Kale Minestrone Soup Recipe
User Reviews
4.8
Kale Minestrone Soup Recipe
Description
The Kale Minestrone Soup Recipe features olive oil sautéed onions, garlic, and carrots browned to deepen their flavor before being combined with tomato paste and a mixture of vegetable broth and seasonings. Red potatoes, celery, and zucchini add texture and substance, while canned whole tomatoes are crushed by hand for a rustic consistency. White beans and kale are added late to preserve the greens' texture and provide protein richness. Optional parmesan rinds infuse the broth with a subtle umami depth. Served topped with a homemade basil pesto combining basil, parsley, pine nuts, and lemon juice, this soup delivers layered herbal and vegetable flavors with varied textures.
The soup is filling enough to serve as a main or a starter. The pesto adds a fresh finish that complements the soup's savory and slightly acidic notes. The ingredients are flexible so the recipe can accommodate personal vegetable preferences, maintaining about four cups of chopped vegetables excluding potatoes.
To speed preparation, start sautéing the onions while chopping other vegetables. Using parmesan rinds enhances flavor but isn't necessary. Crushed whole canned tomatoes create a pleasant chunky texture, though diced tomatoes can be substituted. Adjust seasoning with salt towards the end of cooking for balanced taste.
Ingredients
Kale Minestrone Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large carrot diced
- 5.5 .5 ounce tomato paste canned
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 medium potato diced, red
- 2 talks celery diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 teaspoon oregano each
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 28 ounce tomato whole, canned
- 2 Parmesan Cheese optional - see notes, rinds
- 15 ounce White beans drained and rinsed, canned
- 8 ounces kale removed from stem and chopped
- lemon juice from ½ lemon
- salt to taste, sea salt
Easy Basil Pesto
- 2 ounces basil about 1 cup, loosely packed
- 2 ounces parsley about 1 cup loosely packed
- ¼ cup pine nuts cashews or almonds work great, too
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- lemon juice from ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese or nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and carrots and let them cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots and onion start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook it until it is sweet smelling and starts to darken, about 3 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, potatoes, celery, zucchini, black pepper, oregano, and thyme to the pot. Pour the juice from the tomatoes into the pot then use your hands to crush the whole tomatoes before adding them to the pot. If you're using the parmesan rinds, add them to the pot now. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, make the pesto. Add all the pesto ingredients to a small food processor and pulse until mostly smooth.
- Add the beans, kale, and lemon juice to the soup and let the kale wilt and the beans warm through. Season to taste with sea salt. Serve the minestrone topped with the pesto.
Notes
- Begin cooking the onions early to save time while prepping other vegetables.
- Adding parmesan rinds to the broth enriches the soup with umami notes.
- Crushing whole canned tomatoes by hand gives a textured broth; diced tomatoes can be used instead.
- You can swap out vegetables as long as you keep about 4 cups excluding potatoes for balance.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 6servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 369 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 serving = ⅙ of the recipe (about 2 cups) | |
| Calories | 369kcal | 18% |
| Carbohydrates | 57g | 19% |
| Protein | 15g | 30% |
| Fat | 12g | 18% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 3g | 18% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Sodium | 1870mg | 78% |
| Potassium | 1907mg | 41% |
| Fiber | 11g | 44% |
| Sugar | 13g | 26% |
| Vitamin A | 10116IU | 202% |
| Vitamin C | 100mg | 111% |
| Calcium | 228mg | 23% |
| Iron | 7mg | 39% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.8
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