Vegan Minestrone Soup with orzo, chickpeas, kidney beans, kale and potatoes, an Italian veggie packed budget-friendly comfort food that can be enjoyed all year round, not just in the cold season. It's a hearty and nutritious one-pot dish that everyone in the family will love as a quick and easy midweek dinner.
This hearty and rustic minestrone soup is the kind of comfort food that never goes out of style. Made with everyday ingredients like onion, carrot and celery, which in Italian is called 'soffritto', a flavour base for most dishes, chickpeas, kidney beans, potatoes and kale, plus orzo to make it even more filling and delicious.
All these ingredients are easily-available all year round, they are plentiful and cheap without compromising on quality. It's the kind of food that puts a smile on your face and helps you use up whatever else you have in the fridge or the pantry.
Plus, it's a scalable dish, so you can double it up if needed for a larger family, or perhaps batch cook and freeze it for another time. It has a traditional feel about it, and can be made with any other ingredients you have around.
This vegetable minestrone soup doesn't have to be strictly vegan, you can add chicken stock to it if you wish, or you can serve it with parmesan cheese for a vegetarian version. It really is up to you how you enjoy it!
My recipe can also serve as a base, so you can add meat to it if you like, my bacon minestrone soup is wonderfully hearty and comforting, but you can also add meatballs to it, or any leftover meats you have from your Sunday roast.
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- onion, carrot and celery - a classic Italian soffritto or odori - you cook the vegetables in olive oil until soft and fragrant, this is the very base of the soup
- chickpeas and kidney beans - I used canned ones for convenience, if you have dried ones, you can use them too, but they will have to be soaked and cooked in advance, as they take too long to cook otherwise
- olive oil - use the best quality you can afford, as it adds so much flavour to the soup
- orzo - you can swap if for any other pasta of your choice, or omit it if you wish, I do like to add some though, as it makes the soup more filling and adds some good carbs to it
- tomatoes - use any tomatoes you have around, but make sure they are ripe and juicy, as they are very flavourful
- kale - adds colour and some goodness to the soup, it can be swapped for spinach or cavolo nero
- dried Italian herbs - or just oregano if that's what you have
- salt & pepper - to taste
- vegetable stock - for extra flavour, you can also use water if you don't have any
- garlic - optional, I am a garlic girl, so for me it's the more, the better
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- heat up the oil in a large pan, add the peeled and chopped onion, garlic, carrot and celery and season them with a pinch of salt
- cook them on a medium heat until they are soft
- add the chopped tomatoes, give it a stir, place a lid on the pan, and leave it to cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy
- add the chickpeas, kidney beans, peeled and chopped potatoes, kale and stock, and mix again
- place the lid back on and leave it to cook until the vegetables are tender
- add the orzo and cook it for a further 10 minutes or until the orzo is al dente
- season with salt, pepper and herbs and enjoy
Expert tips
Always build flavour from the base, cooking the onion, garlic, carrot and celery in olive oil first adds a lovely layer of flavour.
Adjust the level of thickness easily by adding more stock if you like a lighter soup, or leave it to simmer for longer for a thicker, stew-like consistency.
Don't overcook the orzo, as it can turn mushy, especially if you want to freeze the soup, keeping it al dente is the best way to ensure the best consistency.
Other veggie-packed soups you might like
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Vegan Minestrone Soup with Orzo
Ingredients
- 750 ml vegetable stock / broth (3 cups)
- 200 g canned chickpeas (½ tin, 7 oz)
- 200 g canned kidney beans (½ tin, 7 oz)
- 3 medium-sized potatoes
- 4 tomatoes on the vine (grape tomatoes)
- 1 carrot
- 2 celery stalks
- 65 ml extra virgin olive oil (¼ cup)
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 60 g kale (2 oz)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 50 g orzo (¼ cup or 2 oz)
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Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a large pan.
- Peel and chop the onion, carrot, garlic and celery stalks, and add them to the pan.
- Season them with a good pinch of salt, and leave it to cook on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the veggies are soft.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, and give it a good stir.
- Place the lid on, and leave the tomatoes to cook until they turn mushy.
- Add the peeled and cubed potatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, kale and stock, and place the lid back on.
- Cook the soup until the veggies are tender.
- Add the orzo and cook the soup for a further 10 minutes or until the orzo is al dente.
- Season with salt, pepper and herbs.
Video
Notes
- Always build flavour from the base, cooking the onion, garlic, carrot and celery in olive oil first adds a lovely layer of flavour.
- Adjust the level of thickness easily by adding more stock if you like a lighter soup, or leave it to simmer for longer for a thicker, stew-like consistency.
- Don't overcook the orzo, as it can turn mushy, especially if you want to freeze the soup, keeping it al dente is the best way to ensure the best consistency.
Nutrition
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