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Hearty Meatless Minestrone Recipe

Hearty Meatless Minestrone Recipe photo by Taste of Home

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“A friend gave me this quick, healthy recipe, and it’s oh, so tasty. It makes a big batch and is great for leftovers. To enhance the flavor, add a pound or two of sweet Italian sausage.”

This recipe is:

Diabetic Friendly

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Hearty Meatless Minestrone Recipe

Prep: 30 min. Cook: 40 min.

Yield: 8 Servings

30 40 70

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
3-1/2 cups water
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup small pasta shells
Fresh basil leaves and shaved Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

In a Dutch oven, saute onion in oil for 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, cabbage, green pepper, zucchini and garlic; saute 3 minutes longer. Stir in the water, tomatoes, beans, tomato puree, tomato sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in pasta; cook 12-15 minutes longer or until tender. Garnish each serving with basil and cheese if desired. Yield: 8 servings (3 quarts).

Nutritional Facts 1-1/2 cups (calculated without optional ingredients) equals 191 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 664 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 6 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 vegetable, 1 starch, 1 fat.

Originally published as Hearty Meatless Minestrone in Taste of Home February/March 2010, p85

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Reviews for Hearty Meatless Minestrone

Hearty Meatless Minestrone

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Reviewed on Mar. 14, 2013 by Kathy Brewer

Wow, multiplied times 5 and made this for a meatless dinner at our church. They loved it and many said it was the best soup they'd ever eaten...bar none. My husband put it together and he was glowing with all the grateful compliments.

Reviewed on Jan. 16, 2013 by Hot Wing Mama

This is simply THE BEST winter soup. It's hearty, warm, the cayenne gives it just a little kick, low calorie, my family LOVES this soup!

Reviewed on Feb. 26, 2011 by hcdearmore

A very good minestrone recipe. Makes a lot!

Reviewed on Nov. 10, 2010 by Amy Jean

I loved all the veggies in this soup. I thought it needed more liquid, but I may have just added too much pasta. This is a great healthy recipe!

Reviewed on Nov. 01, 2010 by sharoncoen

great flavor!

Reviewed on Oct. 17, 2010 by aug2295

I substituted cannelini beans for the chickpeas and cut the recipe in half, also left out the cabbage. Soup was delicious!

Reviewed on Apr. 30, 2010 by Nichollette

I made the recipe and I liked the chunky veggies. I had left out the tomato sauce because I didn't have any. I could not tell the difference. Next time, I will substitute kidney beans for the chickpeas.

Reviewed on Apr. 03, 2010 by jhallam

I actually added a little sausage to make my meat eating hubby happy and we both loved this hearty veggie packed soup.

Reviewed on Mar. 17, 2010 by catherinevk1

I have made this recipe a couple of times. It is very good. I reduced the amount of cayenne pepper on the second batch when one of my kids said it was a bit too spicy.

Reviewed on Mar. 02, 2010 by michelle_lozier

I just gave this to my kids for dinner; I used my immersion blender to blend out the chunks, and my son loved it! And I do too!

Reviewed on Feb. 01, 2010 by cshenry1

This is wonderful!

I substituted red beans for the garbonzo beans.

I've never made minestrone before, but I will make this again!

Reviewed on Jan. 29, 2010 by mysparrowsnest

I didn't add the tomato sauce. I also threw in some leftover meatloaf crumbles. It was very good. It was very tomatoey without adding the additional sauce and I felt like it really needed some meat~threw in a couple beef boullion cubes as well.

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