What makes you crave soup more than 95* weather…right? I’m not sure why I keep feeling the need to make soup when it’s the hottest time of the year, but when I’m meal planning in my air conditioned house it still sounds good. Plus I eat it in the air conditioning too, so doesn’t really matter what the temp is outside! Soup is a great way to get tons of veggies in and it’s usually low in calories and fat when it’s broth and veggie based. This minestrone recipe is based off of the one I found on Forks Over Knives and after some changes I made it Smoky Minestrone. It’s filling from the beans, potatoes, and pasta, but the amount of veggies balances it out and you feel like you’re having a really healthy dinner. I added some Vegetarian Better than Bouillon Chicken flavor to water to make the broth instead of veggie broth, and added some smoked paprika to give it a smoky flavor that usual minestrone doesn’t have. I thought the 8 cups of water would be way too much, but you definitely need it because once it simmers and the pasta absorbs some then it isn’t super soupy anymore. I served it with a whole grain baguette and grapes.

Smoky Minestrone

1 yellow onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1.5 tsp smoked paprika

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 15 oz can cannellini beans

3-4 mini gold potatoes, diced

8 cups water

1-2 tsp Vegetarian Better than Bouillon Chicken flavor

3 cups chopped kale

2 cups dried elbow pasta

pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot, saute the onions, celery, and carrots for 5-7 minutes until they’re starting to soften.
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, be careful not to burn.
3. Add tomatoes, potatoes, and cannellini beans then spice and nutritional yeast.
4. Stir 1-2 minutes and then add water and bouillon.
5. Bring to a boil and cook 5-7 minutes.
6. Add pasta and kale and cook another 10 minutes.