Jamie's Minestrone

I've used this recipe every winter since I found the posting. Jaime's recipe is terrific & I've made several changes which make it more appealing to my family. I omit green beans & replace them with cannellini beans along with the Red kidney beans. I use lots of fresh spinach and cabbage if I have it. Ditalini is our favorite soup pasta, it hold up better than shells. We like lots of veggies so I didn't decrease any amounts of carrots, zucchini or celery. The first stage of sauteing the aromatic veggies is so important. It is the basis for a terrific soup. Thank you, Jaime! This is comfort food at its best.

Fabulous recipe! I did some substitutions though: I used potatoes instead of zucchini, and I added white wine instead of red. I also used italian-crushed tomatoes and only one small can of tomato sauce. This is a great recipe that can easily be modified to suit both your tastes and whatever you have in the cupboard. Husband loved it!

I absolutely love soup and read all the great reviews for this soup. It defintely didn't let me down. I did make some minor alterations based on the reviews. I used 5 cloves of garlic, 8 cups of chicken broth (instead of water), and 3/4 cup red wine, and the whole bag of baby spinach. I didn't add the kidney beans until the last 10 minutes so they wouldn't fall apart. I cooked the pasta separately and then added it. I used more then a half a cup because I like to see the pasta in my soup. It was a very thick soup even with the addition of all that chicken broth. I cooked it for about 1 hour give or take a little bit. I did think that addition of the parmesan cheese gave the soup great taste. I highly recommend this soup. All the great reviews are right, this soup is great.

This was the best soup I have ever made! I did make a few changes. First of all, I omitted the celery. I used 5 cans of chicken broth, 2 cans of tomato paste, 1 can of tomato juice and 1 can of V8. Even with this much liquid I still needed to add the 2 cups of water. I used all fresh vegetables. I substituted a squash for one of the zucchini. I also added 1 cup shredded cabbage and 3 red potatoes. Instead of the seashell pasta I choice Ditalini because I prefer a smaller pasta. I did not have fresh basil or oregano on hand so I used Italian seasoning. I cooked it for 2 hours adding the potatoes and pasta in the last 20 minutes. This does make a ton of soup so you could freeze half and save it for another night.

What a fantastic soup! And yes, it does make a *ton*. I cut the recipe in half, and still had a very large pot of soup. I've never been able to resist meddling, so I also cut down the amount of celery, used yellow squash and zucchini both, white beans instead of kidney beans, and ditalini pasta instead of shells. Fresh basil and rosemary added wonderful flavor, this is the perfect vegetable soup. I also added a few drops of lemon juice while it simmered, to freshen the flavors a little. Thank you Jamie!

This really is a GREAT recipe. I made it for after Christmas when we didn't need any more calories. I made my noodles (mini - egg bow ties) in a seperate pot and added them per individual, topped off with a small amount of fresh parmesan cheese. I didn't add the spinach, and I did use 1- 14 oz. can - Italian diced tomatoes, and only 1 -8oz. can of tomato sauce, frozen green beans, and 3 cups 98% fat free chicken broth, 1 cup of water, and only FRESH herbs. Served with homemade fresh bread! EXCELLENT!! I also made it ahead of time so it reduced time in the kitchen during the holidays.

This was great. I did things slightly different. I used all broth not 1/2 broth 1/2 water. And I used crushed tomatoes instead of the sauce. The zucchini this time of year was really expensive, so I used a frozen veggie mix that had squash, zucchini, green beans and red peppers. This worked perfectly. Thanks for the great post.

This was fantastic! I changed a few things here and there just because of what I had on hand. I used canned cannelli beans rather than kidney beans. I used a mixture of chicken broth and vegetable broth, replaced some of the tomato sauce with diced tomato. I added a squash in lieu of 2 of the zucchini and I added some red pepper flakes that gave it a bit of a bite. My entire family enjoyed it and I have some in the freezer for cold winter nights. Thanks for sharing this Jamie!

