Healthy Dinner Idea #4
Minestrone Soup
Healthy Minestrone Soup
This delicious soup is the perfect spring dinner idea or summer dinner recipe, offering a light yet filling option for any season. Packed with vegetables, beans, and pasta, it’s a quick healthy dinner that can be ready in no time, is great for batch cooking and feeding the whole family. Whether you’re searching for meal ideas for dinner or need an easy dish for weekend dinners, this minestrone soup is both comforting and nutritious, making it the perfect addition to your weekly healthy dinners.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 large onion
1 courgette
2 celery sticks
1 carrot
1 tin cannellini beans
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
70g smoked pancetta (chopped)
1 litre vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp dried oregano
70g Orzo (or other pasta)
100g spinach
Parmesan (to serve)
Notes
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Serves: 6
- Freezable
Serve with warm crusty rolls for the perfect finish.
Batch Cooking
Make this soup in bulk and freeze the leftovers, it’s perfect for meal prep and batch cooking. Easily heat it up from frozen to enjoy for lunch or week nights when you’re short on time.
If you store the soup in zip lock freezer bags, you can store the soup flat and stack them up, which saves a huge amount of space in the freezer! Just make sure the bag are hardwearing so the zip lock doesn’t leak. You can get reusable freezer bags, so if you make slots of soups or like batch cooking, this is the best way to keep the freezer organized!
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion, carrots, celery, courgette, garlic and pancetta for 10 mins until the veg has softened a little.
- Add the cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes and oregano and stir well.
- Mix in the tomatoe puree, pour the stock in, and add bay leaves.
- Simmer for 30 minutes
- Add the orzo and spinach and simmer for 10 more minutes.
All done!
Next time you’re looking for a quick dinner that’s both healthy and filling, this Minestrone Soup will hit the spot! It’s the ultimate dinner idea for busy weeknights or a cozy weekend meal. Packed with veggies and protein, it’s a wholesome and hearty week night dinner. Pair it with warm crusty bread and enjoy!
