Spring Vegetable Quinoa Minestrone

It also comes together really quickly, so for those nights when you don't really have a plan to dinner but still want something healthy and nourishing? This soup is it.

Course Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword minestrone, spring vegetable

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings Servings

Calories 119kcal

Author Alyssa Rimmer

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 small white onion diced
1 cup sliced carrots about 2 medium
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (I used Tuttorosso)
4 cups water or vegetable broth
1/4 cup white quinoa uncooked
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
Salt + pepper to taste*
1 cup chopped zucchini 1 small or 1/2 of 1 medium
1 1/2 cups chopped asparagus
1 packed cup chopped kale or spinach
1/2 cup frozen peas
Nutritional yeast or parmesan to garnish

Instructions

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions and carrots and cook until starting to brown, about 2 - 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, water, quinoa, spices, bay leaves, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove lid and stir in remaining vegetables. Cook for 10 minutes more until asparagus has started to soften, but still has a light crunch.
Taste, adjust seasonings as needed and serve immediately. Garnish with nutritional yeast (or cheese) if you want some cheesy flavor.

Notes

*I used water in this recipe so added about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teapspoon of pepper -- this would be too much if you were using vegetable broth, so start with just 1/2 a teaspoon and adjust from there.

Nutrition