Tuscan Minestrone Soup

5 from 5 votes

This time of year just calls for hearty soups and this Tuscan minestrone soup is perfect for those chilly nights. It's packed full of fresh vegetables, beans and rice plus it's a great way to use up leftover veggies. Curl up with a blanket, a big bowl of soup and stay cosy!

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 252kcal

Author: Emily Wyper

Ingredients

1 large carrot finely chopped
1 large celery stalk finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
2 medium sized potatoes cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
8.5 cups (2 litres) chicken stock
2 sprigs thyme
½ small savoy cabbage finely chopped
6 leaves cavolo nero finely chopped
3.5 oz (100g) green beans trimmed and cut into 3
14 oz (400g) cannellini beans canned
¾ cup (150g) arborio rice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Saute equal amounts of finely chopped carrots, celery and onion with the olive oil on a low to medium heat until soft (around 10 minutes).
Top Tip: This is an important part and the only part of the soup you need to pay extra attention with. You need to saute the veggies slowly for around 10 minutes until they are soft. Don't be tempted to turn up the heat because the flavours won't really develop and it's more likely to burn which will ruin the flavour of the soup.
Once the veggies are soft add the chopped potatoes, thyme and chopped garlic. Fry everything for 1-2 minutes until the garlic and thyme are fragrant then add the chicken stock.
Bring the soup to a boil then turn down to simmer and cover for 30 minutes. The potatoes should be cooked through at this point. Using the side of a wooden spoon crush some of the potatoes against the side of the pot.
Add the chopped cavolo nero and savoy cabbage, cover again and simmer for 15 minutes.
Next, put half of the cannellini beans in a bowl with a spoonful of soup liquid and blitz until completely smooth using an immersion blender or use a regular blender, add to the soup along with the other half of cannellini beans and green beans.
Finally, add the rice and simmer for 10-15 minutes, add salt if needed and serve with some crusty bread.

Notes

Extra Tips For Making This Minestrone Soup

To speed things up prep all the veg in advance.
Make sure to cut the cabbage into small to medium chunks so they are easier to eat.
I cut the green beans into 3 after removing the top and tails.
If you want to make this soup in advance follow all the steps apart from adding the rice. Only do this when serving as it will soak up a lot of moisture and turn mushy this goes for pasta too.
You can store this soup in the fridge or freezer but again do this before adding the rice.

Nutrition Facts

Tuscan Minestrone Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 252 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 265mg12%
Potassium 492mg14%
Carbohydrates 42g14%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 13g26%

Vitamin A 3280IU66%
Vitamin C 18.2mg22%
Calcium 88mg9%
Iron 3.9mg22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition