White Bean Minestrone Soup with Basil Pesto
White Bean Minestrone Soup with Basil Pesto
This White Bean Minestrone Soup with Basil Pesto is absolutely delicious! It’s hearty, healthy and full of yummy vegetables such as carrots, celery, squash and kale. This minestrone recipe uses just white beans instead of the classic blend of red kidney beans and white beans. It’s also gluten-free and grain-free as it doesn’t contain any pasta or rice, but I promise you won’t miss them! This is the perfect one-pot meal to cozy up with on a cold or rainy day, much like it is here today on the island.
I really love the flavour of this soup; the blend of a tomato and broth base with the addition of the pesto is just so yummy. I also love the fact that it makes a big portion so that you can have leftovers for lunches or dinner again during the week. It will keep for about 1 week in the fridge or up to 1 month in the freezer. You can pair this soup with fresh bread or even top it with a few homemade croutons. Garnishing the soup with fresh grated parmesan is optional, but highly recommended because, YUM.
Let’s go over a few of the main ingredients:
Mirepoix - What’s a mirepoix? Basically, it’s a mix of chopped onion, carrot and celery that is sautéed. Many soups and stews use these 3 vegetables for it’s base. I used white onion for this recipe, but yellow onion or shallots would work as well.
Garlic - I love garlic! I do recommend using fresh garlic because I think it makes a difference in flavour, but marinated garlic would work as well. Just use garlic!
Butternut Squash - I really love the addition of butternut squash to this soup. Not only does it have that really beautiful colour, but the texture and flavour adds something special to the soup.
Vegetable Broth - You can use either vegetable or chicken broth for this recipe. Homemade is the ultimate for flavour, but I rarely make my own broth, so store-bought it is!
Diced Tomatoes - Make sure you use diced, canned tomatoes and not crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. They all have different consistencies and we want the chunks of tomatoes for this recipe.
Cannellini Beans - This is a white bean minestrone. So, I chose to use white cannellini beans. However, you can use any beans you like.
Basil Pesto - The basil pesto adds tons of flavour to this soup! You don’t need much, just about 2 tablespoons, but don’t skip it!
Kale - The kale adds nutrients as well as dimension to the soup. I love the look of the curly green kale. You could use spinach instead of kale if you prefer.
Spices - For the spices, we are using a blend of salt, black pepper, ground fennel, oregano and red chili flakes. If you can find ground fennel, that’s great! I had to buy the seeds and grind them in my mortar and pestle. Even if you had to just add the seeds, that would work too.
Parmesan - As mentioned above, parmesan is an optional garnish but highly recommended! It really finishes off the soup well, in my opinion! Fresh grated Parmesan is the best if you can get that. Just don’t use powdered parmesan; it won’t be as good.
I hope you guys love this recipe as much as I do! Happy cooking!
White Bean Minestrone Soup with Basil Pesto
White Bean Minestrone Soup with Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- avocado oil, for sautéing
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3 ribs celery, washed and chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 heaping cup diced butternut squash
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp ground fennel seed
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 796ml can diced tomatoes
- 1 14oz can cannellini beans
- 3 cups packed green kale leaves
- 2 tbsp basil pesto
- *optional* fresh grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, drizzle in the avocado oil and add the onions, celery, carrots, butternut squash and garlic. Sauté until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, oregano, fennel and red pepper flakes. Stir to coat the vegetables and cook for a further minute.
- Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes and beans and bring to a boil. Turn down to low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and add the kale and basil pesto. Stir until the kale has wilted and the pesto is combined throughout.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top with fresh parmesan cheese and enjoy!