Recipe: Perfect Meatless Main Dish Minestrone

Meatless Main Dish Minestrone. A friend gave me this quick, healthy recipe, and it's oh-so-tasty. It makes a big batch and is great for leftovers. To enhance the flavor, add a pound or two of sweet Italian sausage. —Mickey Turner, Grants Pass, Oregon.

Meatless Minestrone recipe: This recipe for traditional Italian soup may have quite a few ingredients, but it couldn't be easier to prepare. Plus, it's packed with wonderful flavor and nutrition. A flavorful soup, made mostly from ingredients that are already on the kitchen shelf. You can have Meatless Main Dish Minestrone using 19 ingredients and 6 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Meatless Main Dish Minestrone

1. Prepare 6 tbsp of butter.
2. Prepare 5-6 of large carrots, sliced.
3. You need 2 of medium celery stalks.
4. Prepare 2 of medium onions, minced.
5. Prepare 1 of garlic clove.
6. Prepare 1 of medium head green cabbage (about 1.5 lb.), coarsely sliced.
7. Prepare 1 (28 oz.) of can of tomatoes, chopped (save liquid).
8. You need 8 cups of water.
9. It's 1/3 cup of regular long-grain rice or orzo.
10. It's 2 teaspoons of salt.
11. It's 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.
12. You need 1/4 teaspoon of oregano leaves.
13. You need 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
14. You need 4 of medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces.
15. Prepare 4 of beef boullion cubes.
16. You need 2 of large zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces.
17. Prepare 2 of 15.25-20 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained.
18. It's 1 (10 oz.) of package frozen chopped spinach.
19. You need 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Serve with a fresh, crusty bread for a hearty meal. The main difference between minestrone and pasta e fagioli is the variety of vegetables in minestrone. Fagioli is mainly pasta and beans in a broth (I add a few veggies like celery & onion for extra flavor). Authentic recipe for minestrone from Trieste, a traditional dish in Italy's north-eastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in particular in the cities of Trieste and Gorizia.

Meatless Main Dish Minestrone step by step

1. In 8 quart dutch oven or stock pot over medium high heat, in hot butter, cook carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and cabbage until vegetables are browned, about 30+ minutes, stirring frequently..
2. Add tomatoes with their liquid and next 9 ingredients..
3. Over high heat, heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender..
4. Add beans and frozen spinach, cook over medium heat until spinach is cooked and beans are heated through..
5. Add more water if necessary, as the soup becomes thick upon standing..
6. Serve with parmesan cheese..

Minestrone soup is an Italian classic! This version is made with cannellini beans, chicken stock, cabbage, potato, zucchini, carrots, plum tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese. This favorite Italian soup is made with fresh seasonal vegetables. This budget minestrone is the classic Italian soup made with cannellini beans and broken up spaghetti. The minestrone is vegetarian, as long as you use vegetable stock.