Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup
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What’s better than a hot bowl of a Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup? This soup is so versatile and super healthy as it calls for such a wide variety of vegetables. It’s flavorful, rich in nutrients, and makes for the perfect meatless meal. This soup is sure to keep you warm even on the coldest winter night.
Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup
When it comes to winter soups one of my all time favorites hands down is minestrone soup. It is flavorful, rich in veggies, and it always hits the spot. This soup is great for a meatless dinner or lunch and typically most recipes make for a large batch. Which means it’s also perfect for meal prep.
This Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup calls for a lot of fresh veggies. What makes this soup so great is that you can virtually use any vegetables you would like. You can even substitute the beans for other types if you don’t like kidney or cannellini beans.
To make this Minestrone Soup gluten-free just make sure to use gluten-free pasta. My go-to pasta for this recipe and almost all other pasta recipes is Trader Joe’s Brown Rice and Quinoa Fusilli Pasta. It has a great texture and it goes excellent in this minestrone soup.
Ingredients needed to make Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup:
- Aromatics– Yellow onion and garlic.
- Vegetables– Carrots, celery, zucchini and string beans.
- Spices and Herbs– Pink sea salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, fresh thyme, bay leaf, red pepper flakes.
- Beans– Kidney Beans and Cannellini Beans.
- Crushed Tomatoes– Gives minestrone soup so much depth and flavor.
- Vegetable Broth– I like using low-sodium to keep the amount of salt under control. You can also use chicken broth if you don’t need this soup to be vegan friendly.
- Water– To dilute some of the broth.
- Gluten-Free Pasta– Any kind of GF pasta can be used. I like using elbow, fusilli, or even small shells.
- Olive Oil- For cooking.
Equipment needed to make Classic Minestrone Soup:
- 5.5 Quart Dutch Oven– Or any large pot of similar size.
How to make Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup:
- Step 1– Start by prepping all the ingredients; slice carrots and celery, dice onions, dice zucchini into fourths, zucchini, mince garlic, and chop string beans into 1 inch pieces and measure 1 cup. Drain and rinse beans, and chop kale then measure out 2 cups.
- Step 2– Place a dutch oven on the stove top and drizzle with olive oil. Bring to a heat on medium-high and add onions and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until onions start to translucent. Stir in carrots, celery, and zucchini. Continue sautéing for about 5 minutes. While veggies are sautéing, sprinkle in spices and herbs; pink sea salt, black pepper, fresh thyme, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Add crushed tomatoes. Give veggies a stir making sure they are well coated with spices, herbs and crushed tomatoes.
- Step 3– Pour in vegetable broth and water to dilute broth a bit. Bring to a boil.
- Step 4– Once broth has started boiling, add in gluten-free pasta. Boil pasta for 5-7 minutes. Add in beans, kale, and bay leaf. Turn heat down to low, cover dutch oven and allow soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Step 5– Serve immediately and sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese over and garnish with red pepper flakes if desired. Enjoy!
Tips and Substitutions:
- Cook noodles separately if making the soup for later- This recipe calls for the noodles to be cooked with the soup. However, if you’re making the soup ahead of time, I highly suggest to cook the noodles separately. Cooked noodles soak up a lot of liquid which then result in mushy noodles. Cook noodles according to package instructions, which are usually to boil salted water, add noodles and cook anywhere from 8-15 minutes depending on the noodles you are using.
- Add more veggies- Minestrone soup is a great soup to use up any veggies you have on hand. Broccoli, baby spinach, mushrooms, peas, etc. are all great veggies to add to this soup.
- Switch up your pasta- You can use regular pasta as supposed to gluten-free if you prefer. You can also use other kind of noodles like elbow or fusilli.
- Switch up your beans- You can use any other variety of beans like black beans, northern beans, or pinto beans.
- Add more protein- Minestrone soup is a classic vegetarian soup, however you can always add more protein by adding some rotisserie chicken or even some bacon.
How to serve Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup:
Minestrone soup is so rich and flavorful. You can serve and sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese or vegan parmesan cheese to keep vegan friendly. Sprinkle some fresh parsley or basil, and/or some more red pepper flakes to garnish.
Minestrone Soup Variations:
One of the best things about minestrone soup is how you can customize it to your liking. Minestrone soup is the classic “empty your fridge and use any veggies that are about to go bad” kind of soup. I love to use the veggies mentioned in the recipe, but you can always add more or use what you have on hand. Some of my favorite veggies to add to minestrone soup are:
- Mushrooms
- Red Bell Peppers
- Broccoli
- Red Potatoes
- Squash
- Baby Spinach
- Peas
Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup FAQ’s
What kind of gluten-free pasta should I use?
You can use any kind of gluten-free pasta you’d like. I do suggest using small pastas such as elbow, fusilli, or even small shells. If you don’t need your soup to be gluten-free you can use traditional pastas.
When to add pasta to Minestrone Soup?
For better results, especially if you are making minestrone soup ahead or for meal prep, is to cook the pasta separately. The noodles will start to soak up most of the broth as they sit in the soup. Even more so as they sit in the fridge. At this point you would have to add more broth and adjust seasoning. It’s best to cook pasta in its own water, then add to each individual bowl as you serve.
Is Minestrone Soup vegan friendly?
