This Spring Minestrone Soup recipe is made with chickpeas, pasta, vibrant spring vegetables and fresh herbs. Easy, full of flavor and vegan adaptable!
Spring Minestrone Soup helps bridge the gap between winter and spring with its vibrant nutrients while being warming and comforting – a meal unto itself! Make a big pot of it and warm it up for lunch during the week.
Early spring vegetables like asparagus, peas, fennel, and broccoli give the soup its vibrant green color, while fresh lemon and herbs add bright flavor. Play around with the vegetables and make it your own, taking special care not to overcook them. If going gluten-free, try bean pasta or rice pasta. Keep the soup vegan or sprinkle with parmesan or pecorino cheese.
Why You’ll Love This
- Easy, healthy weeknight dinner. Made with whole foods and requires only 15 minutes of prep time.
- Vegan and gluten-free adaptable. Skip the cheese and use a bean or rice pasta.
- Utilizes seasonal, spring produce. Made with spring vegetables, like asparagus, peas, fennel, and broccoli.
Ingredients
- Pasta: Little elbows, orzo, mini shells, ditalini, or penne.
- Dry garbanzo beans: Or sub canned chickpeas.
- Green vegetables: Any combination of broccoli, green beans, spring peas, kale, asparagus, peas, or cauliflower. Frozen peas or diced veggies work too. You’ll need 4 cups total.
- Onion: Or sub leeks.
- Fennel bulb: Or celery.
- Garlic cloves
- Flavorful stock: Veggie stock, vegetable broth, or chicken stock.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Spices: Salt, cayenne, and coriander.
- Herbs: Fresh thyme (or sub-dried thye), fresh parsely and dill; or try tarragon, (my favorite) basil or scallions
- Fresh lemon juice
- Garnish options: Finely grated parmesan cheese or pecorino cheese, gremolata, a dollop of sour cream, drizzle of good olive oil, crunchy homemade croutons, handful of baby spinach, or fresh herbs.
How to Make Spring Minestrone Soup with Chickpeas
If using dry chickpeas, soak the beans in a bowl of water for 8-10 hours. Drain.
Step 1: Cook aromatics. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and fennel. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Reduce to medium heat and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme, cook 2-3 more minutes.
Step 2: Add stock, water, coriander, cayenne, salt and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for 20 minutes. (If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse and simmer 3 minutes.)
Step 3: Add pasta. Bring to a boil. When pasta is about halfway cooked, add the veggies. Avoid cooking veggies too long, or they will lose their beautiful green color!
Step 4: Add herbs, taste, and serve. Stir in parsley and dill or tarragon. Add lemon juice a tablespoon at a time, tasting. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve with any garnishes you wish: fresh herbs, scallions (green parts), gremolata, grated parmesan or pecorino, chili flakes, sourdough croutons, or a dollop of sour cream.
Chef’s Tip
For extra oomph, add a parmesan rind to the simmering broth.
Possible Variations
- Beans: Instead of chickpeas, any type of white bean would make a nice substitution.
- Potatoes: Thin-skinned, baby potatoes or quartered gold potatoes would work well in this soup too!
- Pasta: It is traditional to make minestrone with pasta, however you could swap it for a hearty grain, like farro or buckwheat.
How to Serve Spring Minestrone Soup
At home, we love this soup topped with crunchy homemade croutons or served with crusty bread.
Serve with a spring salad, like Little Gem Salad with Dilly Ranch Dressing or Spring Greens.Or pair it with any of these 40 Fresh & Healthy Spring Recipes!
Storage, Freezing & Reheating
To store leftovers, let the Spring Minestrone Soup cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze the soup by cooling, then storing in a freezer-friendly container for up to 6 months! When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheat the minestrone on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warm all the way through.
FAQs
Minestrone is a soup made with pasta and vegetables. It is an Italian soup that commonly features onions, celery, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, and pasta. Here we take a spring spin on classic minestrone with fresh green vegetables!
Yes! This Spring Minestrone Soup with Chickpeas is rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals because it is so full of fresh veggies. Chickpeas add even more fiber, protein, and minerals.
The idea here is to make use of fresh, seasonal spring produce, however, yes, of course you can use frozen peas or broccoli.
Yes! Soak in water for 8-10 waters, then drain. Or use canned chickpeas for faster preparation.
Hope you enjoy this Spring Minestrone Soup! Let us know what you think in the comments!
More Spring Soup Recipes!
Spring Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: soup, vegan soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A delicious recipe for Spring Minestrone Soup with Chickpeas (dry or canned) and vibrant spring green vegetables. Keep it vegetarian or make it vegan- a simple adaptable recipe that makes for a healthy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry garbanzo beans (or sub 2 x 14-ounce canned chickpeas – about 3 cups cooked)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion – diced (or sub 2 leeks)
- 2 cups chopped fennel bulb or sub celery
- 4–6 garlic cloves – minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 4 cups flavorful stock – veggie stock or chicken stock
- 4 cups water ( ***use 2 cups, if using canned garbanzo beans)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 4 ounces pasta (like little elbows, orzo, mini shells, penne)
- 4 cups finely chopped green veggies (any combination of broccoli, green beans, spring peas, kale, asparagus, peas, cauliflower). Feel free to use frozen peas if you like.
- 1–2 tablespoons lemon juice, more to taste
- 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh dill (or sub tarragon or basil or chives) A mix is nice too.
- Garnish options: fresh herbs, finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, gremolata, a dollop of sour cream or drizzle of good olive oil, tarragon, crunchy homemade croutons.
