Make a pot of Easy Lentil Minestrone, with veggies, lentils, beans and pasta. This one-pot soup is low-calorie, meatless, tasty and filling!
Today I want to share a delicious “meatless” soup recipe I found online a while ago. It is absolutely scrumptious and full of veggies and good protein from lentils! This soup is more filling than regular vegetable soup, because of the added white beans and pasta!
Recently a dear family member had surgery, and I offered to bring her a meal once she was home recuperating. She is a vegetarian, so I took her a big pot of easy lentil minestrone, along with some cheddar biscuits and brownies. She told me she loved it!
We love this hearty soup too, even though my husband and I are not vegetarians. Easy Lentil Minestrone has amazing flavor and texture from the veggies, lentils, beans and pasta. I only made a couple of changes to the original recipe, to suit our taste.
I’ve been making wonderful homemade minestrone (with beef) for over 45 years using a recipe from a family friend, but this meatless recipe (from another source) is equally delicious. Here’s how to make it.
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Cook The Vegetables
Heat extra virgin olive oil on medium-high heat in a heavy-duty sauce pot or a large Dutch oven until very hot (but not smoking). Add chopped onion, carrots and celery to the hot oil. Cook the veggies until they become tender, about 6-7 minutes.
Add minced garlic, salt, Italian seasoning and black pepper to the veggies, and stir well, to combine these ingredients. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn.
Make The Minestrone Soup
Now it’s time to turn those cooked vegetables into a big pot of yummy soup! Pour in vegetable broth, water, and two 14.5-ounce cans of diced tomatoes (including the juice). Stir to combine these ingredients.
Add brown (or green) lentils and two dried bay leaves (found in spice section at store) to the soup pot. Stir well, then bring the soup to a FULL BOIL.
Once it’s boiling, turn the heat down to LOW and put a lid on the soup pot. Let the soup simmer on low heat for 25 minutes, without opening the lid or disturbing the soup.
Add Beans And Pasta
After 25 minutes remove the lid from the soup pot and turn the heat back up to MEDIUM. You will notice the soup has reduced slightly in volume, and that is to be expected.
Stir uncooked macaroni noodles and one can of drained Great Northern Beans (or Cannellini Beans) into the soup. Cook the soup (uncovered), stirring often for about 10-11 minutes, or until the pasta is tender to the bite.
TIP: As the pasta cooks it will absorb some of the liquid. You may find it helpful to add additional broth or water to “thin out” the soup slightly, to suit your taste.
Final Step
Remove the soup pot from the heat source and stir in fresh baby spinach leaves (whole or chopped). As you stir, the heat of the soup will “cook” the spinach until it wilts.
Once the spinach has wilted, take a small taste of the soup. If you find it needs additional salt and pepper to suit your taste, stir it in at this point, right before serving.
Serve And Enjoy Easy Lentil Minestrone Soup
Ladle the minestrone into individual bowls and serve immediately while hot. You can add grated Parmesan cheese to each serving, if desired, for even more flavor (optional, but good).
This recipe as written will yield approximately 12, one-cup servings of the soup and is very low-calorie! A one cup serving is perfect for a quick lunch, but for a dinner “main dish” serving, I recommend doubling this amount.
I hope you have the chance to make this delicious soup for those you love! Yes, it has a fairly long list of ingredients but trust me… it’s so worth it! Easy lentil minestrone not only tastes amazing, but it is very filling!
TIP: The original creator of this recipe also shared how to prepare this meal in a slow cooker. I’ve included the directions in the NOTES section of the printable recipe card below. I have not tried this way of preparing the minestrone but included it in case this method is of interest to you.
Thank you for stopping by today, and I invite you to come back again soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day!
Looking For More SOUP Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. There are LOTS of delicious soup recipes to choose from, including:
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Greek Cannellini Bean Stew
- Cream of Asparagus Soup
- Albondigas Soup
- Turkey Tortilla Soup
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Recipe adapted from: Jenn Laughlin at: Easy One-Pot Lentil Minestrone Soup – Peas and Crayons
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Make a pot of Easy Lentil Minestrone, with veggies, lentils, beans and pasta. This one-pot soup is low-calorie, meatless, tasty and filling!
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled, diced
- 3 medium carrots peeled, diced
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water +more, as needed
- 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes including juice
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup elbow macaroni uncooked
- 1 cup brown lentils or green lentils
- 15 ounces canned Great Northern Beans drained (or substitute cannellini beans)
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves whole or chopped
Heat olive oil on medium-high in a heavy-duty sauce pot or large Dutch oven until hot (not smoking). Add onion, carrots, celery; cook until tender (6-7 minutes), stirring often.
Add garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, pepper; stir well. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly so garlic doesn't burn. Pour in veggie broth, water, and diced tomatoes (including juice). Stir to combine.
Add lentils and bay leaves. Stir, then bring soup to a FULL BOIL. Reduce heat to LOW; put a lid on soup pot. Simmer for 25 minutes, without disturbing.
Remove lid from soup pot; increase heat to MEDIUM. Soup will have slightly reduced in volume. Add uncooked macaroni and drained beans. Stir well. Cook (uncovered) for 10-11 minutes or until pasta is tender. TIP: As pasta cooks it will absorb some liquid. Add more broth or water to "thin" soup slightly, as desired.
Remove soup from heat; stir in spinach. The hot soup will "cook/wilt" the spinach. Once spinach has wilted, taste soup; add additional salt and pepper if needed.
Ladle hot soup into bowls; serve immediately. Top with grated Parmesan (optional), if desired.
NOTE: Jenn Laughlin (original author) shared how to use a slow cooker for this recipe:
Place all ingredients (except macaroni, beans, spinach) in slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 9-10 hours OR Cook on HIGH 5-6 hours. Stir in pasta, beans. Cover again; cook till pasta is al dente (10+ minutes). Stir in spinach. Season w/ additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!