This recipe is a close cousin to Minestrone recipes served at restaurants, but it is lower in calories and far lower in sodium. It’s perfect for a cold day when you are especially hungry and it goes well with a side salad or slice of French bread.

This soup recipe is easy to make, filling, and very healthy. This version of the soup is chock full of veggies and fiber but is relatively low in calories, making it diet friendly.

This particular recipe also uses more beans than restaurant typically do. What this means is that the soup is full of heart healthy fiber, 15 grams in fact (see complete nutritional information below). One serving also has 23 grams of protein, which is very high for a dish that is basically vegetarian.

Ingredients
3 Tbsp Cooking Oil
1 ½ Cups diced onion
2 Large carrots, diced
2 Celery sticks, minced
1 Can Italian green beans (cut)
1 Cup Zucchini, Diced
30 Ounces kidney beans (2 cans)
15 Ounces white beans (1 can)
15 Ounces garbanzo beans (1 can)
1 Cup corn kernels
15 Ounces diced tomatoes (1 can)
1 Cup uncooked Orzo or small shelled pasta

4 Cups vegetable broth
3 Cups water
5 Garlic cloves, diced
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
½ Tsp Basil
2 Tsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Parsley
½ Tsp Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

How to make it
Heat the cooking oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and all of the prepared vegetables; onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, and corn. Once the onions have started to brown, add all variations of beans, tomatoes, water, broth and spices. Let the Minestrone soup cook covered on medium heat for at least one hour. When you are just about ready to eat, add the cup of uncooked pasta shells, and in 20 minutes your dinner will be ready.

This Minestrone Recipe feeds 8.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 377
Total Fat: 5 g
Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
Trans Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Sodium: 244 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 63 g
Dietary Fiber: 15 g
Sugars: 4 g
Protein: 23 g