Cooking a big batch of 1-pot soups that can be doubled up or used as leftovers for lunch the next day is our ideal meal in the current #stayhome environment. Further soups like this Lentil-spinach soup or spinach fennel soup are time saving, inexpensive and nourishing. The recipe for the below vegetarian bean pasta soup ticks all these boxes in addition to using whatever-is-in-your-pantry ingredients. Varying the ingredients and cooking process, I consider this a spin on a classic Italian minestrone soup.
Helpful Cooking Notes for Vegetarian Bean Pasta Soup
- Ingredients
- Storage instructions
- Suggested Sides
- Scaling the recipe
- Gluten free , dairy free, vegan, low carb options
- Alternate Recipes and Useful Links
Ingredients
The soup base is just sautéing chopped carrots, celery, garlic and onion with salt, olive oil , dried Italian herbs and dry bay leaf. Further I used a can of tomatoes, lima beans, chopped savoy cabbage, green beans and fusilli pasta. But really one can use any canned beans , any shape of pasta on hand and any vegetables (zucchini, bell peppers, beans, baby spinach all work well). I used a spoon of veggie stock powder for additional flavour, but I have made this soup without any stock as well.
You can of course use dried beans, soak and then cook them. You can use fresh tomatoes, blanch and then make a puree of it as well. These 2 steps will remove the “quick” aspect of the soup recipe, but there is no rule stopping one from doing so.
Storage Instructions
This vegetarian bean pasta soup is what I want for a quick & easy weeknight meal. I store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The leftover soup reheats perfectly for lunch the next day. I haven’t frozen this soup but think it should freeze well.
Suggested Sides
This soup is a complete meal in itself with carbs (pasta), protein (beans), fat (olive oil and cheese toppings) and fibre (lots of veg). If feeling very hungry, you can tear in some bread to soak it up in the tomato broth or throw in a garden salad as a side.
Scaling the Recipe
One can easily double up the ingredients of this vegetarian bean pasta soup to make a double batch of it. Remember the recipe is forgiving as one is using whatever one has on hand. So scaling up or down on any ingredient is OKAY!
Variations
- Make it Vegan / Dairy Free: Just omit the cheese topping . Then top with any toasted nuts & seeds for added crunch or a sliced avocado
- Make it Gluten free: Either use a gluten free pasta (if you have access to it) or make the soup without pasta and serve with rice
- Make it Low Carb : Omit the pasta but that makes this soup a basic vegetable and bean soup. You can then serve it up with some fresh green salad.
Alternate Recipes and Useful Links
- Here is a good link on how to cook and soak dry beans in case you are not using canned beans
- The Kitchn covers everything on how to cook beans on the stove, pressure cooker, slow cooker and even the oven !
Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if you do try out this soup and what you think. Don’t forget to tag #urbanfoodlover and follow along on Instagram.
Stay safe, stay home and take care of yourself and your loved ones.
Vegetarian Bean Pasta Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 2 celery sticks finely diced
- 1 tbsp dried Italian herbs
- 1-2 dried bay leaf
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups water
- 1 can tomatoes App. 400 grams
- 1 can Lima Beans App. 400 grams
- 1 /2 cup dried pasta
- 1 tsp Veg Stock powder
- 1/2 head Savoy cabbage finely chopped
- 1/2 cup green french beans diced
- 1 tsp parsley For garnish
- 1-2 tbsp hard cheese Optional
- 1 tsp salt Or extra as per taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper As per taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil in a large stock pot with the dried Italian herbs
- Next add in the bay leaf, garlic, chopped onions, carrots and celery. Add in a pinch of salt and sauté for about 5-7 min until the onions turn translucent.
- Boil the cup of water and add in the stock powder to make a cup of vegetable broth. (Try to use a good quality stock cube / stock powder with minimal salt). Then add the broth to the onion-celery-carrot mixture above
- Add in the tin of tomatoes , beans and dry pasta and remaining water. Season with salt and pepper as per taste. Let this simmer on low heat for 15 min.
- Add in the finely chopped veg of choice and simmer away for another 5-7 min until the veg is wilted. I used Savoy cabbage and green beans as that is what I had available. You can use any other vegetable on hand like bell peppers, zucchini or baby spinach.
- The soup will begin to look cooked once the pasta is al dente and the veg is a bit squishy but not overcooked.
- Ladle the soup in bowls. Garnish with chopped parsley and grate cheese of your choice. I used a hard mature cheddar cheese. You can use any good quality hard cheese like cheddar, parmesan or pecorino and it can be omitted for a vegan version.
