this spring green minestrone soup is the perfect soup as we transition from winter to spring. perfect for those 50 degree sunny days when you want something warm but also light and veggie-filled. this soup is filled with kale, leeks, spinach, celery, carrots, potatoes, and more!
I know soup season is technically over and I am very excited to dive back into spring recipes. However, I think this spring green minestrone soup is the perfect for this time of year. It is full of flavor, packed with veggies, and it uses vegan pesto to add lots of flavor. Pair it with your favorite crusty bread for maximum comfort food. The next few recipes are a part of my EAT YOUR GREENS series. Recipes designed to help you eat more greens and get your veggies in.
Minestrone Soup
Growing up an Italian-American household minestrone soup was a staple. I loved to eat it at restaurants or at home. The typical way I always ate it was with a tomato based broth, pasta, veggies, beans (that recipe is in my cookbook). The beauty of minestrone soup is there is no right or wrong way to make it. You use what vegetables you have on hand and minestrone essentially translates to “that which is served.” It is a very rustic soup and can be easily customized to your preference.
This spring green minestrone soup is just another variation and I like the use of pesto here. I love soups like this for using up old vegetables, it just always comes out so good.
The Greens
In this recipe I decided to use a bunch of different green veggies. There is kale, spinach, peas, celery, and leeks. I also used carrots, potato, onion, and garlic. Some other greens you can add to this would be escarole, broccoli, broccolini, asparagus, cabbage, string beans, collard greens, or even chopped up bok choy. I also love adding microgreens on top of everything so it is another way to get in some greens.
Vegan Pesto
I didn’t realize how much I would love adding pesto to this soup. In an effort to make this recipe easy I used a vegan store-bought pesto. I love the Kale Cashew Pesto from Trader Joe’s. However, there are so many vegan pestos out there. You can also of course make it at home. Just blend up basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and salt it is pretty easy.
Spring Green Minestrone Soup FAQ
- Can I add pasta to this? Oh of course! Add pasta, rice, any grain you like would be great in here.
- How long will this last in the fridge? About 2 to 3 days.
- Can I freeze this? Totally!
- What is good to eat on the side of this? Serve it with a salad and some crusty bread, maybe even some homemade garlic knots.
Check Out The Other Eat Your Greens Recipes
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Spring Green Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
Soup
- ½ tablespoon (8ml) olive oil
- 1 celery rib (about 1 ounce/32g), chopped
- 1 leek (about 2.5 ounces/70g), thinly sliced
- ⅓ sweet onion (about 2 ounces/56g), chopped
- 1 carrot (about 3.5 ounces/95g), chopped
- 5 to 6 garlic cloves (about 1 ounce/30g), chopped
- Salt and pepper for veggies
- 3 cups (720ml) water
- 1 small can (10.5 ounces/297g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup (85g) frozen peas
- 2 ½ cups (85g) kale
- 1 Yukon gold potato (about 7.5 ounces/215g), cubed
- 1 teaspoon (6g) vegetable better than bouillon
- 1 tablespoon vegan pesto
- 2 cups (85g) spinach
Garnish
- Microgreens
- More pesto
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium pot add the oil and the celery, leek, sweet onion, garlic, and carrots. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Sauté over low heat for 5 minutes or until onions and garlic are translucent. Mix occasionally with a spatula.
- Then add in the chickpeas, peas, kale, potatoes, water, better than bouillon and vegan pesto. Mix together and raise heat to medium low let the soup cook for 10 minutes with a vented lid. Let it come to a boil, once boiling remove the lid.
- After the 10 minutes add the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes uncovered.
- Then taste the soup and adjust any seasonings to your preference. I like to add red pepper flakes. Make sure the potatoes are soft.
- Serve the soup and garnish, enjoy immediately.
Video
Notes
- I only had a small can of chickpeas in my pantry, you can use a regular size can (15.5 ounces) and it will be fine.
- I like to use Better Than Bouillon. If you would prefer to just use vegetable broth you can use 3 cups of vegetable broth instead of 3 cups of water.
- I like Yukon gold potatoes because they are softer and cook quicker. If you use a different potato it may adjust the cooking time. Be sure to dice it small so it cooks quicker.
- To drizzle the pesto on top of the soup I mixed together 1 tablespoon of vegan pesto with about 1 teaspoon of water to help thin it out.
- When reheating soup you may need to add some water as the veggies will suck up broth while in the fridge.
I know soup season is technically over but… I am still going to enjoy them!