Garden Green Minestrone Soup Recipe

This vibrant garden green minestrone soup is peak summer eating. It’s full of seasonal vegetables and loved by all.

So earlier this year you found yourself at home on some level of lockdown and decided that now was the time to plant a garden. While we were cooking comfort food, experimenting with tie-dye and home schooling, we also started seeds.

Now, mid-July, many of us are reaping the benefits of that spring planting. I’m getting tons of messages from you asking how to deal with all the herbs-gone-wild (make pesto), baskets of greens (toss this salad) and cucumbers (pickles, duh).

Today’s recipe embraces midsummer produce in a vibrant soup – the garden green minestrone.

A Simple Garden Green Minestrone

Like most soups, this recipe can be easily adapt to suit your families’ tastes. Its rustic style lends itself easily to accommodating their favourite vegetables. And if you want to lean a little heavier on the pasta and lay off the beans, that’s entirely your call too.

For this garden green minestrone, use the best local produce you can get your hands on. It IS July after all; there’s no excuse.

It may be tempting to clean out the crisper drawer of the refrigerator and throw in all the shrived bits, but if you choose the sweetest celery, baby zucchini and fresh-picked basil, your soup will surpass any you’ve ever had before.

Don’t worry about perfect cuts for your vegetables. This is home cooking at its finest, and there’s no one to impress.

In fact, get the kids in the kitchen to help shell peas and snap beans. They’ll be more excited to eat a bowl of garden green minestrone if they’ve helped to prepare the soup.

PS: If you’re looking for more of a classic Minestrone, with tomatoes, carrots and corn, I’ve got that recipe, too. I keep that one on the back burner for September/October meals.

Hot Tip: For a real flavour punch, finish the soup with a spoonful of homemade chimichurri or pesto. Find recipes for pesto with parsley, basil, or oregano.

Garden Green Minestrone Soup

This vibrant soup is peak summer eating. It's full of seasonal vegetables and loved by all.
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Course: Soups & Stews
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Dairy-Free, Vegetarian
Essential Ingredient: Pasta
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 p
Calories: 196kcal

Ingredients

  • 6 green onions
  • 2 ribs celery
  • 1 cup green beans trimmed and snapped
  • 2 small zucchini
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 teaspoons chopped soft herbs thyme, basil and/or oregano
  • 1 cup canned cannellini beans rinsed, drained
  • 1 cup freshly shelled green peas
  • 2 cups cooked pasta shells or small pasta of choice
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

  • Chop the white ends of the green onions about half way up the stalk. Reserve the green tips for soup garnish or another use. Chop celery into ¼- inch slices. Dice zucchini evenly. Finely mince the garlic.
  • In a large pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the green onion, celery, green beans and zucchini.  Sauté the vegetables for 4-5 minutes; stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and bay and cook for an additional minute.
  • Pour in the vegetable stock and the chopped herbs. Bring soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  • Add the beans, fresh green peas, cooked pasta shells and salt. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes until peas turn bright green.
  • Remove from heat and add the fresh pepper and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Ladle into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and additional basil.

Notes

The soup is vegan if you leave off the Parmesan cheese at the end. Otherwise, it’s vegetarian and gluten free.

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 709mg | Potassium: 620mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1181IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg

Freezing your Garden Green Minestrone

  1. Make the soup but leave out the pasta. Season the soup and set aside to cool. (Don’t worry if the vegetables are still slightly al-dente.)
  2. Portion the soup into freezer-friendly containers (I often use clean mason jars, leaving a good inch of head space), cover and label.
  3. Freeze for up to three months.

To re-heat: Thaw soup overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat gently in a pot. Add a cup of broth or water (as some may have been absorbed over time) and bring to a boil. Add cooked pasta shells and fresh basil. Serve hot.

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