Low-Fat Minestrone Verde Soup! Perfect for a quick and easy lunch or dinner, this nourishing soup is both satisfying and wholesome—ready in no time to warm your soul without any guilt.
Vibrant, healthy, and flavorful, this Low-Fat Minestrone Verde Soup is a fresh twist on the classic Italian favorite. Traditionally packed with hearty vegetables, this Whole Food Plant-Based version takes a healthier spin by eliminating oils and cheeses, making it a light yet incredibly flavorful meal. The name ‘Minestrone Verde’ perfectly captures its essence, highlighting a medley of lush green ingredients like spinach, zucchini, green beans, and herbs that bring a bright, verdant touch to your bowl.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
We absolutely loved this tasty spring soup! It’s the kind of dish that makes you feel good inside and out, thanks to its fresh, plant-powered ingredients. Seriously, you gotta give this one a try!
Whether you’re looking for a light meal or a nutritious way to celebrate the changing seasons, this Minestrone Verde will become a new favorite in your recipe rotation.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Low-Fat Minestrone Verde Soup is classic Italian soup. Traditionally this dish is heavy in olive oil and both Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses; however, this Whole Food Plant Based soup does not use any of these ingredients. The broth is light on the palate, yet flavorful. The soup is called ‘Minestrone Verde’ simply because it focuses on ‘verde’ or green ingredients. This quick and easy soup is great for a fast, satisfying lunch or dinner.
- Low-Fat Dish Expectations: This recipe was designed to be low in fat. Because it is low in fat, you are not going to experience that endorphin rush associated with eating high-fat foods when eating this soup. It is very tasty for what it is, and that is a low-fat soup. We just want to make sure that our Readers recognize this when contemplating making this recipe. If you wish to make it more indulgent, add the Vegan Parmesan Cheese on individual servings. The vegan parmesan cheese totally takes it over the top.
- Broth: The broth, while flavorful, is on the light side allowing the veggies to shine. Feel free to ramp up the herbs. Note that chopped fresh basil is a really nice touch and adds great flavor.
- Veggies: You can easily customize the veggies in this soup. For example, you can add small cut asparagus or tiny broccoli florets, etc. If you add veggies, then perhaps consider cutting back on other ingredients to avoid a soup with a small amount of broth.
- Herbs/Spices: This soup is intentionally lightly flavored. It was designed especially for individuals who are looking for a lighter-flavored soup featuring fresh flavor and less herbs. You can easily increase the herb/spices if you wish, do so after you add in the greens to gain a better understanding of the flavor profile.
- Greens: Greens such as spinach and kale are natural spice/herb neutralizers. A soup/stew can taste perfectly seasoned before adding the greens, then once the greens are added, the flavor mellows requiring more seasoning.
- Baby Greens: This is a spring soup. We recommend baby kale or baby spinach as they are tender and cook faster. We used baby kale.
- Packed Baby Kale: We pulled off any large stems from the baby kale and then chopped it into ¼ inch size pieces, then packed it into a 1 cup measuring cup. The chopped greens allowed the baby kale to cook faster and created a better mouthfeel.
- Zucchini: We used a medium sized zucchini. Unpeeled. After cutting the ends off, our kitchen test zucchinis measured between 8 and 10 ounces. You can use any size zucchini you wish as long as it is less than 10 ounces.
- Cannellini Bean Substitutions: Feel free to use your favorite white bean or none at all and just increase the amount of pasta used. If you use more pasta, then cut back the cannellini beans to one can.
- Elbow Macaroni Substitutions: Feel free to use your favorite petite cut pasta (such as couscous or ditalini or orzo). You can also leave out the pasta completely and add more beans or veggies.
- Amount of Pasta: The amount of pasta used in this soup is relative, meaning, you can use as much or as little as you wish.
- Gluten Free Pasta: Feel free to use gluten free pasta, we suggest keeping it separate from the broth as gluten free pastas tend to make soup broths murky from the excess starches.
- Soup Pasta Restaurant Style: This soup is best served restaurant style. Most restaurants keep the pasta separate from soup broths. The cooked pasta is spooned into individual bowls, then the hot soup broth is poured over top. This trick accomplishes several things. First it keeps the integrity of the pasta in great shape and doesn’t allow them to get mushy. It also preserves the soup broth. Pasta is very thirsty, and they will suck up all the soup broth and you are left with a very thick soup-stew. If you keep the soup and pasta separate and refrigerate the leftovers, you may find the pasta stiff, sticky, and clumped together. All you need to do is place some of the cold, refrigerated, cooked pasta into a colander and rinse with hot tap water, gently loosen them with your fingers.
- Optional Topper – Vegan Parmesan Cheese: We used our recipe, Vegan Parmesan Cheese. Feel free to use your favorite vegan parmesan cheese recipe. A sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese on individual servings really elevates this dish.
- Optional Topper – Toasted Pine Nuts: The toasted pine nuts are optional. If you wish to top with toasted pine nuts, simply place some pine nuts in a dry skillet. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning until golden.
- Optional Topper – Torn or chopped fresh basil leaves: The fresh basil really elevates the soup. We loved the fresh basil.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered container.
This soup freezes well.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large stock pot
- Medium stock pot (to boil the pasta)
If you try this flavorful soup, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Low-Fat Minestrone Verde Soup
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: 7 Cups 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vibrant, healthy, and flavorful, this Low-Fat Minestrone Verde Soup is a fresh twist on the classic Italian favorite.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, unpeeled, small dice *
- 2 celery ribs, small dice
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 3 cups water
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried basil (+/-)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (+/-)
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-)
- Pinch to ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
Other Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 – [ 15.5 oz. cans ] cannellini beans, drained and rinsed *
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup packed, chopped baby kale (or baby spinach) *
Additional Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 cups cooked elbow macaroni *
Optional Toppings:
- Sprinkle Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Sprinkle toasted pine nuts
- Chopped fresh basil leaves *
Instructions
- Boil the elbow macaroni according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water, set aside.
- Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large stockpot, sauté the chopped onions, celery, and zucchini for 7 to 9 minutes over medium-high heat until they start to become tender. Add a splash of water to prevent sticking/burning if needed.
- Add the minced garlic to the pot, continue to sauté over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
- Next add all the remaining Base Ingredients and the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well, bring to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Then add all the Other Ingredients, stir well, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until all the veggies are perfectly tender.
- Once tender, to serve, place some cooked macaroni in the bottom of a soup bowl, then pour the hot soup over top. Mix well. Optional: Top individual servings with a sprinkle of Vegan Parmesan Cheese and/or toasted pine nuts or chopped fresh basil. Enjoy!
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Serving: 4 to 5 servings (7 cups)
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