Spring Minestrone Soup

It's Spring Minestrone Soup. Easy, one pot vegetable soup that's bursting with fresh green vegetables. Perfect for lightened up lunch or dinner. Also try my delicious Vegan Longevity Minestrone.

Spring Minestrone

If there's one soup recipe that unlike anything else celebrates spring produce, that would be Minestrone.

Green, healthy and loaded with texture and good-for-you ingredients. What's not to love?

While original Minestrone soup contains mostly pantry ingredients, this soup is laden with vibrant green vegetables that you find in abundance in any grocery store.

In addition, this easy soup is prepared in one pot. Because the less dishes to wash, the better. 

This Vegetable Minestrone is a light and refreshing soup. It comes together quickly and is great for lunch or dinner.

I originally developed this soup recipe around fresh asparagus that I had in my fridge. Although, you can buy asparagus at any time of the year, spring is the best season for growing and buying it. 

Asparagus is literally loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. It is low in calories which makes it a wonderful vegetable for weight loss.

In addition, asparagus is believed to boost mood and this is always a good reason to include it in your diet.

You can roast the asparagus, make risotto or put it in a soup, like this Minestrone.

Ingredients in Spring Vegetable Minestrone

My favorite thing about this vegan recipe is that you can really use any spring vegetables you get your hands on. No leeks? Use Vidalia onion or regular yellow onion. No green peas? Replace with snap peas or corn kernels. 

Here are the other ingredients you'll find in this wonderful spring soup:

• Olive oil - if you follow WFPBNO diet, skip the oil and use water or veggie broth
• Leek, fennel, carrot, garlic - flavor enhancers. Make sure to reserve some fennel fronds. 
• Vegetable Broth
• Potatoes - you might as well use new potatoes
• Asparagus - sold at Costco in big bunches
• Cannellini beans - Navy beans are fine as well (Check out my ultimate collection of healthy vegan Cannellini Beans recipes)
• Italian seasoning - for more herby aroma
• Fresh Green peas - you may substitute with frozen peas
• Pasta - any type of pasta will do

Instructions

Wonderful thing about this recipe is that it's so easy to make.

• Sauté the veggies - brown the leek, fennel, carrot and garlic. Make sure to season the veggies with ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. This will bring out the flavor even more;
• Add liquids - broth, potatoes, beans;
• Simmer for 5 minutes, add your favorite pasta and cook for another 7 minutes.
• Stir in the remaining vegetables - asparagus and peas and continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Adjust the seasoning and serve garnished with fennel fronds.

A few tips on cooking asparagus: the indicated 5 minutes cooking time yields more like a "crunchy" asparagus. If you don't like this and you prefer asparagus to be softer, cook it for 2-3 minutes longer.

Storing and Freezing

This refreshing spring soup is best when consumed right away, however it will keep well in a fridge overnight. 

To ensure maximum freshness I wouldn't recommend freezing this soup. 

More spring recipes to try

If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Recipe

Spring Vegetable Minestrone

It's Spring Minestrone Soup. Easy, one pot vegetable soup that's bursting with fresh green vegetables. Perfect for lightened up lunch or dinner. 

4.45 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 221kcal

Author: Iryna

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil water or veggie both
• ▢ 1 leek may substitute with a regular yellow onion
• ▢ ½ fennel bulb
• ▢ 1 large carrot diced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 8 c vegetable broth
• ▢ 2 medium potatoes cubed
• ▢ 1 can (15.5 oz) Cannellini Beans* rinsed and drained, Note 1
• ▢ ½ cup pasta Fusilli, Penne, Elbows, any pasts will do
• ▢ 2 c (about 20 stalks) asparagus trimmed
• ▢ 1 c fresh or frozen peas may substitute with snap peas or frozen corn
• ▢ 1 ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

• Slice off the leek's dark green end. Then thinly slice the remaining pale green part of leek into rings and discard the root end.
• Trim off the fennel stalks and the root end. Cut fennel bulb in half and discard tough outer layers. Slice the remaining fennel crosswise. For this recipe, you'll only need to slice one half of the fennel. Make sure to reserve the fennel fronds.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot and over medium heat. Add leek, fennel, carrot and garlic. Season the veggies with ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning.
• Add vegetable broth, potatoes and beans. Simmer the soup for 5 minutes then add your favorite pasta and cook for another 7 minutes.
• Stir in the asparagus and peas and continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Adjust the seasoning and serve garnished with fennel fronds.

Notes

Beans

If you don't have Cannellini beans, good replacement would be Great Northern Beans or Navy Beans. Ultimately, use whichever beans you have in your pantry. 

Nutrition

Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 35.7g | Protein: 10.5g | Fat: 4.3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 801mg | Potassium: 794mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5.5g | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 3mg

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