Happy 2016, my darlings! I'm so happy to have y'all back for yet another year. I'm hoping this year will be the best one yet! I'm sure everyone {including myself} has some New Year's resolutions, or at least the intent, to eat a little healthier in January. Partially to feel better and maybe lose weight, but also to recover from the calorie-fest that was December. Between Christmas parties and New Year's parties and decorated cookies and champagne and all of the above, it's almost too easy to go overboard 😉
I decided to start the year off with a super delicious, ridiculously healthy staple in my household: minestrone soup! I've been eating this pretty much since I started eating food as a baby, and it's so easy and so good for you. It's great because the prep is totally minimal, and you can add in whatever vegetables you want. The more the better! I always start with the staples: potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, and zucchini. What you add in after that is up to you! This particular version also featured peas, spinach, green beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, basil, savoy cabbage, red lentils, and pinto beans. Basically just throw your whole crisper drawer in here!
My whole family absolutely loves this soup! It's impressively tasty, especially considering the fact that it's little more than veggies and water and a little bit of seasoning. That's the magic of vegetables! My infamous vegan best friend {who now lives away from me, CRY} is nothing short of obsessed with this minestrone, and she requests it every time she comes to visit! Minestrone is obviously vegan, minus the optional sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top. If you're trying to eat clean, or are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free... this fits right into your diet! And if you're wanting a crockpot version of this recipe, you can find that HERE 🙂
Looking for more tasty soups? Check out my Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Creamy Tomato Soup, Italian Lentil Soup, Vegan Chickpea Noodle Soup, and Creamy Poblano Soup.
minestrone soup
Ingredients
- 3 yellow potatoes peeled and diced
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- ½ sweet onion diced
- 2 zucchini diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 ½ cup frozen green beans
- 6 cups fresh spinach
- 1 can pinto beans rinsed
- ½ cup dry red lentils
- 6 leaves savoy cabbage roughly chopped
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup diced acorn squash {you can sub sweet potato instead}
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- salt pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
- water
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and prepare all vegetables, and place in a large nonstick pot.
- Pour in just enough water to cover all the veggies, and set pot to high heat.
- Add in the vegetable bouillon cubes and salt, and bring everything to a boil.
- Once soup comes to a boil, put a lid on it and lower to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for at least 1 hour, until veggies are tender and easily pierced with a fork.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh Parmesan, and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.
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