This is my second time reviewing this recipe...and this time I made it RIGHT!! Don't add any meat or extra veggies like I did the first time, you won't have enough liquid. This recipe is perfect just as it is. It really is classic...and now that I've learned to just leave the recipe ALONE I absolutely love it. It is a real treat, and pretty cheap and easy to make. It's fun to have fresh bread and red wine with it, too.

If using tomato sauce it is more a tomato soup with vegetables than minestrone soup. I replaced a 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce with water and used fresh green beans, adding another 1/2 cup water because the canned beans were undrained. Three zucchini was a lot to add, switching to 1 zucchini and other family favorite vegetables recommended (corn adds color variation). If the broth is too acidic or tangy after 10 minutes of simmering add an 1/8 tsp. baking soda to cut it.

I absolutely LOVED this soup. My husband went on and on about how good it was. After reading some of the reviews, I decided to use double the broth omitting the water. I also used a can of diced tomatoes in addition to the sauce. I threw in some Okra, Bell Pepper and white corn as well. There was quite a bit of chopping to be done, I used canned carrots tocut down a little. Wonderful, healthy, taste good soup!

This recipe is very good, as is. While still a confirmed carnivore, I didn't miss the meat. I'll make it again!!

This soup really is fantastic! I was craving a hearty vegtable soup, one that I could make during the day, and serve my family for dinner. This is it! The vegtables were all cooked perfectly, and you can really tweak it for your own taste. I added pasta the meatballs (premade) to my husbands dinner, but I just enjoy the soup itself. Some changes I made- I had no fresh herbs on hand, so I used all dried, an "italin" blend, and some additional parsely and bay leaf. I also added a few grinds of lemon pepper. I used carrots, celery (stalks and leaves) canned kidney beans, white beans, and canned green beans. I didn't have any zuchinni, so I cut 3 small potatoes and used those (with skins). I used one can of beef broth and one can of chicken, instead of water( forgot the wine too!). All low sodium... I think that any changes you make will be great! The base recipe is wonderful also, but we made do with what was on hand. For a final touch, I splashed in some worshirtire sauce. Probably not typical, but it gives the soup a richness and brings everything together. Few quick tips- saute the onions, then add the garlic. Onions need more time to soften, and garlic burns rather quickly. And chopping all those veggies really doesn't take more than 5 mins tops. I saw a few complaints about that-what do you expect? Fresh food takes alitte work!

I am not much of a vegetarian meal lover and unfortunately I thought I could improve this recipe by adding some ground beef. WRONG! The soup was great until I ruined it. Don't make the same mistake, make it as is and you will be very happy.

Amazing soup! I made very few adjustments in ingredients to match my personal taste. This one's definitely a make again - Bravo Jamie! I just want to point out that because so many canned ingredients are being used here, a serving of this soup and a can (which is regarded as approximately 2 servings) of Progresso Minestrone soup are not too far off. True, making it at home allows us to include a lot more vegetables than the canned soup, but let's not fall under the illusion that this version of Minestrone is so much healthier than we can find in a can. Calories: Serving of Jamie's soup - 232 Can of Progresso - 220 Total Fat: Serving of Jamie's soup - 8.3g Can of Progresso - 4g Saturated Fat: Serving of Jamie's soup - 1.4g Can of Progresso - 1g Sodium: Serving of Jamie's soup - 1267mg Can of Progresso - 1920mg Carbs: Serving of Jamie's soup - 32.1g Can of Progresso - 38g Sugars: Serving of Jamie's soup - 12.1g Can of Progresso - 4g I'm still a fan of this recipe, and I think that the benefits of having the chunky fresh vegetables in the soup outweigh the higher sugar and fat content by a longshot, but some people on restrictive diets may not agree.

This is a great recipe! The first time I made this, I gave it 3 stars because the oregano taste was too strong-MY FAULT!!! It turns out that 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs is the same as 1 teaspoon dried herbs!!! I'm so glad I figured it out, since this is so yummy and healthy!

