This wholesome Vegan Minestrone Soup recipe is filled to the brim with hearty beans, fresh veggies, and cozy pasta. It's thick, nourishing, and fast! Plus easy to customize. (Vegan, oil-free, gluten-free option.)
This easy Minestrone Soup is so hearty, wholesome, and satisfying!
Fresh veggies, pasta, and beans simmer in a flavorful tomato broth for a nutrient-rich bowl packed with plant-based protein and fiber.
Best of all, it comes together fast with many simple pantry staples. So it's a great choice for lunch, dinner, or easy meal prep. Plus you can customize it however you see fit with your favorite veggies, herbs, and seasonings. Let's get it started!
Ingredients for Minestrone Soup
For this recipe, you'll simmer in a large pot on the stove:
- Onion: Most often I use yellow onion or sweet onion, but white onion works great too.
- Carrot
- Celery: We'll use a couple stalks celery, but my daughter isn't a fan of this, so I often leave it out for her. But you can include it for the classic mirepoix blend.
- Fresh garlic cloves: I like the taste of fresh, but you can substitute dried garlic powder if needed.
- Vegetable broth: Be sure to use low sodium if desired.
- Canned diced tomatoes: Either regular, petite diced, or fire-roasted tomatoes. You'll need one large 28-ounce can, or two 15-ounce cans.
- Red kidney beans: Red kidneys are the classic choice, but you can use white beans like navy beans, great northern, chickpeas, or cannellini beans if you prefer. If I'm in the mood for extra beans, I'll double this and use two cans.
- Green beans: Most often I use frozen cut green beans for convenience, but fresh green beans work great as well. (There's no need to defrost frozen beans before adding to the pot.)
- Elbow pasta: Or ditalini, shells, rotini, or other small pasta. Be sure to use gluten-free pasta if needed. Most often I use brown rice noodles because that's what I have on hand. (Or you can try substituting about 1/3 cup quinoa for the pasta instead.)
- Italian seasoning: Or substitute with your own favorite dried herbs such as dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc.
- Bay leaf: We'll let the soup simmer with one bay leaf for subtle, earthy flavor. Then we remove it before serving. But if you don't have this, just omit it.
- Fresh parsley
- Apple cider vinegar: I like stirring in a couple teaspoons at the end of cooking time for extra seasoning.
- Salt and black pepper
Customizing
Vegetables: Add any variety of vegetables you wish! Or stir in seasonal vegetables like potatoes, sweet corn, green peas, bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, fresh kale, or baby spinach.
Broth flavor & richness: Instead of the 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, substitute with one 15 oz. can diced tomatoes plus one 15 oz. can tomato sauce. (Plain tomato sauce, not marinara.) This adds a thicker, bolder tomato flavor. Or simply add 2 tablespoons tomato paste for richer flavor.
Make it cheesy: Sprinkle some Vegan Parmesan Cheese on top before serving. Or add a dollop of homemade Vegan Ricotta Cheese.
Make it "meaty": For an extra hearty soup, stir in your favorite store-bought vegan sausage or vegan beef crumbles. (Cook these separately according to package instructions, then stir them in towards the end of cooking time.)
Try a seasonal twist! This Spring Minestrone features seasonal produce, white beans, and fresh dill.
Serving
Garnish: Top your bowl with more chopped fresh parsley, fresh basil, fresh lemon juice, red pepper flakes, or a dash of hot sauce if desired. You can also add salt and black pepper to taste.
Storing
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. I find they keep well for about 4-5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stovetop when ready to enjoy.
Freezer: I haven't tried freezing this recipe. Soups with pre-boiled pasta generally don't retain their shape and texture very well after you freeze, thaw, and reheat it.
For more inspiration, also browse all easy vegan dinner recipes or soup recipes.
Vegan Minestrone Soup (Easy!)
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 large carrot
- 2 stalks celery
- 5 cloves garlic
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 28 oz. canned diced tomatoes*
- 1 1/2 cups green beans, cut
- 15 oz. can kidney beans (or white beans)
- 1 cup elbow pasta (gluten-free if desired)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- Salt & black pepper to taste
Stir-in (optional):
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar (or fresh lemon juice)
For serving (optional):
Instructions
- Dice the onion, carrot, and celery.
- In a stockpot over medium-high heat, sauté onion, carrot, and celery for about 8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. water/broth for no-oil sauté method, adding more as needed.)
- Meanwhile, mince the garlic.
- When onion is translucent and softened, add the garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir and sauté 1 minute.
- Then add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, and green beans. Increase heat and bring to a light boil.
- When lightly boiling, add the kidney beans (rinsed and drained), pasta, and bay leaf. Stir and return to a light boil.
- Then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10-12 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf. Then stir in the fresh parsley and apple cider vinegar, if using. Salt and pepper to taste. (The soup will continue to thicken as it sits and the pasta soaks up more broth.)
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
If you're enjoying this easy Vegan Minestrone Soup recipe, also check out:
Follow The Garden Grazer on Instagram, Pinterest, X (Twitter), or Facebook for more updates and inspiration.
Jennifer says
There's just nothing as comforting as a bowl of minestrone soup on a cool fall day! I added zucchini because growing up we always had zucchini in our minestrone, and I added spinach, too. This was wonderful and reminded me of my childhood! I served this with homemade chickpea flour breadsticks. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!
Kaitlin says
Aww, love that you carried on your childhood tradition by adding zucchini to this. Beautiful. And chickpea flour breadsticks - YES! Would love the recipe for those if you get a chance to send it along. That sounds like a spectacular pairing! Thanks for sharing your awesome feedback, Jennifer!
Jennifer says
Hi Kaitlin,
This is the recipe I used for the breadsticks…not oil-free, unfortunately. But, I am oil-free most of the time, just didn’t know what to substitute to make it so.
https://www.powerhungry.com/2021/04/08/crisp-chickpea-flour-breadsticks/
Let me know if you come up with a creative way to make these oil-free! 😁
Kaitlin says
Awesome, thanks for sharing! I'm oil-free most of the time as well, but still include it in small amounts here and there. Vegan, GF, oil-free bread is a bit of an enigma but I like a challenge. I might play around with this one - it looks fun!
Ashley B. says
Do you have a preferred brand for the GF pasta? I’ve tried so many over the years and they tend to just break down into tiny pieces or soak up everything when left in soup for any amount of time.
Kaitlin says
Hi Ashely! I've used a few different brands, but my current favorites are Jovial or Field Day brand. They have some great organic, gluten-free options that hold up really well. (The pasta does soak up broth as it sits however, so you can cook it separately or add more broth to compensate if desired.)
Stephanie says
I have made this multiple times. My family loves it! I put more pasta in it for a more stew like effect. It is now a standard recipe in our home.
Kaitlin says
So great to hear, Stephanie! Thanks for sharing your kind feedback.