Spring Green Minestrone

Vegan green minestrone is a twist on the classic, with spring vegetables like asparagus, peas, and plenty of pesto. With creamy white beans, it’s a meal in a bowl, but light enough that it makes sense to be eating a soup even in warm weather. Skip to the recipe →

I’m going to loosely define this as a spring minestrone. An Italian friend once told me that it’s not minestrone unless your spoon can stand up in it (bleurgh) and this is definitely not that kind of soup. It’s also not the tomato, bean, and noodle soup that’s usually associated with minestrone.

I used to think of this as an early summer soup, and it would be in many parts of Canada. Here, though, these vegetables come into season around now, in spring, and it’s a welcome change from root vegetables. I wanted to make the most of that with this spring green minestrone, with all the green veggies I could get my hands on.

This soup is very light and fresh and it tastes green. Do you know what I mean? It’s definitely a warm-ish weather soup, and perfect for those cooler days that we get every once in a while during the spring and early summer months.

All the best vegetables of the season have been included in this recipe, and best of all, it only takes about fifteen minutes to make! Please use the very best vegetable stock you can get your hands on, as it doesn’t cook for very long to develop that deep flavour that you’ll get in longer cooking soups and stews even with a shoddy stock.

The vegetables stay really bright tasting because of the very short cooking time, and the colour is vibrant. Topping it with pesto is not optional! The pesto is what takes this spring minestrone over the top.

If you’re looking for some more healthy spring recipes or summery vegetarian recipes, check out my archives!

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Yield: Serves 4

Spring Green Minestrone

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Vegan green minestrone is a twist on the classic, with spring vegetables like asparagus, peas, and plenty of pesto. With creamy white beans, it's a meal in a bowl, but light enough that it makes sense to be eating a soup even in warm weather. 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small / 1 1/2 cups zucchini, cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1.5 litres / 6 cups vegetable stock*
• 150 grams / 2 cups white beans, cooked
• 400 grams / 1 bunch asparagus
• 150 grams / 1 cup peas
• 70 grams / 3 cups fresh spinach or other greens
• Juice of a lemon

No Cheese Pesto

• 40 grams / 1 cup basil, packed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• Juice of a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for a couple of minutes, until softened and slightly browned. Add the garlic and zucchini and cook for another minute, then stir in the spices.
2. Add the vegetable stock and increase the heat to high. Bring the soup to a rolling bowl, then add the beans, asparagus, and peas. Reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer for 4-5 minutes, or until the asparagus is bright green and just tender.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach and lemon juice. Serve hot, topped with pesto.

No Cheese Pesto

1. Place all of the ingredients in a narrow bowl or container and use an immersion blender to mix until smooth. Alternatively, use a small food processor or blender.

Notes

* Again, use the absolute best tasting vegetable stock you can find for this recipe, or better yet, make it yourself!

This post was originally shared in June 2016. It has been updated with significant changes to the recipe, text, and images as of April 2019.