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This minestrone soup recipe is a delicious version of the classic Italian vegetable soup. Serve it with crusty bread for an easy vegetarian meal!

Today, I have two goals: to bake a batch of Christmas cookies and to make a pot of minestrone soup. To me, the two go hand-in-hand. After I spend an afternoon baking (and eating!) something sweet, I want nothing more than a warming, nourishing pot of soup for dinner at night.

I love this minestrone soup recipe in particular because it's so satisfying, but still light and fresh. Onions, carrots, and celery add depth of flavor to its herb-flecked tomato broth, and starchy beans and pasta make it nice and thick. I toss in green beans for texture, and, as a final finishing touch, I top it off with fresh parsley and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. It's super easy and flavorful, and all you need is crusty bread to make it a meal. Cookies for dessert are optional, but highly recommended.

Minestrone Soup Recipe Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this minestrone soup recipe:

Onion, carrot, and celery - These vegetables create the aromatic base of the soup, known as a soffritto in Italian. You'll sauté them in olive oil before adding the other ingredients.

Garlic - It adds additional depth of flavor to the soup. You'll stir it in after cooking the onions, carrots, and celery so that it doesn't burn.

Diced tomatoes - For sweet, tangy flavor.

Green beans - They add vibrant color and crisp-tender texture to the soup.

White or kidney beans - Navy beans, cannellini beans, and red kidney beans all work great!

Vegetable broth - Use store-bought, or make your own.

Bay leaves, oregano, and thyme - My easy version of a homemade Italian seasoning! These dried herbs add so much complexity to this simple minestrone soup.

Small pasta - Think elbows, little shells, orecchiette, or ditalini. I like to cook it right in the soup so that it releases its starches into the broth.

Fresh parsley - For garnish! Fresh basil would be excellent here too.

Red pepper flakes - Optional, for heat.

And Parmesan cheese - This salty, umami garnish takes the soup over the top.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Variations

If you don't have these exact ingredients on hand, don't worry. As Alice Waters writes in The Art of Simple Food, minestrone soup is endlessly customizable. Part of the beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up to use what's in season or what you have on hand. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Substitute chopped fennel for the celery.

Replace the green beans with diced zucchini or yellow squash, or use a mix of all three.

In the summer, use diced fresh Roma tomatoes instead of canned ones.

Stir in fresh greens, like spinach or kale, near the end of the cooking time.

No pasta? Swap in a quick-cooking grain like pearled farro or barley.

Instead of using canned beans, cook your own! Then, use the aromatic cooking liquid in place of some or all of the vegetable broth in this soup.

Let me know what variations you try!

Minestrone Soup Serving Suggestions

This recipe is best right after it's made, as the pasta absorbs the broth as it sits in the leftover soup. If you want to make it ahead of time, I recommend cooking the pasta separately and stirring it into the soup as you're ready to eat. Alternatively, you can skip the pasta and add an extra cup of beans to the soup. Prepared this way, the soup will keep well for up to four days in the fridge.

When you're ready to eat, top each bowl with a sprinkle of parsley, red pepper flakes, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. If you're vegan, feel free to skip the cheese, or garnish your bowl with a scoop of vegan pesto instead. (Non-vegans take note: regular pesto is also a great topping for minestrone soup!).

Serve the soup with good crusty bread and call it a day, or round out the meal with a side salad. This arugula salad, this beet salad, and this pear salad would all be fantastic with this minestrone soup. Enjoy!

More Favorite Soup Recipes

If you love this minestrone soup, try one of these delicious soup recipes next:

Minestrone Soup

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This minestrone soup recipe is a delicious version of the classic Italian vegetable soup. Serve it with crusty bread for an easy vegetarian meal! Today, I have two goals: to bake a batch of Christmas cookies and to make a pot of minestrone soup. To me, the two go hand-in-hand.

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I observed this on a website and thought it looked good.

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I observed this on a website and thought it looked good.

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Never cooked soba noodles? Follow the tips in this post to make a foolproof soba noodle salad that's loaded with veggies and great for weekday lunches!

Happy Monday! If you're like me and you had a weekend full french toast, cake, and pancakes, then you've come to the right place! Today I have a fresh, delicious bowl of soba noodles to help start the week off in a healthy direction. The best thing about this bowl is that it's super simple to make, yet has great zippy flavor. There's a light sesame-ginger dressing that perfectly coats the soba noodles. On top of that, I chose to mix in a group of vibrant spring veggies, but keep reading for a few other suggestions to customize your noodle bowl!

What are soba noodles?

Soba noodles come from Japan, which is where Jack and I fell in love with them. Made with buckwheat flour, they have a wonderful nutty flavor and slick, soft texture.

Traditional soba is made with only buckwheat flour and water, so it's easy to make soba noodle recipes gluten-free: despite its name, buckwheat has no relation to wheat! However, because 100% buckwheat noodles can be fragile and difficult to work with, you'll often see soba that contains a mix of buckwheat and wheat flours. These are the noodles I usually choose (I also like these) - they still have the buckwheat's yummy flavor, but they're easier for tossing in a soba noodle salad like this one.

