Quick Veggie Minestrone Soup {Vegan and GF}

Years ago I had a neighbor who made delicious homemade soup. Raised on canned soup, I viewed homemade soup as exotic and wonderful. I imagined hours of labor and careful measuring of ingredients. Now I understand why my friend always seemed perplexed by my admiration. Soup can be one of the easiest and quickest meals to prepare. This Quick Veggie Minestrone Soup is a perfect example.

I like to make soup in my slow cooker, but there are times when I need to put a meal together more quickly. (Read more about my meal-planning challenges under Why I’m An Unlikely Food Blogger.) This Quick Veggie Minestrone Soup can be made in less than 30 minutes with ingredients that are easy to keep on hand.

Quick Veggie Minestrone Soup

I sing the praises of canned tomatoes, canned beans, frozen veggies and pasta in the article 6 Processed Foods That Will Help You Eat Healthier. Keeping your pantry and freezer stocked with these ingredients is a great time saver. This Quick Veggie Minestrone Soup is made with:

• Vegetable broth*
• Canned tomatoes and tomato paste
• Frozen mixed vegetables
• Canned kidney beans
• Pasta

(*Somehow I managed to overlook the benefits of prepared low-sodium vegetable broth when I wrote the article. It’s another great time saver!)

Making your own soup gives you control over its contents. The simple ingredients listed above, along with some herbs and spices, make a thick, hearty, satisfying meal.

When my daughter returned from basketball practice she tried to steal the bowl in the middle of my photo shoot!

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Quick Veggie Minestrone Soup {Vegan and GF}

This thick, hearty, vegan and gluten-free soup can be made in less than 30 minutes with ingredients that are easy to keep on hand.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 -6

Ingredients

• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 14.5 oz canned whole peeled tomatoes - no salt added, with juice
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1-2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 15.5 oz canned kidney beans low sodium, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup gluten-free pasta uncooked, I use the Tinkyada brand
• ground black pepper and sea salt to taste (or vegan parmesan cheese)

Instructions

• Add tomatoes and juice to a large saucepan and break tomatoes into chunks with the edge of a large spoon.
• Add vegetable broth, tomato paste, mixed vegetables, garlic, basil and thyme, stir to mix well, cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
• Reduce heat to medium and simmer partially covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add kidney beans and pasta and continue to simmer partially covered on medium or medium low heat for about 15 minutes or until veggies and pasta are soft. (Stir every few minutes and be careful not to overcook the pasta.)
• Sprinkle individual servings with ground black pepper, salt and/or vegan parmesan cheese to taste.

Notes

This recipe makes a thick, hearty soup. If you prefer a thinner soup, try adding more broth and/or reducing the amount of tomato paste.

For a different twist, you could replace pasta with 1-2 cups cooked brown rice. Add cooked rice 1-2 minutes before the end of cooking time.

 Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.

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