O.K. this is the second time I made this and I love it. The first time I made it almost at written and it was really good. But this time I changed some things as per reviews and my own thing. I added about of pound of Turkey Italian Sausage (hot) did half tomato sauce and half Italian style diced tomatoes. And double the amount of garlic (just my thing) anyway it is wonderful. Thank you for the post.

This soup was really good. I did use all broth and no water as well. I used regular spinach vs baby spinach (as it was half the cost). I just chopped it up smaller, and it worked just fine. I would definately recommend cooking the pasta separately just before serving. I cooked mine separately, but added it to the soup a few hours before serving, and it soaked up a lot of the juice. I think doing as the recipes says would work much better.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one! I followed the recipe pretty closely, though I did choose to omit celery (hate it), use frozen green beans in lieu of canned, and use all chicken broth rather than some water. This came together fairly quickly and easily and made for a great lunch on an icy winter day. I was being lazy (and had planned to freeze some soup) so I chose to use ancient de peep for pasta and simply added it towards the end of simmering. Next time (and there will be a next time) I will add another can of kidney beans and perhaps another bean for a little more texture and protein. Thanks, Jamie, for a "keeper"!

This soup is hearty and delicious! No changes necessary... just follow the recipe and you won't be disappointed. My husband didn't even miss the meat in this one and he's usually not too fond of meatless dinners! This one's in my archives to stay! Will make it again and again!

best i've found yet. i did make a few changes by adding a bit more chicken stock along with 1 can canellini beans(white), 1 can chopped tomatoes,and exchanged the green beans for italian beans. it tasted exactly lime Olive Gardens Minestrone Soup.The family raved about it!!!

This was a hit at work. I added the rind from a brick of Parmigianno Regiano and it added wonderful depth to this hearty soup. I also added a quart of homemade chicken broth instead of canned. I omitted all but 1 cup of the tomato sauce and added a can of diced tomatoes. Really even better the next day. also I through it all in a crockpot , really easy.

Excellent! Even my hubby (who thinks that soup is an appetizer and not a meal) LOVED IT! After reading some of the reviews, I did make a few minor changes to the recipe. I used fresh green beans (instead of canned), added in 1 cup of shredded cabage, usded 6 cups of broth and 1 cup of water, no salt added tomato sauce, dried herbs instead of fresh, and 1 cup of uncooked ditalini (cooked separately). I cooked the soup for about 3 hours on low. This made an enormous amount of soup, which I divided into individual portions and put in the freezer for easy lunches. YUMMO!

This soup turned out fantastic. Here are my modifications: 1. I did not put in the can of green beans. 2. For convenience sake, I used 1 29 oz. can of tomato sauce, 2 14 oz. cans of chicken broth, and 1 cup of water instead of the amounts listed. 3. At the very end, I felt like it was missing something, so I added a bit of cayenne pepper. That made a huge difference! This is a really hearty, delicious soup. I would like to have a bit more broth next time, so I'm going to increase the liquids when I make this soup again. My entire family loved this recipe!

Good foundational recipe that can be customized per individual tastes. I increase the garlic and use a mixture of dried herbs because I rarely have fresh on hand. Also, I use canned stewed tomatoes (broken into small pieces--with the liquid) and a few tablespoons of tomato paste instead of tomato sauce and use only broth instead of water and broth (also works well with a combination of chicken and beef broth). For my taste, this does need some added salt, but that's just me. Enjoy!

Loved it!

