Description
This Minestrone Soup is an Italian twist on a hearty vegetable soup. With ground sausage, sautéed veggies, beans and pasta in a tomato-based broth, this warming soup is deliciously filling and perfect for dunking your favorite rolls or bread.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalk, diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic paste or powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 2 teaspoons Umami seasoning (or Italian seasoning)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 64 ounces chicken broth, unsalted or low sodium
- 2 15 ounce cans small white beans, drained and rinsed
- 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes ( other other chopped tomatoes)
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 cup small pasta
- parmesan or romano cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
- Add oil to large pot and heat to medium. Brown ground sausage, remove sausage and all but 1 tablespoon fat. Drain sausage or blot with paper towels.
- Saute the onions, carrots and celery in the remaining fat in the pot. Scrape the bottom, stirring the brown bits into veggies.
- Add seasonings to the vegetables and stir for about 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in canned and whole tomatoes, broth and beans. Bring to a low boil.
- Add back the sausage and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Pour in pasta and about 5-7 minutes, until al dente, just barely softened. *
- Remove Bay leaves before serving. Sprinkle in some shredded parmesan, if desired.
Notes
*You can buy Italian sausage links, cut them open and cook the meat per the recipe. Or finely chop the links and brown them as is.
*Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning a little at a time, if needed. Remember the flavor of the soup usually intensifies after it has cooled and been reheated so you can always add more if needed.
*If you plan on freezing the leftover soup, I suggest cooking the pasta separately. Make enough for what you need right away. Freeze leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight and make a separate batch of pasta for the remainder. Frozen pasta usually absorbs so much of the liquid that it can turn very mushy when defrosted.