Soups Canadian

Alberta Country-Style Minestrone

A vegetable-packed minestrone with carrots, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, chickpeas, pasta and spinach, built for cold prairie days, rainy summer afternoons and farmers who have been outside since before sensible people woke up.

Alberta Country-Style Minestrone

What It Is

This is a vegetarian minestrone made with onion, garlic, carrots, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, vegetable broth, chickpeas, pasta and spinach.

Origin

Minestrone is Italian and traditionally flexible, often changing with season and available ingredients. This version is a Canadian prairie adaptation from Dinner by the Minute.

Fun Fact

Minestrone has no single fixed ingredient list. Its identity comes more from being a hearty Italian vegetable soup than from one mandatory formula.

Prep
20 min
Cook
30 min
Temp
Stovetop simmer
Total
50 min
Servings
6 large bowls
(portion sizes are a suggestion, not a law)
Difficulty
easy
Nut-Free
Diet
Nut-Free
Away Mission
65 min walk
(or beam directly past it, if the transporter's working today)
#alberta #canadian #chickpeas #minestrone #pasta #vegetable-soup #vegetarian

Ingredients

  • ½ onion, diced
  • 1½ tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 1½ cups green beans
  • ¼ tsp sea salt and pepper
  • 1 cup zucchini, sliced
  • 1½ cups diced tomatoes
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1½ cups chickpeas, rinsed
  • 2 cups pasta noodles
  • 1 cup spinach, roughly chopped

Steps

  1. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic with a small splash of water or broth and cook for about 3 minutes.
  2. Add carrots and green beans, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3–4 minutes.
  3. Add zucchini, tomatoes, vegetable broth, basil, oregano, nutritional yeast, coconut sugar and chickpeas. Bring to a strong simmer.
  4. Reduce heat slightly, add pasta and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Reduce heat to low and cook another 4–5 minutes as needed for the pasta.
  6. Add spinach and cook 3–4 minutes, until wilted.
  7. Turn off the heat, rest a few minutes and garnish with fresh herbs or Parmesan if desired.

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Notes

The source says water is added in step one but does not list an amount. Use a small splash only as needed to prevent sticking, or substitute a little broth.

Nutrition Facts
Per 1 large bowl
Calories 290
Burning this off: several minutes of aggressively pretending to enjoy a work Zoom call.
% Daily Value*
Fat 3.5 g 5%
Saturated + Trans 0.5 g 3%
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 1040 mg 45%
Carbohydrate 54.0 g
Fibre 11.0 g 39%
Sugars 9.0 g 9%
Protein 16.0 g
Potassium 1150 mg 24%
Calcium 190 mg 15%
Iron 6.7 mg 37%
*5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot. Sodium levels calculated in a country with universal healthcare — and it's free, so don't worry about it too much.
A genuinely respectable nutrition profile. No red flags here — go ahead and feel a little smug about it.

Substitutions

Use kidney beans or cannellini beans instead of chickpeas. Add celery, cabbage or seasonal vegetables. Use gluten-free pasta if needed. Parmesan is optional.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Pasta will continue to absorb broth, so add a splash of water or stock when reheating.

Freezing

Freeze without pasta for best texture, then add freshly cooked pasta when reheating. Freeze up to 3 months.