Olive Garden copy-cat minestrone soup

If you're obsessed with Olive Garden's minestrone soup.. then this one is for you :). As a plant-based and low-fat option, this delicious, colorful and well rounded soup has always been my favorite thing on the menu.. to the point that I would get containers and containers to bring home with me whenever I dined there. Super quick and easy to make, this recipe was taken from Food.com and we threw it together when our personal trainer and one of our best friends was coming over (since we knew this was one of his favorite foods and conveniently vegan!) I may have added a little extra pasta which is why the soup is pretty overrun with pasta in this photo.. but if you follow the directions (unlike me) you should make the perfect Olive Garden ratio :)




Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion)
½ cup chopped zucchini
½ cup frozen or fresh green beans, chopped
½ cup chopped celery
4 teaspoons minced garlic
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans red kidney beans
2 cans white beans
1 can diced tomatoes
½ cup chopped carrots
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach
½ cup small shell pasta (or another shape of choice!)


Directions:

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Sauté onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini for about 5 minutes or until onion turns translucent.

Add broth to pot plus drained tomatoes (or keep the juice if you want your soup more tomato-ey), beans, carrot, hot water, and herbs/spices.

Bring soup to boil and then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add spinach and pasta and cook until pasta is done.

Serve along fancy bread or as an appetizer to a meal. This soup is filling and packed with lots of protein and nutrients and makes a complete meal on its own!