Minestrone Soup Recipe with Gluten Free Option / Low-Carb Option – The key to this hearty Minestrone soup is cooking the pasta separately and adding it the finished soup. This serves two benefits. 1 – you can choose not to add the pasta to your portion of the soup if you want stay away from carbs (if you’re serving for more than one person) and 2 – the people who want to add the pasta to their delicious Minestrone soup can add as much as they want!
This option is great as my son prefers a little pasta to add to his soup while my husband adds A LOT of pasta… while I prefer the low-carb gluten-free option of zero pasta.
Besides the pasta option, I think this recipe is a delicious Minestrone soup.
OUR FAVORITE COLD WEATHER SOUP RECIPES
Minestrone Soup Recipe (Gluten-Free – Low-Carb Option)
Minestrone Soup Recipe Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium ribs celery, chopped
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 cups chopped seasonal vegetables (I use green beans and peas; zucchini, squash, and potatoes are also popular)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Dash of red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups baby spinach
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (OPTIONAL), or Romano if you like a stronger cheese
- 1 cup small pasta (I use Ditalini) (OPTIONAL), Don’t Make Pasta for a Gluten Free Minestrone Soup Recipe
- 2 cups of cooked, chopped Italian sausage (OPTIONAL) – personal preference – I love adding sausage; (can also be cooked in the pot before adding the liquids)
Minestrone Soup Recipe Instructions
Warm the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onions are turning translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the vegetables, garlic, oregano and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Pour in the diced tomatoes and their juices and broth. Add the salt and red pepper flakes. Season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pot with the lid, leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for at least 30 minutes, then add the beans and greens. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the greens are tender. While the soup is simmering, cook pasta separately. Drain the pasta and run through cold water to stop from cooking further. Place into a serving bowl. When soup is done simmering, taste and season with more salt and pepper, as desired. Sprinkle bowls of soup with grated Parmesan (optional), and add in the desired amount of pasta (optional for GF and low carb). Pasta can also be cooked within the soup if you add in 2 cups of water when adding the broth. As you can see in the pic below, for this Minestrone Soup Recipe, I added cooked Italian sausage chunks which give it an additional protein boost. Remember, eliminate the pasta for a GF Minestrone Soup recipe!
We hope you enjoy this Minestrone Soup Recipe with a Gluten Free Minestrone Soup recipe and low-carb Options.