I got 2# of zucchini in my CSA delivery this week, so was looking for recipes to use it in when I came across this one. I started with about a pound of sweet italian sausage; after browning and draining the oil, I continued pretty much with the recipe, with only the following changes: probably a bit more zucchini (so I didn't have to save a portion of one), doubled the broth, added a pinch of red pepper flakes, used kale instead of spinach (also from this week's delivery), used the full can of beans, so probably 1 1/2 c., and dried herbs instead of the fresh. Oh - no wine (forgot!). I liked the idea of cooking the pasta separately, as we have lots of soup left over, and I know how pasta absorbs most of the liquid. I let people grate their own parmesan. (I am sure that this would be great without the sausage - it was a request of my husband, and it really did turn out good. Everyone at the table gave it 2 thumbs up!) Thanks for a great starting point.

This is fantastic--good for using up all the squash, green beans and good stuff from the garden. I used kidney and white beans, fresh veg instead of canned, crushed tomatoes instead of sauce and I just dropped the raw pasta in during last 15 minutes of cooking. Fantastic!

Very good basic minestrone. I tweaked it a little on recommendation from a friend that the water made it a tad bland. Subbed 6 cups of tomato juice for the 2 cups water and 4 cups tomato sauce. Perfect. Served with a loaf of hot and fresh home Italian bread for a big family lunch get-together. EVeryone loved it. :-)

This was an excellent dinner on a chilly fall night! I made it following the directions, but added some things like baby red potatoes and squash (1/2 the zuccini) I also added some mushrooms that went well with the wine. I added more chicken stock than called for, because I had more veggies. I served it with warm bread and it was a hit. This recipes will def. go in my books as a regular!

Awesome! Tastes great in crock pot as well! This is flawless, I make it at least twice a month in cold months! Fresh herbs work the best!

Very good! I find that the liquids are a bit off since I always have to add more but otherwise it is fantastic. I do not use any water I use all broth. Made with chicken and beef broth and both times it was great.

Yum! This recipe is a keeper! Don't skimp on the red wine... It's a must!

Fantastic soup and also a great way of using any left over veggies you may have in the fridge. Zucchini is a nice addition as well as mini meatballs. Good job Jamie!

I have an afterschool cooking class with a few 5th graders and we made this soup. It was a hit! We made as directed (except for the red wine!). It made more than we could eat so we shared it with other teachers. Everyone who tried it asked for the recipe. It's a keeper!

This soup is OUTSTANDING!! I followed others' suggestions to substitute diced tomatoes for part of the tomato sauce and added the kidney beans toward the end. I added more red wine than the recipe indicates -- don't know what difference that made. Definitely cook the pasta separately and spoon soup over it to serve. I simmered for about 2 1/2 hours. I will make this over and over again -- we loved it! P.S. On making a second time, I added shredded cooked chicken breasts (3 medium sized breasts) -- made it a bit heartier, same delicious, satisfying flavors.

This soup is really good! A couple changes - definitely add at least one can of garbanzo beans (balances the "bite" of the wine/spinach); Saute the carrot/onion/celery mixture until the carrots are soft (mine stayed too firm for a couple days); Add the beans during last 20 minutes to prevent mushiness. I found that I needed more liquid, so I tossed in a very small can of tomato sauce and some sugar, as well as an additional 2 c. of chicken stock and another 1/4 c. of wine. I will make this all the time!

This is good soup! It makes a ton. Full of vegetables. I didn't put spinich in because I hate cooked spinich. I also put garbanzo beans and a can of corn in. I saute'ed the garlic, onion, carrots and celery in a pot first then transferred everything to the crock pot. Cooked it for 5 hours on high and it turned out perfectly. Great soup!

Pretty good, I made too much though :)

Absolutely fantastic! I added extra garlic, was heavy on the herbs and pepper. Thought the red wine added a nice touch --- I wouldn't leave it out! I used whole wheat penne -- I like the nuttiness and density of the pasta, it holds up quite well in this soup.

Better than Olive Garden!

This soup tasted great however I docked 1 star because cooking those vegetables in the soup for so long took away the vibrant color and made them rather soft. I would say simmer the soup for less time and then add the veggies during the last 10 minutes.

