grams)
- ½ small green cabbage, chopped (about 400 grams)
- 3 cups cooked beans, drained and rinsed (from two 15.5 oz cans)
- 1 28-oz can (794 grams) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup chopped green beans
- 1 ½ cups dry, small pasta (about 100 grams)
- 1 tablespoon light miso
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Notes
- If you don’t like fennel, simply leave it out. I personally love the slight anise flavour with anything tomato-y, but I know that it’s not everyone’s favourite veg.
- I used whole wheat mafalda corta by Garofalo for my pasta. Any small pasta is great. Sub a gluten-free variety if you need to.
- I used white kidney beans and chickpeas for my beans. Use whatever you have! Lots of folks like red kidney beans in this.
- As I mention in the blog post, this recipe is an excellent vehicle for using up straggling bits of veg and beans in the fridge. The only vegetables that I don’t particularly like in this soup are: sweet potatoes, turnip, and bell pepper.
- I recommend using the largest pot you’ve got. Mine in the photos is 7 litres.
Instructions
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Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Once hot, pour in the olive oil and swirl it around.
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Add the onions and sauté until very soft and translucent, about 7-8 minutes. If they’re starting to brown, lower the heat.
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Add the carrots, celery, and fennel to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Stir and sauté until celery is bright green and fennel has softened slightly, about 5 minutes.
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Add the garlic, rosemary, dried oregano, smoked paprika, and dried chili to the pot. Stir until very fragrant , about 1 minute.
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Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir. Keep stirring and cooking out the “raw” flavour from the tomato paste for about 1-2 minutes.
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Add the potatoes, cabbage and beans to the pot. Give everything a stir and season with salt and pepper again. Add the diced tomatoes and stir once more.
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Add the vegetable stock to the pot and stir to combine. Place a lid on top of the pot and bring everything to a boil. Once boiling, set the lid aside slightly so that steam can escape. Lower the heat to a strong simmer. Cook until potatoes are just starting to get tender, about 12 minutes.
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Add the zucchini, green beans, and pasta to the pot and stir. Bring to a boil again and then simmer until pasta is tender, about 12 minutes.
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Once the pasta is cooked, place the miso in a medium bowl to the side. Ladle a couple spoonfuls of hot stock from the pot over the miso. Using a spoon, “mash” and stir the miso with the hot stock until it dissolves. Add this mixture back into the pot and stir.
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Add the parsley to the minestrone and stir. Check the soup for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Pasta and potatoes soak up a lot of salt, so you may need more. Serve hot!
