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A quick and easy, delicious, kid-friendly, veggie loaded soup using pantry and freezer staples! This Vegetarian Minestrone Soup can be on your table in just about 30 minutes!
This Vegetarian Minestrone Soup is a super easy comforting meal that can be on your table in just about 30 minutes. I’ve used pantry and freezer staples for a minimum amount of fuss. Adding the noodles makes it a dish your kids will be happy to slurp down as well.
Why Frozen Vegetables Are Awesome
- They’re quick.
- They’re easy.
- They require no chopping.
- They have nutritional value at least equal to, if not greater than, fresh veggies.
- They’re always ready for you.
You can certainly use all fresh veggies if you want, but why do all that chopping when frozen veggies have just as many nutrients as fresh (in some cases, they have more), and they are so much quicker? Frozen veggies are picked at their peak ripeness and frozen right away maintaining all of their nutritional value. Fresh veggies are often shipped hundreds or thousands of miles to get to your grocery store, losing nutritional value with each day they sit out. Even if you buy fresh veggies from your local farmers market, the longer they sit on your counter or in your fridge, they lose nutrients.
I always have several bags of frozen mixed vegetables in my freezer for meals such as this.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE fresh veggies and in most cases fresh is superior in taste and texture. BUT you really can’t tell the difference in soups and stews, so let’s give ourselves a break and take the easy route today, ok?
Meatless Monday Just Got Easier
If you’re trying to cut down on your meat consumption or just add more vegetables into your meal plans, this Easy Vegetarian Minestrone Soup is a great place to start. It’s hearty and filling with the beans and pasta, making it a meal that will please the whole family. It’s one of my kids’ favorite soups!
It also makes great leftovers the next day. Pack it up in a thermos for a cozy warm-you-up lunch at work or school.
More easy vegan soup recipes
- Vegan Mushroom Soup
- Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Speedy Pea and Broccoli Soup
- Instant Pot Vegan Split Pea Soup
- Garden Vegetable Beanless Chili
Easy Vegetarian Minestrone Soup w/ Pasta & Kale
I hope you love this Easy Vegetarian Minestrone Soup as much as we do. If you try it, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. You can also find me on social media. Be sure to tag @veggie_inspired and #veggieinspired so I’m sure to see it. Enjoy!
Easy Vegetarian Minestrone Soup w/ Pasta & Kale
Ingredients
- ½ sweet onion (peeled and diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
- 16 oz frozen mixed vegetables
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes (I like the kind with no salt added)
- 32 oz low sodium vegetable broth (I use Trader Joe's organic)
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- ⅛ tsp pepper (or to taste)
- 15 oz canned red kidney beans (rinsed and drained) (or 1.5 cups of home cooked beans)
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 2 cups cooked noodles* (We like macaroni noodles. Ditalini is also a good choice.) (Use gluten free noodles if desired)
Instructions
- In a soup pot over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic in ¼ cup of the veggie broth until translucent and soft...about 4-5 minutes
- Add frozen veggies, crushed tomatoes, the rest of the carton of veggie broth, parsley, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Simmer 20 minutes to allow veggies to become tender and the flavors to mingle.
- Add kidney beans, kale, and noodles, and simmer another 2-3 minutes to warm through.
- Take off heat. Add optional nutritional yeast, if using, and stir.
- Enjoy!
Julie says
I came across this recipe about two months ago when looking for some recipe ideas for my very busy, vegetarian, teen daughter. I was looking for things that I could have ready in the fridge so that she could just quickly heat up. This soup was more than I could hope for. She loves it! It is quick, easy, can be frozen (I freeze it with out the pasta and then make that fresh or use left overs). It is so delicious that our whole family loves it and will happily eat it as a main course. We eat it weekly. I make a double batch bi weekly and freeze half. Very inexpensive also! Thank You!!!!
Jenn Sebestyen says
Oh, Julie, this makes me so happy! It’s also great with leftover rice thrown in if you don’t have pasta. So versatile! Thank you for letting me know how much you all love it! 🙂
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite says
I’m not quite ready to admit summer is over…it’s a denial I have and considering we are still in summer weather over here, I don’t blame me. But this sounds amazing and definitely need to file it away for when I’m ready to come to terms with fall.
Jenn S. says
The temps actually spiked back up here too. It’s in the 80’s all weekend and upper 70’s for the entire next week. I had already embraced fall – the leaves are changing and falling and the temps were in the 50’s-60’s, so this warmer weather has me a little unhappy. The only thing I don’t like about fall is how quickly winter follows it!
Nicole Dawson says
Minestrone is such an awesome soup to make, especially when you’re short on time but still want something nutritious. I bet that kale in their takes it up a notch too. We usually throw spinach in ours but the kale would make it a little heartier and great for those cooler months.
Jenn S. says
Thanks, Nicole. It’s definitely a hearty soup. I love it all year, but totally perfect for fall and winter.
Vanessa @ Veganfamilyrecipes says
Now that is one delicious and hearty looking minestrone. My kids would love to dig into a big bowl of that. Pinning it now so I don’t forget to make it!
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Vanessa! I think our families have very similar tastes! Hope you all love it!
Mel | avirtualvegan.com says
All those lovely veggies! I love minestrone. it’s so flavourful and I like the filling pasta in it. It’s much more satisfying because of that. I wish I had a bowl right now!
Jenn S. says
The pasta definitely turns it into a meal! Thanks, Mel!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
Yaaassss!!! Love adding kale to soup like this! So tasty! This is a must make.
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Julie! I hope you love it!