This is one of the best soups I have made and believe me I have made many. The only change I made was to use beef broth (personnel preference) and add more water as we like a brothy soup. I also used a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce. This gave the soup a slightly sweet taste which my husband loved. Also substituted garbanzo beans for the green beans (again personnel preference). This made a ton of soup, enough for my huband's lunch and also enough for another meal or two. Thank you so much Jaime.

This was really good soup! I followed the directions exactly with one exception which was to omit the pasta. We really enjoyed this.

Very, very good!! I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and substituted V-8 juice for half of the tomato sauce. It's a thick soup but it is delicious.

This soup was wonderful! It took a while to chop up all of the veggies, but was worth the effort. I substituted star shaped pasta to appeal to my 2 and 4 year old. It must have worked b/c they each had 2 bowls! I wish I would have thought ahead and made some crusty bread to go with it.

This was fabulous. Seriously delicious. The only change I made was adding about 1 TBSP white sugar to the mix, since all the tomato action makes it a bit acidic. The sugar takes the edge off of that, and made it even better.

It is good, but I leave out the spinach. I do like spinach in salads and soups, but it was not good in this.

This soup is a delicious 5 star recipe with a few changes, some at others suggestions. I used 5 cloves of garlic (this recipe makes a lot of soup!), all chicken broth instead of water, one can italian diced tomatoes & one can tomato sauce. I didn't use wine b/c I didn't have it and didn't use basil, but did use the fresh orgeano. I'm sure it's even better with them. I will add more pasta and more broth next time. I had so many delicious veggies and not enough liquid...but it was SO good. My husband loved it. Lots of leftovers to freeze. This is a keeper!

This is a great soup...I used the vegetables I had on hand and the broth and seasoning was perfect.

I used garbanzo beans instead of green beans and a 28 oz can tomato sauce plus 1 can diced roasted tomatoes w/garlic. Very hearty and delicious. Better the next day!

If you love vegetables, you will love this soup. It is a great healthy comfort food. I DEFINITELY recommend not combining the noodles with the vegetables before serving or when putting up the leftovers. The pasta will absorb all the juice. I served the soup over the pasta, but when I went to put the leftovers in the fridge, I mixed it all together in the same storage container. Don't do this. The pasta absorbs all the soup. Thanks for a great recipe.

This recipe was all it was chalked up to be and then some! Per other user's suggestions, I added additional chicken broth, water and a touch more tomato sauce so it wasn't as chunky. A little time consuming to cut up the veggies, but it made 10 servings and freezes very well. I highly recommend this recipe! Thank you for sharing!

Wonderful! Instead of pasta I added cheese tortellini that I pre-cooked. It was hearty and satisfying for the whole family.

Really good Minestrone soup. I have to take a meal to a friend who had a baby & I am taking this with some homemade bread! Yum.

I made this last night for dinner and loved it! The only change I made was I used white vs red wine since that's what was available. I would say the cook time should be longer because the zucchini was a bit crunchy, so I will make sure I cook it longer next time. Great recipe!

Outstanding!!!! Just a great tasting minestrone soup. I added a can of diced tomatoes, a can of white beans and an extra can of broth, and used fresh green beans. Wonderful flavor.

This soup was incredible. I was looking for a soup to make on Halloween after trick-or-treating. I have never been too crazy about minestrone, but I had to try this one after seeing the ratings and reviews. I am so glad that I did! My husband, in-laws and even my 2 year old absolutely loved this minestrone soup! I took some of the advice from other reviews - added a little more red wine, used a can of diced tomatoes, put the beans in later in the cooking time, and served sweet italian sausage on the side (I cooked it separately, sliced it, put it on the soup after ladling it into the bowls, and then topped it with parmesan cheese). It does make a lot, but the leftovers are just as wonderful if not better the next day!

So, so, SOOO good! I made minor changes after reading the reviews. Used all chicken broth instead of water and substituted petite diced tomatoes for some of the tomato sauce. Absolutely wonderful! Served it with a loaf of crusty French bread.

