LB's Minestrone Soup

Warm up with this plant-based and blender-made minestrone soup! Minestrone is a hearty Italian veggie soup usually made with a tomato broth and rice or pasta.

Minestrone was traditionally made to use up leftover veggies, so you can use any seasonal vegetables and greens you have on hand. I used zucchini for the soup you see above, and it was perfect. It’s easy to make (20 minutes), it’s filling and pairs really well with a salad for lunch or dinner. This recipe yields eight cups so reduce by half if you’d prefer less. I batch cook this on Sunday and enjoy throughout the week. One cup is approximately 100 calories, 2.5g fat, 2g of sugar, and 6g of protein. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered or 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 cup spinach

• 1/2 garlic clove, peeled

• 1/2 small carrot

• 1/2 small onion, peeled and halved

• 1 stalk celery stalk, halved

• 1/8 tsp. black pepper

• 1/8 tsp. dried oregano

• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

• 1/2 tsp. salt or Jake’s Prime

• 2 tbsp. tomato paste

• 1/4 cup chick peas, drained

• 2 cups chopped seasonal vegetables (yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, green beans or peas all work), cubed and steamed.

• 1 cup kidney beans, drained

• 1/2 cup fresh or canned corn

• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Place the broth, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, carrot, onion, celery, pepper, oregano, basil, salt, and tomato paste into high speed blender and secure lid.

2. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to high.

3. Blend for 6-7 minutes or until steam escapes from lid.

4. Reduce speed and add steamed veggies, chick peas, kidney beans, corn and cheese.

5. Leave beans and zucchini whole or blend for 10-20 seconds.