Delicious Vegan Autumn Minestrone Soup: A Hearty & Healthy Seasonal One-Pot Meal
Discover the ultimate vegan autumn minestrone soup – a delightful and robust meal designed to showcase the season’s finest produce, offering a truly hearty, healthy, and satisfying experience. Perfect for chilly evenings!
As the vibrant hues of summer fade into the crisp, golden embrace of autumn, my kitchen naturally gravitates towards the comforting warmth of soup. It’s truly incredible how versatile and nourishing a good bowl of soup can be. For me, approximately 30% of my post-summer diet consists of various soups, and for good reason! They are exceptionally quick and easy to prepare, incredibly filling, wonderfully warming, and packed with healthy ingredients. (Though, I must confess, the generous quantities of buttered toast I love to dunk into them might slightly detract from the ‘healthy’ aspect!).
One of the best habits I’ve cultivated is making a large pot of soup for dinner on one evening and then enjoying the delicious leftovers for lunch over the following couple of days. This recipe is generously portioned to serve six people, but even for just two of us, it means we can savor this delightful meal for three consecutive days without any extra cooking effort. It’s a fantastic solution for busy schedules, ensuring you always have a wholesome and ready-to-eat option.
Minestrone holds a special place among my favorite soups. Its Italian heritage speaks to its heartiness and its ability to transform simple, fresh ingredients into a truly satisfying meal. What I adore most about minestrone is its incredible adaptability. It’s a celebration of seasonal produce; you can easily vary the vegetables to match what’s freshest at the market, or simply use whatever delightful odds and ends you happen to have tucked away at the back of your fridge. This makes it not only delicious but also wonderfully economical and reduces food waste.
Our featured Autumn minestrone soup specifically highlights the glorious flavors of the season. It incorporates the creamy sweetness of butternut squash and the robust, slightly bitter notes of cavolo nero (or its close cousin, kale), alongside the classic minestrone staples: tender onion, sweet carrot, crisp celery, delicate courgette (zucchini), and satisfying potato. This particular combination creates a complex, comforting, and deeply flavorful dish that is absolutely perfect for warding off the chill on those brisk autumn days.
Imagine returning home after a refreshing, blustery walk through a carpet of fallen leaves, your cheeks rosy from the cool air. There’s truly nothing better than settling down to a steaming bowl of this wholesome minestrone, providing warmth from the inside out and recharging your body with nourishing goodness.
A signature element of traditional minestrone soup is the inclusion of small pasta shapes, which are cooked directly in the flavorful broth. For this recipe, I’ve opted for ditalini – those charming little thimble-shaped pasta pieces – but rest assured, any small pasta shape will work beautifully. Feel free to use shell pasta, elbow macaroni, or even break up some spaghetti into smaller pieces if that’s what you have on hand. The pasta swells and softens in the soup, absorbing all the wonderful flavors of the broth and vegetables, adding delightful texture and substance.
The addition of pasta is key to making this minestrone a truly satisfying and complete one-pot meal. It transforms what could be a simple vegetable soup into a robust dish that requires very little else to make it a full dinner. All you really need to serve alongside it is some crusty bread – think a rustic sourdough or a warm ciabatta – perfect for mopping up every last drop of the rich, savory broth. For an extra layer of flavor and a touch of gourmet flair, I also love to swirl a spoonful of vibrant basil pesto into my bowl of this Autumn minestrone soup. The fresh, aromatic notes of the basil pesto perfectly complement the earthy vegetables and rich broth, elevating the entire dish.
How To Craft Your Perfect Vegan Autumn Minestrone Soup:
(For a comprehensive list of ingredients and detailed, step-by-step instructions, please refer to the complete recipe card provided below.)
The journey to a perfect bowl of minestrone begins with meticulous vegetable preparation, which forms the aromatic foundation of our soup. Start by taking your large brown onion, peeling it, and then finely dicing it into small, uniform pieces. Next, peel your large carrot and dice it similarly. Thinly slice the celery sticks, ensuring consistency for even cooking. Finally, peel your garlic cloves and crush them – this helps release their potent flavor more effectively into the oil.
Once your aromatics are prepped, heat the olive oil in a generously sized, heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven over a low heat. Add the diced onion, carrot, and sliced celery to the pan. Cook these vegetables gently for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The goal here isn’t to brown them, but rather to soften them beautifully and allow their natural sweetness to develop, creating a rich flavor base. After they are tender and lightly colored, add the crushed garlic and continue to cook for just another minute until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic, as this can turn bitter.