Great soup, full of flavour!

oh my goodness this is so good. My children love this so much too. I added the pasta to the soup instead of cooking seperately. We make this almost every week. Its great for when the "men" of the house are hungry, and so healthy too.

I made this for the first time tonight and followed the recipe word for word. This was by far and away the best minestrone I have ever had. Next time I make it I make half the amount and will play with the ingredients a little bit, but two thumbs up as is.

The recipe listed here is awesome. I have been looking for a good vegetable soup recipe for a long time. I don't like a strong tomato base, so I only used one can of tomato sauce and instead of water, I used chicken soup for the whole recipe. I freeze individual servings so I can have great lunch in a rush.

I really, really enjoyed this soup. I have NEVER made a soup without having to tweak it...until now that is! I measuresd everything precisely (usually eyeball it)and the soup was perfect, the fresh basil is what gives it that real minestrone taste, just a little sweetness...mmm mmm. And definitely don't forget to sprinkle the parm on top-it just brings out all those yummy flavours! I'll be making this again for sure :D

This soup was wonderful! I changed two things... I used a can of San Marzano tomatoes instead of sauce (gave it a fresher, richer flavor) and used kale instead of spinach (I don't care for wilted spinach). Great idea to add the pasta in the individual bowls instead of the whole pot of soup. It keeps it from swelling that way.

Very good! My changes: used 4 cups chicken stock instead of half stock/half water. I also used a 28 oz can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Great, fresh flavor and hearty too.

I made it exactly as the recipe suggested..it was delicious! I have made many versions of ministrone soup and this one is my new favorite!

I didn't change a single thing and it turned out phenomenal. I'm going to make another pot - without altering it one single bit! Husband said "This is the best minestrone I have ever eaten."

Wow...this soup is soooo good. I sampled some after 40 minutes of simmering and it is fabulous. I can only imagine how wonderful it will be tomorrow! It is always better the next day! I too ommitted the water and used 4 cups of chicken broth. I did not use green beans but a can each of cannelini and garbanzo beans as well as the kidney beans. I also tossed in a can of diced potatoes. I used more vegetables than the recipe called for but I love hearty soup. I also used merlot wine (not cooking wine) and not only did my kitchen smell fabulous, the soup is wonderful. You really can add any veggies you like. I don't eat meat but my family does so I will be adding italian sausage to theres. I need not look any further for a good minestrone soup recipe.

Sorry but a 1 star for me! I made mine exactly to the recipe, using tomato sauce. Well what is tomato sauce (im british) i added what we call tomato sauce (what you put on your fish and chips on a friday night) its full of vinegar sugar salt etc. Im guessing i used the wrong one as my soup tasted rank! I think there needs to be some clarity on this 'tomato sauce'

MMMmmmm... I love a good minestrone, this was just what I was looking for. Now, I thought I'd be all slick and dumped the uncooked pasta right into the soup. Not a good idea. The starch from the pasta thickened the soup so it was more like a stew. Won't do that next time!

I am not really a tomato based soup eater, but I LOVE this recipe! The only addition I make is adding 1 lb. of browned and seasoned ground beef. I make 3 or 4 batches at a time, cool and freeze them in gallon sized zip loc bags. When I need a quick meal I thaw it out and heat it up. So yummy! My whole family likes it too. Which is a hard one to find with 3 kids 7 and younger.

Wonderful recipe! I upped the broth to 3 cups and cooked the pasta in the soup. Also used 2 cups tomato sauce plus 1 can petite diced tomatoes instead of 4 c sauce. I only had 2 zucchini and that was plenty. Served with french bread and merlot. A great meal!

I really liked this soup. I have made it three times - only I have omitted the pasta. I've added lots of other veggies too. Yummy!

Very good for a using all canned goods and extremely easy to put together. Added some diced tomatoes too and skipped the pasta all together. There are closer to 12 servings than 8. Thanks for the recipe.

