If ever there was a time to make Minestrone Soup, it’s right now. This hearty, Italian vegetable soup is delicious, easily adaptable and ideally suited to make use of whatever you have on hand. With sold out grocery stores and the necessity to stay home, it’s imperative that we focus on maximizing what we are fortunate enough to have. #WasteNotWantNot
Minestrone soup is incredibly healthy, easy to make, and can feed a crowd with a single pot. Not to mention the fact that it’s an excellent way to reduce waste by using up vegetables that may be going bad in your fridge. In this one, I made use of some zucchini and potato that were one day away from the compost bin, and some wilting broccoli that has seen better days. But you can definitely use things like cauliflower, eggplant, green beans, asparagus, mushrooms or even cabbage, to make your minestrone.
My minestrones are always a bit different depending on what I have. The specific recipe I’m sharing here happens to be Whole30 compliant, but you can feel free to add things like beans, chickpeas and cooked pasta to yours. For best results, I recommend using a very flavourful broth, such as my Mama’s Chicken Soup, or your favourite store-bought one.


Minestrone Soup - Whole30
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small carrots - diced
- 1 small yellow onion - diced
- 2 stalks celery – thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1.5 litres chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 small zucchinis – thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 small head broccoli – roughly chopped
- 1 large white or yellow potato peeled and diced
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups baby spinach
- dried chili flakes optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat a sauté pan or stock pot over medium heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onion and celery and season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until onions are translucent, around 5 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste and cook, stirring to coat, for 2 minutes. Add stock and stir through until combined. Add zucchini, broccoli and potato. Raise heat to high and bring soup to a gentle simmer. Add bay leaves and black pepper, lower heat to low, cover with a lid and cook 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Add spinach and stir through until wilted. Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as desired. Let soup cool for 10 minutes before serving in individual serving bowls and garnishing with chili flakes, if using.
2 replies on “Minestrone Soup – Whole30”
[…] pieces of vegetables in the fridge, but you aren’t quite sure what to do with them. Just like my Minestrone Soup, it will help you make the most of what you have on hand and ensure you don’t let any of your […]
I love how flexible this recipe can be. The broth + tomato paste make this just a perfect base.