Instructions
- Soak dry garbanzo beans in a bowl of water for 8-10 hours. Drain.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and fennel and saute 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Turn heat to medium and cook for 5 more minutes or until tender.
- Add garlic and thyme, cook 2-3 more minutes.
- Add stock, water, corander, cayenne and salt and the soaked chickpeas and bring to a boil. ( See notes for canned chickpeas). Cover and simmer on medium-low for 20-25 minutes or until chickpeas are tender.
- Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and when the pasta is about 1/2 way cooked, add the vegetables. (You don’t want to cook the veggies too long, or they will lose their beautiful green color)
- When pasta is cooked and veggies are just tender and bright green, stir in parsley and dill (or tarragon)
- Add the lemon juice a little at a time, tasting. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with more fresh herbs, gremolata, grated pecorino, chili flakes, or a dollop of sour cream. Croutons add a nice texture too.
Notes
If using canned chickpeas, reduce water to 2 cups. Drain and rinse and simmer them 3 minutes in the stock, and continue with step 5.
Chef’s Tip: for extra oomph, add a parmesan rind to the simmering broth.
Soup will keep up to 4 days in the fridge- or freeze for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 217
- Sugar: 5.9 g
- Sodium: 618.1 mg
- Fat: 5.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.5 g
- Fiber: 5.7 g
- Protein: 9.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Great, simple fresh, easy! I was able to use all the veggies in my fridge and I used Chick peas pasta so it had extra protein too! Thank you as always you come through with endless ideas Sylvia!
So glad you enjoyed Darlene. Sounds perfect, I love chickpea pasta!
This soup was so very good. I made as directed however my husband and I are not big fans of tarragon or dill so we opted for some homemade pesto – specifically frozen in small batches for opportunities like this.
We can’t wait to make this recipe again.
Oh great Monique, glad you made it work!
another home run! love it; herbs give it a great flavor. i replaced the pasta with farro because i’m trying to stay away and it still turned out good! not as authentic i guess but, still good! your recipes never fail
I love how you adapted this to meet your needs. Perfect Miranda!
Delicious! I added in a Parmesan rind while cooking the beans.
Sounds perfect!
Best version of minestrone I’ve ever had. Next time I’ll add the gremolata, I think it would take this up another level.
So happy you enjoyed Tina!
Thyme is listed as an ingredient but isn’t mentioned in the recipe. Would this be added in step 6 or with the spices in step 4?
Sorry about that! I updated the recipe and thanks for pointing it out Rachel!
Thank you! I’m not a good – or confident – enough cook to make that call 🙂
Yet another fantastic tasting and very easy meal. Thanks again.
Great to hear Deb!
This is by far my favorite soup recipe of all time! It’s full of so many nutritious ingredients, and it is delicious too! I am so grateful to have found you, you really have no idea how you and your recipes have changed my life. Thank you for all that you do.
Awww… thanks so much Anne, really appreciate this!
Excellent balance of flavors, clean ingredients, and easily adaptable to what’s in the fridge. Another 5-star recipe! Thanks, Sylvia.
Awesome Christine and great to hear!
Hi, would you recommend cooking the pasta separately if hoping to have leftovers? Thank you!
I think that would be a good idea!
Made With lots of fennel & onion, chicken stock, green beans, fava beans and escarole…used the gremolata and grated parm…absolutely delicious!
Great to hear!
I have to admit I had my doubts about this recipe but was craving veggie soup. This was so delicious! I love this website; everything I’ve made so far from recipes here has been so delicious, healthy and easy!
Sylvia, I stocked up on garbanzo beans for the pandemic. I’ve tried one of your salad recipes and loved it. I plan to make this pronto to make up for mostly gray, dismal skies in Ohio.
This looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it.
If using canned chickpeas, do you still have to simmer it for 20 minutes? Lovely recipe!
Nope!
This recipe is delicious!! I highly recommend it. I made as is, except used GF red lentil penne. For veggies, I used fresh green beans and kale (both added last 6 mins); and fresh broccoli and frozen peas (both cooked for last 4 mins). .. . I knew I had extra, so, today, I added a little more broth (because pasta soaked up plenty) and some cooked chicken just to try it. This was also wonderful, and, of course, a full meal.
Thanks so much, Sylvia.
Oh Im so happy you liked it Deb! Thanks for sharing your adaptions…sounds perfect!
Yum! I made this for dinner tonight. Very fresh and satisfying. I didn’t have fresh tarragon, so I subbed in Italian parsley. Helped me to meet my goal of eating more veggies 🙂
Sounds delicious and can’t wait to try. Should the veggies be fresh or are frozen okay to use, e.g peas, cauliflower, green beans.
Fresh is best, but frozen is totally OK! Especially peas. Although, Trader Joes has fresh shucked peas right now if you have one near. 🙂
Hi Sylvia,
Flash from the past. We went to grad school together! I have only just discovered your blog and made this soup twice in a week Delicious, easy and turned out perfectly. It is so fun to see your creative life here on your site!, Best wishes, Suzanne
Suzanne! How are you?? Thanks for dropping me a line…and so glad you liked the soup! So good to hear form you. All the best! xoxo
Made this last night exactly as directed ( with fennel) and used spring peas, asparagus, and cauliflower for the veggies. Just perfect. I love all your soup recipes, Sylvia, and make a pot on the weekend for lunches through the first four days of the week. Because it’s just me, sometimes I don’t use it all up. Have you tried freezing half a recipe with good results?
Thanks so much Susanna- appreciate the feedback. I think freezing it is a great idea!
This soul is lovely. Think you.
Thanks Alison!
This looks so delicious! I’m going to have to put it in my family’s meal plan next week!
Thanks Britt!! Let me know how you like it.