Been making this for years. Superb. I'm happy to see so many new reviews and fans. I'm about to break a 21 day Master Cleanse using this soup, but omitting the beans, pasta and cheese. I like the idea of adding more veggies. I never use water, I increase the chicken broth to 4 cups and it comes out divine.

Very good soup... I used a little more broth. Also omitted the all the oil.. there's no need for it and it just adds fat. I sauted the onions and celery in broth. Instead on boiling the liquids I put all the ingredients in a crock pot for the day, turned out great. Thanks Jamie!

Wonderful recipe. I substituted more chicken broth for the red wine. I let the soup simmer for 3 hours. Everyone loved it. So tasty and so healthy!

This soup came out good, but I didn't love it like my daughter did... Not something I would make again. BUT, I did put the pasta in with the soup and didn't cook it sperately as suggested. I would recommend following the directions so your mini shells don't get soggy....

oh my gosh, this is the best minestrone I have had! This sure beats the canned kind any day! I made a few last minute adjustments. (I was going to make homemade chicken soup, but forgot to buy chicken!! LOL) I used 4 cups of beef broth, a lg. can of crushed tomoatoes, parsley flakes, thyme and garlic powder. I also added one HUGE potato, omitted the zuchinni, and added a can of whole kernel corn. Oh and it was a little too tomatoey for me, so I added a can of chicken broth (I was out of beef). And it turned out GREAT!! Thank you Jamie for a wonderful recipe to warm me up on these cold Wisconsin nights!!

This recipe is Great!! My girls loved it, which says a lot!! The only thing I didn't follow was I didn't use the red wine and I replaced the celery with green peppers (Only because I forgot to buy them). Cant wait to make this for my husband...

This was terrific! My lilttle princess ( she's 2) ate it up like crazy. She loved the veggies. Will be playing with it to see if I can get it to our complete satisfACTION. tHANKS!

I was searching for a GREAT Minestrone recipe when I stumbled onto Jamie's version. It had some different ingredients than others I'd looked at, the red wine and tomato sauce in particular, and I think it was these differences that made this soup so extraordinarily good. As I've tried to move toward a more healthy and nutritious diet, I've often been disappointed at the lack of flavor in many "healthy" dishes, but this minestrone soup has more flavor than I thought possible. Definitely worth the time to make, and I'll never crack open a CAN of Minestrone again.

This was AWESOME! Made this recipe for Christmas progressive supper with my in-laws. I received compliments! Here's the surprise...I made a double batch so had to use two dutch ovens. As usual, the hostess/cook is the last to serve up. I sat down feeling quite proud of my efforts and enjoying the compliments. Was I surprised when I took my first bite and MY SOUP WAS COLD! I had finished cooking early and turned down the burners to keep things warm. When I checked the soup, I only checked one pot. Most of my guests had dished up from the other pot and still loved it. LOL! I will defintely make this soup year round. Hot in winter and cold in summer! Very versatile. ;)

I made as per recipe and this was excellent! You can sub ingredients but it is delicious as is! Thanks.

I thought this was delicious. The best Minestrone I've ever had.

I made some changes and it turned out fantastic. Substituted canned tomato sauce, kidney beans with no salt added and fresh green beans for the canned. Added some "no salt" to give it a bit of salty flavour. Brings sodium content down using 1tbsp parm cheese. Now you can seconds or if your my husband 3rds and not feel guilty.

AWESOME RECIPE! Only change is that I double the broth, sub 1 can sauce for 1 can diced tomatos, and omit the spinach. I make this every 2-3 weeks in bulk for my boyfriend and I. We freeze the extra and it heats up again really nicely.

