Minestrone with white beans
A big pot of vegetables, white beans and little pasta in a tomato broth that tastes like it simmered all afternoon.
- 60 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.51 a serving
- 320 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup elbow macaroni
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp italian seasoning
- 2 cups water
- 1 bay leave
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 320 calories, 13 g protein, 51 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $2.51 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No zucchini? Yellow squash works.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No vegetable broth? Chicken broth works.
- No elbow macaroni? Penne works.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, carrots, celery and zucchini into small, even pieces and the garlic. Keep the zucchini in its own pile.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Dolly’s tip: Even pieces cook at the same speed. About the size of a chickpea is perfect here.Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until , about 8 minutes.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Add the diced tomatoes, broth, water, bay leaf, the rest of the salt and the pepper. Turn the heat up to high and .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
to low so it bubbles gently, add the zucchini and beans, and for 10 minutes.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: If it stops bubbling completely, nudge the heat up a little. You want small, steady bubbles.Stir in the pasta and , stirring now and then so it doesn’t stick to the bottom, until tender, about 10 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: The pasta keeps drinking broth as it sits. When you reheat leftovers, add a splash of water.Stir in the spinach until it , about 1 minute, then fish out the bay leaf.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Low heat
Turn off the heat. Taste and add salt at a time until the broth tastes full, then ladle into bowls and top with basil.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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