As soon as the warmer weather arrives, I start craving those spring veggies! But that doesn’t mean you can’t have soup. This Spring Minestrone Soup is packed with seasonal vegetables, white beans and plenty of fresh herbs, with orzo pasta for oomph.
It’s pretty budget-friendly too with mainly just store cupboard staples and on the table in no time at all.
This soup is full of fibre and perfect for batch cooking. Using simple ingredients like leek, carrots, onion and beans, this spring minestrone soup is a great way to reach your fibre goals and have something ready for quick and easy lunches.
Nutrition highlights:
✅Rich in fibre: the white beans, carrots, leek, onion, and peas all contribute fibre, which supports healthy digestion, helps keep you fuller for longer, and can support balanced blood sugar levels. Prebiotic fibres (especially in the leeks) can help support a healthy gut microbiome.
✅Plant-based protein: the white beans, pasta and peas give a good boost of protein, helping to make this soup really filling.
✅Supports immune health: garlic, onion, carrots, and parsley all contain important vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that help support your immune system and overall wellbeing.
✅Healthy fats: using olive oil provides healthy monounsaturated fats, which are associated with supporting heart health and reducing inflammation.
✅Packed with antioxidants: carrots, tomato purée, garlic, onion, and parsley all provide antioxidants that help protect your cells from everyday stress and support overall health.
Storage and Shelf Life
This Spring Minestrone Soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Store in an airtight container or cover well before refrigerating.
- It can also be frozen for up to about 3 months.
Recipe Tips:
- Boost or swap the veg: Add peppers, courgette or any veg of choice for extra texture and variety.
- Add heat: Add some chilli flakes or add a fresh red chilli if you like your soup with a little more heat.
- Make ahead: the flavours actually deepen overnight, making this ideal for batch cooking.
- Add more stock: This is quite a thick soup. Feel free to add more stock if preferred. Also, it may need more stock if you store in the fridge, as it will thicken.
- Bean swap: If you don’t have white beans to hand you can use chickpeas or lentils (or any beans) to replace them.
- Orzo swap: I’ve used orzo here but any small pasta shape will work for this soup.
If you liked this Spring Minestrone Soup, why not try:
Spring Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 leek
- 3 medium carrots
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 600 g cannellini beans (21oz)
- 4 cups vegetable stock (1 litre)
- 1 cup orzo (190g)
- 1 cup frozen peas (130g)
- 2 handfuls of fresh spinach
- Small handful of fresh parsley
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion, leek, garlic and carrots. Add the olive oil to a large pan and sauté the chopped veggies for about 5 mins.
- Add the oregano, bay leaves, tomato puree, salt and pepper to the pan and cook for another minute. Add the beans, stock and orzo and bring to the boil.
- Turn down the heat and simmer for about 15 mins until the orzo is cooked.
- Add the frozen peas and spinach to the pan and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the peas are warm the spinach has wilted slightly. Season to taste.
- Serve with some fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
- If you don’t have cannellini beans, use chickpeas or lentils (or any beans).
- Swap the orzo for any small pasta.
- This can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days and freezes well too.
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