This soup was really delicious. The entire recipe makes a lot of soup - I cut it in half and it made 6 servings. The other changes I made were: 1) twice the garlic, 2) a little less carrot (2 for a half recipe), 3) 1/4 c. wine for a half recipe, 4) I substitued dry for fresh herbs (make sure to adjust measurements - 1 tsp. dried oregano for 1 Tbsp. fresh, 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil for 1 Tbsp. fresh), 5) I left out the spinach, because I didn't have any, and the green beans, because I don't like them. I came out with a hearty, flavorful, and truly delicious soup that adds a lot to any meal! I highly recommend this recipe.

This is a wonderful recipe for Minestrone! I used my biggest pot, but it was almost overflowing! The only changes I made were to use one very large sweeet onion, not two, and one zucchini. I omitted the pasta because I served this with Italian Herb Bread I from this site, made into breadsticks. I added a touch more spinach. We will be enjoying the leftovers tomorrow!

What a delicious, healthy and hearty soup! Made some slight changes - I used a can of white kidney beans, omitted the green beans and spinach. The amount of vegetables can be adjusted to your liking. I only had one 398ml can of tomato sauce so I used that plus a 798ml can of diced tomatoes. I used 4 cups of water with 4 tsps of chicken bouillon and omitted the wine. I also added a heaping tbsp of white sugar to cut down on the tartness and added 1 tsp of hot pepper flakes. To make it even more hearty, I tossed in tortellini instead of the seashell pasta. I served with French bread. So delicious! This makes A LOT of soup. I'm sure it will freeze well though! Will make again!

This is my all-time favorite soup recipe. I love that I can use what I have at home. I know traditional minestrone calls for seashell pasta but I don't have that on a regular basis, so when I'm craving this soup, I usually have macaroni noodles so I'll use those. My boss in Nauvoo, IL liked this soup so much she started serving it at her restaurant. Of course, I got to make it all the time! It was fabulous!!! Thanks for this recipe....Definitly a keeper!

Love this recipe! I only made minor modifications--I used all chicken stock instead of water and subbed cannelloni beans for the green beans. I added a little more spinach than it called for and I put 1 c of uncooked pasta right into the soup. It is delicious! My kids love it too. Thanks for the great recipe

What a fantastic minestrone! This was wonderful. I used fresh green beans and I did add a pound of lean stew beef, mainly because of the husband. Other than that I followed the recipe as shown. I can't get over what a delicious soup this was!

I was very excited to try this recipe, but I knew I really didnt have the time to cut up all the veggies, so I went to the grocery store and bought all frozen ones...carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, Italian cut green beans, and spinach. I also added quite a bit more chicken broth and a can of tomatos with Italin seasonings...other than that I followed the recipe on how to put it together...I used Alphabet noodles and the kids loved that!!! I will make this recipe again!!! It was so good and so easy!!!!

Just polished off my second bowl. 5 Stars. The only thing I would do differently next time is increase the chicken broth by at least 1 cup, add more kidney beans and I used 4 cups (after blending) of fresh tomatoes.

Best soup I've ever made, and soup is my specialty! It was so good I finally got over it being sad it was still soup weather in May. I did this to make it vegetarian, healthier & richer: Skip the chicken broth, add one can of garbanzo beans, 2 cups cooked quinoa, and 1.5 cups cooked red lentils. I did NOT add pasta. It didn't need it and it would have made the whole process more complicated and harder to store. I also just added some tomato paste (1/3 cup of so) instead of tomato sauce to save money. I felt amazing after eating it! (Full disclosure I finished the whole pot in 48 hours).

This was really good. I tried to make it a meal with salad and bread, but the family was still hungry afterwards. I guess we just are not the vegetarian type and need meat at each dinner.

Great recipe! I feel the need to point out the nutrition error in a previous review. I am a dietician and Jamie's recipe is very healthy. I subbed whole wheat pasta and used low-sodium broth and tomatoes, rinsed the beans before adding to the soup and use fresh or frozen veggies. I don't know where the reviewer got some of the numbers but I just made the soup and can say that the sodium is NO WHERE near 1267 per serving (when using lower sodium products). Fresh is ALWAYS better than canned and pre-made. Great soup Jamie!