Easy Minestrone Soup (30-Minute Vegan Recipe)

Easy Minestrone Soup that comes together in just 30 minutes with fresh vegetables and tons of flavor is perfect for busy weeknights in soup season. Use your favorite veggies and get some crusty bread ready for this hearty soup the whole family will love.

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Hey Internet, our vegan soups and vegan stews our some of our most popular recipes and we can see why! This time of year, all we want is a rich tomato broth with seasonal veggies, beans (packed with plant-based protein!) and a ton of flavor. This easy vegan minestrone soup recipe definitely delivers on all the cozy vibes but it's really nutrient dense too.

Some of our favorite recipes are cozy soups: Vegan Gnocchi Soup, Vegan Orzo Soup, Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup, Vegan Chicken and Stars Soup, Vegan Stew with Dumplings, Vegan Taco Soup, Vegan Beef Stew, and, geez, we just really love soup.

This vegan minestrone soup recipe features simple ingredients with lots of fresh vegetables, beans, noodles (gluten-free option available), gold potatoes, fresh parsley, and a flavorful tomato broth. There's also tons of ways you can customize this delicious recipe with seasonal produce, different beans, or even take a shortcut and used frozen mixed vegetables, this soup is very forgiving.

Another thing I love about this minestrone soup recipe is how easily it comes together. Just chop up whatever seasonal vegetables you have in your fridge (this is a great way to use up random veggies that might go bad, by the way) or your favorite vegetables and cook them with a little olive oil in a large pot, add some beans, canned tomatoes, some seasoning, bring it to a boil, add your pasta, and cook until done! 

You can throw in some leafy greens at the end if you'd like and you're ready to serve! We served ours with a little warmed sourdough but any crusty bread will work great, or you can try it with our Vegan Garlic Bread for extra flavor.

Ready to make our cozy homemade minestrone soup recipe? We might just have to prep this again tonight as we're getting hungry just writing about it.

Why You'll Love Our Minestrone Soup Recipe

• Simple Ingredients: Some low-sodium vegetable broth, a variety of vegetables, some short cut pasta (like elbow macaroni or small pasta shells), some dark red kidney beans (or beans of your choice) and you have a delicious dinner that's loaded with earthy flavor and cozy vibes.
• Hearty and Healthy Minestrone Soup: This recipe isn't too different than the  traditional minestrone soup recipe and is a great option if you're trying to eat more vegetables. It's like a vegetable soup. but with way more flavor and staying power thanks to the beans and pasta.
• Customizable: Use whatever beans you like, veggies you've got on hand, favorite seasonings, and whatever base broth or stock you like and you've got a delicious homemade soup ready to go, perfect for a family dinner, meal prep, or stocking your freezer.

Ingredients

Pick up the following basic ingredients for this easy minestrone soup recipe the next time you're at your local grocery store. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutrition information (to the best of our ability; please consult your physician, registered dietitian, or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs or need to meet certain daily values of any nutrient). we give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!

