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Overhead view of Mediterranean vegetable minestrone in a cream ceramic bowl, ready to serve
Sofia Merraki

Mediterranean Vegetable Minestrone

An autumn minestrone with white beans, cabbage, green beans, tomatoes and small pasta in an oregano broth.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean
Calories: 322
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 27 g extra-virgin olive oil about 2 tbsp
  • 150 g yellow onion, diced
  • 12 g garlic, minced
  • 500 g cooked white beans, drained, unsalted
  • 180 g carrots, diced
  • 120 g celery, diced
  • 250 g green beans, trimmed
  • 250 g green cabbage, core removed
  • 800 g no-salt-added canned tomatoes with juice
  • 150 g small dry pasta, such as ditalini
  • 2 g dried oregano
  • 6 g fine salt about 1 tsp
  • 1500 ml water about 6 1/3 US cups

Equipment

  • 5- to 6-quart pot

Method
 

  1. Dice carrots and celery, cut green beans into 1-inch lengths and cabbage into short ribbons.
  2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 6–8 minutes, stirring, until softened but not deeply browned. Add diced carrots, diced celery and cook 3 minutes more.
  3. Add the minced garlic and dried oregano and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
  4. Add the drained cooked white beans, the cut green beans, the sliced cabbage, the canned tomatoes with their juice, 1500 ml water and the 6 g salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer with the lid partly covering the pot. Cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking tenderness. Keep enough liquid around the solids; add a little hot water if the pot becomes dry.
  5. Add small pasta only after vegetables are nearly tender; cook for its package time and serve promptly.
  6. Check the finished texture: A vegetable-rich broth surrounds tender beans and just-cooked pasta, with distinct pieces rather than purée. Taste a spoonful after it cools slightly; extra salt, oil or toppings are optional and change the nutrition estimate. Stir the whole pot before dividing into six equal portions.

Notes

Contains wheat (gluten) from the pasta. Use seasonal zucchini in place of green beans and add it later because it softens faster. Estimated per one-sixth of the completed batch, using edible input weights and USDA SR Legacy records. Soup liquid is retained; evaporation changes portion weight rather than batch nutrient totals. Beans are modeled as cooked without salt; canned brands change sodium. No laboratory measurement or vitamin-retention calculation is claimed. Optional additions are excluded.