Yes. Minestrone soup is vegan friendly. This specific recipe calls for vegetable broth making this soup completely vegan. Omit adding any parmesan cheese at the end or use vegan parmesan.
Meal Prepping it:
As mentioned before, this Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup is meal prep gold. You can cook up a large pot of soup and either refrigerate or freeze. If you are meal planning and prepping on the weekend and you want to make this soup later on in the week, chop your veggies head of time.
This soup calls for a wide variety of vegetables. Which means a lot of pealing and chopping is involved. Do all the work ahead of time and store them in a mason jar. Fill it up with water and add a bit of lemon juice. This will help keep the veggies fresh for a few days.
How to store Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup:
There are a few ways you can store this soup. To store it in the fridge pour it in a large air-tight container. Keep refrigerated for up to 4-5 days. You can also serve it in smaller tupperware to have ready to-go for lunches. Mason jars work great for this too.
This soup is freezer friendly and my favorite way to do so is in mason jars. Freezing this Healthy Minestrone Soup in mason jars allows you to store them in perfect portions ready to-go. This way, you don’t have to unfreeze the whole batch but rather just what you need. Freeze for up to 3-4 months.
Remember to only fill up to the freezer line to prevent the jar from exploding in the freezer. The freezer line is a line most mason jars have on the side. This leaves enough room in the jar for the liquid to expand once it freezes.
Can Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup be frozen?
You can certainly freeze Minestrone Soup. Make sure you use a freezer friendly container to freeze. Keep soup frozen for up to three months. Thaw out in the fridge and reheat on stovetop.
Some things to keep in mind when freezing soup:
- Freeze in portions you know you’re going to use the soup in– (Once you thaw out and unfreeze your soup, it will have to be consumed within 24 hours). Freeze in portions of 2-4 cups depending on how many cups you will consume in one day.
- If you use a glass container such as a mason jar to freeze your soup in, make sure you leave enough space on the top of the jar- Liquid expands after it freezes. If you fill a glasss conatiner all the way to the top with liquid, once it freezes it will cause the glass to break. Leave a good 2-3 inches at least at the top of your jar or container.
- Label your container with the date you froze your soup on– This soup can be kept frozen for up to 3-4 months.
Did you like this Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup recipe? You may also like these other gluten-free soup recipes:
- Dutch Oven Homemade Beef Stew
- Gluten-Free Lasagna Soup
- Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Taco Soup (Crockpot)
- Crockpot Sriracha Turkey Chili
- White Chicken Chili (Instant Pot)
Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup
What's better than a hot bowl of a Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup? This soup is so versatile and super healthy as it calls for such a wide variety of vegetables. It's flavorful, rich in nutrients, and makes for the perfect meatless meal. This soup is sure to keep you warm even on the coldest winter night.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 3 large carrots
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 zucchini
- 1 cup chopped string beans
- 1.5 tsp pink sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 15 oz can of kidney beans
- 15 oz can of cannelini beans
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 cup gluten-free pasta
Instructions
Start by prepping all the ingredients; slice carrots and celery, dice onions, dice zucchini into fourths, mince garlic, and chop string beans into 1 inch pieces and measure 1 cup. Drain and rinse beans, and chop kale then measure out 2 cups.
Place a dutch oven on the stove top and drizzle with olive oil. Bring to a heat on medium-high and add onions and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until onions start to translucent. Stir in carrots, celery, and zucchini. Continue sautéing for about 5 minutes. While veggies are sautéing, sprinkle in spices and herbs; pink sea salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, fresh thyme, and red pepper flakes. Add crushed tomatoes. Give veggies a stir making sure they are well coated with spices, herbs and crushed tomatoes.
Pour in vegetable broth and water to dilute broth a bit. Bring to a boil.
Once broth has started boiling, add in gluten-free pasta. Boil pasta for 5-7 minutes. Add in beans, kale, and bay leaf. Turn heat down to low, cover dutch oven and allow soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve immediately and sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese over and garnish with red pepper flakes if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips and Substitution:
- Cook noodles separately if making the soup for later- This recipe calls for the noodles to be cooked with the soup. However, if you’re making the soup ahead of time, I highly suggest to cook the noodles separately. Cooked noodles soak up a lot of liquid which then result in mushy noodles. Cook noodles according to package instructions, which are usually to boil salted water, add noodles and cook anywhere from 8-15 minutes depending on the noodles you are using.
- Add more veggies- Minestrone soup is a great soup to use up any veggies you have on hand. Broccoli, baby spinach, mushrooms, peas, etc. are all great veggies to add to this soup.
- Switch up your pasta- You can use regular pasta as supposed to gluten-free if you prefer. You can also use other kind of noodles like elbow or fusilli.
- Switch up your beans- You can use any other variety of beans like black beans, northern beans, or pinto beans.
- Add more protein- Minestrone soup is a classic vegetarian soup, however you can always add more protein by adding some rotisserie chicken or even some bacon.
*Number of total servings in estimated. Actual number of servings may vary depending on your own personal preference in portion sizes.
**Nutritional values shown are general guidelines for 1 serving using the ingredients listed above. These numbers do not reflect and may vary depending on substitutions, additions and/or different brands and/or other ingredients that may be used.
**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links and sponsored content. All the opinions are my own and I only recommend products I use in my own home with my own family.