• 2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil: Use the amount you like to use for your family, but we find that about 2-3 tablespoons works well for this amount of veggies and soup. Any other neutral cooking oil you'd like to use is fine.
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, Diced (about 1 cup): Yellow or sweet onion are perfect here, but white onion has a little more bite to it (even cooked).
• 2 Medium Carrots, Finely Chopped (about ½ cup): This soup comes together quite quickly and we don't want our carrots to be too crunchy in the finished soup, so chop them small or plan to simmer the soup a little longer before adding the pasta.
• 2 Ribs Celery, Finely Chopped (about ½ cup)
• 4-6 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped or Minced: We love garlic so we included quite a bit in our minestrone soup, but feel free to use the amount that works for you.
• 1 Large or 2-3 Small Gold Potatoes, Finely Diced (about 1 cup): There's already pasta in this recipe, so you don't have to add the potatoes. It's a small amount and we really like them in there so we kept them in. Sweet potatoes are also a nice option.
• 2-3 Cups Fresh Seasonal Vegetables, Chopped: Use whatever fresh veggies you like! We used yellow squash and fresh green beans, but zucchini, red/orange/yellow bell pepper, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. Keep in mind some veggies take longer to cook than others, so if it's a heartier vegetable like a winter squash, cut it smaller and plan to simmer until they're just soft enough to pierce a fork into before adding the pasta.
• 2 Teaspoons Dried Italian Seasoning: This adds good flavor and it's a nice blend. Feel free to use your favorite spices or herbs. Nutritional yeast would be lovely in this soup. You can add some heat with red pepper flakes if you'd like.
• 1 Bay Leaf: Or two bay leaves, depending on the size.
• 1 - 28-Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes: This gives the minestrone soup its trademark rich tomato broth. You can use fire-roasted tomatoes for extra flavor if you'd like.
• 6-8 Cups Vegetable Broth: Use reduced sodium vegetable broth or vegetable stock if you'd like. We have a big tub of Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Broth Base that we like to use.
• 1 Cup Short Cut Pasta (elbows, small shells, ditalini, etc.) (use gluten-free pasta like chickpea pasta if needed)
• 1 - 15-Ounce Can Dark Red Kidney Beans, Drained and Rinsed: You can use any cooked or canned beans like cannellini beans (or other white beans such as navy beans or Great Northern beans), garbanzo beans, etc. are all great in this recipe. Use more beans than we have here for an even heartier soup. Do not use straight up dried beans or they will never cook in time. We like to cook dried beans in the Instant Pot or you can cook them stove top, but you would need to cook them until tender before adding them to the soup.
• Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste
• 1-2 Cups Leafy Greens (Kale, Baby Spinach), roughly chopped, optional
• ¼ to ½ Cup Chopped Parsley or Fresh Basil Leaves, optional

How to Make Minestrone Soup

1. Cook Aromatics: Heat a large pot (we used a 5.5 quart enamel cast iron Dutch oven but any large pot like a large stock pot should work) over medium heat and add the olive oil. Allow to heat for a few minutes until the oil starts to shimmer, then add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they begin to soften (stir occasionally), then add the garlic, stir well, and cook for 30 more seconds.
2. Add Other Vegetables and Seasoning: Add your other fresh veggies, for us that was chopped green beans, yellow squash, and small-diced gold potatoes. Add Italian seasoning (but don't add the bay leaf yet). Stir well and cook for for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add Liquids and Bay Leaf: Add in the canned crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, and the bay leaf. Stir gently and cover with a tilted lid. Bring to a boil and then switch to medium low heat and simmer (small bubbles). Cook for 4-8 minutes until the larger chunks of potato or carrot can be just pierced with a fork. They don't need to be completely tender yet but we want them to be fairly close.
4. Add Pasta and Beans: Pour in your pasta of choice and the drained+rinsed beans. If using kale, you might want to add that now since it takes a little longer to soften than spinach. Stir and cook for 6-8 minutes until the pasta is al dente (or cook until soft, to your preference).
5. Add Greens and Season: Add the baby spinach, stir till wilted in, and then season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. You can add a splash of balsamic vinegar if you'd like, but we didn't think it needed it.
6. Serve: Remove from heat and serve the minestrone immediately. Serve with crusty bread, crackers, or whatever else you'd like.
7. Storage: Leftover soup can be stored in a large airtight container or individual airtight containers. You can also freeze this soup in a freezer-safe container for up to six months. Keep in mind when reheating leftovers that the pasta may absorb more of the broth. You can always add a little bit of extra vegetable broth when reheating.

More Delicious Soup Recipes

• Vegan Orzo Soup
• Carrot and Red Lentil Soup Recipe
• Vegan Taco Soup
• Creamy Vegan Zucchini Soup
• Vegan Stew with Dumplings
• Easy Vegan Tortellini Soup
• Vegan Chicken and Stars Soup
• Potato and Mushroom Soup
• Vegan Tom Kha Soup
• Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup

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