If you're gluten-free, be sure to seek out 100% buckwheat soba ( these are awesome!). Both varieties are readily available in Asian markets or in the Asian section of regular grocery stores.

How to cook soba noodles

If you've never cooked soba before, there are a few things you should know before starting this recipe. It's easy for a package of soba to turn into a big gummy mess, but if you follow these tips, you'll have sure soba success!

First, unlike regular pasta, it's essential that you cook your soba in unsalted water.

Make sure not to overcook them! Don't forget to set a kitchen timer for the time listed on the package.

When your noodles are ready, drain them in the sink and rinse them thoroughly with cold water to remove starches that cause clumping.

Finally, toss them with a glug of oil to keep them fresh until you're ready to eat!

Soba Noodle Recipe Variations

The star of this soba noodle salad is the zingy sesame dressing, and though I love it over blanched snap peas, edamame, avocado, and radishes here, you could easily change up the veggies in this dish. Here are some ideas:

Have fun making a bowl of soba noodles you really love. This recipe is great for weeknight dinners or packing for lunch, but if you do make it ahead, be sure to add the avocado at the last minute so it stays nice & green. Enjoy!

If you love this soba noodle recipe...

Try this maki sushi recipe, these avocado cucumber sushi rolls, this miso soup, or this stir fry next!

For more vegan recipes, check out this post!

Sesame Soba Noodles

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Sesame Soba Noodles Recipe - Love and Lemons

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Never cooked soba noodles? Follow the tips in this post to make a foolproof soba noodle salad that's loaded with veggies and great for weekday lunches! Happy Monday! If you're like me and you had a weekend full french toast, cake, and pancakes, then you've come to the right place!

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This 30-minute broccoli cheddar soup recipe is the ULTIMATE comfort food! It's rich, creamy, super cheesy, and loaded with tender veggies.

Broccoli cheddar soup is one of Jack's favorite foods. Ask him about the version at Panera Bread, and he'll go on and on about its creamy texture and rich, tangy, cheesy flavor. He never expected me to develop a broccoli cheddar soup recipe at home (unless you count this vegan twist), but with the holidays right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to surprise him with one.

So, on a gray, chilly day last weekend, when we were both craving comfort food, I finally made him this broccoli cheddar soup recipe. As we sat down with our steaming bowls, I waited anxiously to see what he'd think. I shouldn't have worried. He took one taste and declared, "This recipe is even better than Panera's broccoli cheddar soup!" A few minutes later, he was already heading back for seconds. I hope you love this recipe too!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this broccoli cheddar soup recipe:

Broccoli, of course! Cut it into small, bite-sized pieces so that you get some in every spoonful of soup.

Onion and garlic - They add savory depth of flavor.

Butter and flour - They create a roux that thickens the soup.

Milk - It perfects the soup's creamy texture. Whole milk is traditional in broccoli cheese soup, and it works great here, but I often use unsweetened almond milk instead, and it works nicely too. The soup is a tad less thick, but it's still delicious!

Vegetable broth - Use store-bought, or make your own.

Carrot - You can finely chop it or julienne it. I personally like to julienne it because the shredded carrots remind me of grated cheese, and I think they give the soup a fun, extra-cheesy look.

Dijon mustard - It adds tangy, peppery depth of flavor.

Cheddar cheese - It wouldn't be broccoli cheddar soup without it! Sharp cheddar cheese is my fave, but feel free to opt for a mild cheddar if your prefer.

And salt and pepper - To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
So creamy! So cheesy! Who wants a bowl?

Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe Tips

Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is often coated in anti-caking agents that can prevent the cheese from melting into a lusciously creamy soup. To ensure that your broccoli cheddar soup has the best smooth and creamy texture, buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself.

Whisk continuously when you add the flour and milk. At first, whisking prevents the flour from burning on the bottom of the pot with the butter. Once you add the milk, it evenly disperses the flour and butter in the liquid, thickening the soup and preventing lumps from forming.

Go low and slow. When you add the cheese to the soup, make sure that the pot is over very low heat. If the heat is too high, the cheese won't incorporate into the soup, giving it a thin, gloopy texture. I also recommend adding a little at a time and stirring well between additions.

Reheat it on the stove. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat them, you'll once again need to go low and slow. Skip the microwave, and warm the soup on the stovetop instead. Place it in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and stir occasionally until heated through. Reheated this way, the soup should stay thick and creamy. If you try to rush the process and crank up the heat, the soup will separate. Trust me, I learned the hard way!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Serving Suggestions

Make this broccoli cheese soup a meal by serving it with good crusty bread or a heap of homemade croutons. If you're looking for something more to serve with it, I recommend a simple veggie side dish like one of these:

Enjoy!

More Favorite Soup Recipes

If you love this broccoli cheddar soup, try one of these delicious soup recipes next:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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This broccoli cheddar soup recipe is easy to make in 30 minutes! Hearty, rich and creamy, it's the perfect comfort food. Better than Panera!