Now it’s time to prepare the remaining seasonal stars of our minestrone. Dice the courgette (zucchini) into bite-sized pieces. For the butternut squash, carefully peel it, scoop out the seeds, and then dice the flesh into uniform cubes, similar in size to your potatoes for even cooking. Dice the potato into roughly 1-inch pieces. Take your cavolo nero or kale, strip the leaves from their tough central stems, and then thinly shred the leaves. Finally, strip the leaves from your fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs, finely chop them, and discard the woody stalks. Fresh herbs are crucial for bright, earthy flavors.
With all your vegetables prepped and ready, add them to the pan with your sautéed aromatics. Pour in the tinned chopped tomatoes, which will provide a rich, slightly tangy base, and the drained cannellini beans, offering a creamy texture and a good source of plant-based protein. Add the vegetable stock – ensure it’s a good quality one for maximum flavor – and your chosen pasta shapes. Give everything a good stir to combine.
Increase the heat and bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan partially, and allow it to cook gently for 20 to 30 minutes. This simmering time is crucial for allowing all the flavors to meld beautifully and for both the vegetables (especially the squash and potato) and the pasta to become tender. Check for tenderness – the vegetables should be soft but not mushy, and the pasta al dente. Taste the soup and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper according to your preference. Just before serving, stir in some finely chopped fresh basil; its vibrant, peppery notes will brighten the entire dish. Alternatively, serve with a dollop of basil pesto swirled on top.
This soup is not only a fantastic meal on its own but also keeps wonderfully. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. It often tastes even better the next day as the flavors have more time to deepen and meld. When reheating, you might want to add a splash of extra vegetable stock or water to loosen it up, as the pasta will absorb more liquid as it sits. Serve it again with fresh crusty bread and a sprinkle of fresh herbs for another comforting meal.
Explore More Delicious Vegan Soup Recipes:
If you’ve enjoyed this hearty autumn minestrone, you might be interested in exploring other warming and wholesome soup options. Here are a few more fantastic vegan soup recipes to inspire your culinary adventures:
- Spiced Red Lentil and Root Vegetable Soup – A comforting and protein-rich option.
- Classic Carrot and Coriander Soup – Simple, vibrant, and packed with flavor.
- Spiced Roast Pumpkin Soup – A creamy, aromatic autumn delight.
- Spiced Yellow Split Pea and Sweetcorn Soup – A unique and satisfying blend.
- Quick Black-Eyed Bean Soup – Speedy, flavorful, and incredibly easy.
- Spiced Carrot and Pumpkin Soup – Another autumnal favorite with warm spices.
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Print Recipe
Autumn Minestrone Soup (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 large brown onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
- 2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 courgette (zucchini), diced
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and diced
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 200 g (7oz/a large handful) cavolo nero or kale, thinly shredded
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped and chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
- 1 400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 400g (14oz) tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1.5 litres (6 cups) vegetable stock
- 100 g (⅔ cup) uncooked ditalini pasta shapes (or other small pasta)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Fresh basil or vegan pesto, to serve
Instructions
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Begin by preparing your aromatic base: Peel and finely dice the large brown onion, peel and finely dice the large carrot, thinly slice the celery sticks, and finally, peel and crush the garlic cloves. Set aside.
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In a large, heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over a low to medium-low heat. Add the prepared onion, carrot, and celery. Cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened considerably and are lightly colored, developing a sweet flavor. Stir in the crushed garlic and cook for an additional minute until fragrant.
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While the aromatics are cooking, prepare the remaining vegetables: Dice the courgette (zucchini), peel and deseed the butternut squash before dicing it into similar-sized pieces, peel and dice the potato. For the cavolo nero or kale, remove the leaves from the tough stalks and thinly shred them. Strip the leaves from the fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs, finely chop them, and discard the woody stems.
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Add all the freshly prepared vegetables, chopped herbs, the tin of chopped tomatoes, the drained cannellini beans, the vegetable stock, and the uncooked ditalini pasta shapes to the pan. Stir everything well to ensure all ingredients are submerged in the liquid.
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Increase the heat and bring the soup to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan partially, and allow it to simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, or until both the vegetables are tender (the butternut squash and potato should be soft when pierced) and the pasta is cooked through to your liking. Season the soup generously to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Just before serving, stir in some finely chopped fresh basil or drizzle with a spoonful of basil pesto for an extra burst of flavor. Serve hot with crusty bread.