Warm Up the Winter Days with Hearty Minestrone Soup

I use ground beef in this satisfying soup to take the chill off a cold day. You can leave out the ground beef and pancetta to turn this delicious soup into a vegetarian meal if you prefer. It is a versatile meal either way! Don’t skip this recipe due to the list of ingredients—most items you probably have in your pantry. If you are craving a vegetable-rich soup with lots of flavor, this is it!

Ingredients

Instructions

Brown the ground beef in a skillet until it is no longer pink. Drain the grease and set the ground beef aside. You do not have to add ground beef to this soup, but I like it, so it goes in. I like to cook the ground beef separately because I do not want the grease it makes in the soup.

To render the fat in a soup pot, fry the pancetta in the olive oil. Now, you can skip this step if you do not care for the pancetta. The pancetta adds another layer of flavor to the soup, but it is not a deal breaker. This soup is delicious, with or without it. I have done both when I had a craving for this soup but did not have any pancetta, bacon or anything similar in my freezer. If you use pancetta or bacon, remove it after it is cooked.

Saute the celery, carrot, onion, zucchini, and garlic in the pan juices until the onion and celery are translucent.

Add the cabbage and saute until the cabbage is sufficiently wilted.

Add the ground beef, broth, water and tomato juice. Stir.

Add the red pepper flakes, bay leaf, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, Italian seasoning and thyme.

Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir until the tomato paste has melted.

Add cannellini beans and green beans. Add the spinach a little at a time. Press it down into the liquid and stir until it is wilted. At this point, you can add the Parmesan rind if you have one. This is not a deal-breaker either. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta and heat through. I like to prepare my pasta 24 hours before I use it to make it starch-resistant.

Garnish with some grated Parmesan cheese. Magnifico!

If you like this recipe you may also like the following recipes:

Quick Vegetable Soup

Spicy Seafood Bisque

Keto Taco Soup

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Cozy, comforting and classi, this Hearty Minestrone Soup will take the chill off a cold day. Leave the meat out to make it vegetarian. Magnifico!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Equipment

• 1 skillet
• 1 soup pot
• 1 Large spoon
• Measuring spoons
• 1 knife
• 1 cutting board
• 1 measuring cup
• 1 Can opener

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 3 oz. pancetta optional
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 celery stalks diced
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 zucchini or yellow squash cubed
• 4 garlic cloves minced (or 4 tsp.)
• 1.2 small cabbage chopped
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups tomato juice
• 1 can green beans drained
• 1 can cannellini or navy beans drained and rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp. salt or to taste
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 lb fresh spinach
• Parmesan rind optional
• 1-2 cups cooked pasta I used elbow macaroni
• Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

 

• Brown the ground beef in a skillet until it is no longer pink. Drain the grease and set the ground beef aside.
• To render the fat in a soup pot, fry the pancetta in the olive oil.
• Saute the celery, carrot, onion, zucchini, and garlic in the pan juices until the onion and celery are translucent.
• Add the cabbage and saute until the cabbage is sufficiently wilted.
• Add the ground beef, broth, water and tomato juice. Stir.
• Add the red pepper flakes, bay leaf, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, Italian seasoning and thyme.
• Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir until the tomato paste has melted.
• Add cannellini beans and green beans.
• Add the spinach a little at a time. Press it down into the liquid and stir until it is wilted.
• Add the Parmesan rind if you have one.
• Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add the cooked pasta and heat through.
• Garnish with some grated Parmesan cheese.

Keyword Chicken soup, Italian Recipe, Italian soup recipe, Resistant Starch, Vegetable soup