I can’t tell you how long lentil minestrone has been on our list of recipes to develop for meal prep! I’m so glad it finally happened, and like all soup recipes, this is perfect for meal prep. Since it’s vegan and has no dairy it is completely freezer-friendly and super customizable. I love the light tomato flavor of this soup along with the hearty veggies and pasta, making this an excellent lunch option.
Let’s make this lentil minestrone!
Lentil Minestrone Recipe overview
Typically, minestrone involves some veggies such as carrots, green beans, and tomatoes, so it’s easy to make this vegan by just using a veggie stock instead of chicken or beef. At its essence, minestrone is an Italian vegetable soup made with a tomato-ish broth, along with pasta or rice. It’s whole point is to use up leftover veggies; sometimes you’ll see potatoes in it, for example. And likewise, sometimes you see beans in it, sometimes not. (I’m partial to white beans in my minestrone, but I digress!)
Here, we’re using canned tomatoes, frozen veggies, and a short pasta. We’ve added some lentils for protein. This one includes many easy pantry and freezer items!
How to customize this easy lentil minestrone
If you don’t want to use a bag of frozen veggies (but honestly, this is why frozen corn and peas were invented!), try adding any of these fresh ones. You can add these raw, but I recommend giving them a quick sauté first in the pot before adding the stock.
- bell pepper, diced small
- corn (scrape it right off the cob!)
- eggplant (my fave), diced small
- zucchini, diced small
- chopped kale, spinach or Swiss chard
- green beans, chopped small
- shredded cabbage
- bean sprouts
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- asparagus
Here are some other add-ins that would be delicious:
- Nutritional yeast is a great nutty alterative to Parmesan cheese and it sprinkles in well to soup. But if you’re not eating an exclusively plant-based diet, Parmesan cheese is always a great addition to soup. Feel free to add some!
Pro tip: When you’re finished with a block of Parm or any hard Italian cheese, really, FREEZE IT. Then you can break off a piece later and drop it into your soups for that amazing umami savory feel that soups really need. The alternative? You can also, using a microplane grater, grate some frozen Parm off the rind right into your soup, too! This will no longer be vegan.
- Feel like making croutons? If you don’t have stale bread (or at least day-old bread!), which works best for croutons, never fear. Take some fluffy bread (I used an Italian roll), chop it into cubes, drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven at 350 F until they get crispy or start to dry out – about 20 minutes.
- Add veggie or chicken broth for extra flavor, instead of water. Just know if you add chicken stock it’s no longer vegan or vegetarian.
What to use instead of lentils
You can easily swap out the lentils for any kind of white bean (Great Northern, cannelini) or chickpeas. Red beans would work, too. If you eat meat, swap the lentils out for shredded chicken or leftover turkey, shredded, if you want some extra protein.
You can also use red lentils instead of green or brown ones. Just know that red lentils cook much more quickly and tend to make the soup a bit more starchy than regular lentils. Still awesome!
Make this soup gluten-free
The only source of gluten in this recipe is the pasta! The pasta or noodles you choose is totally up to you and gluten-free pasta would totally work. You can also use rice if don’t have pasta. Quinoa would also work fine, too.
If you aren’t following a gluten-free diet, barley would be delicious, along with farro. These are nuttier and heartier grains that will take longer to cook, however. Just a heads up!
Other great meal prep soup recipes
- One-Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe
- Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Chickpeas
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Easy Lasagna Soup Recipe
- Creamy White Bean Soup
- Homemade Tomato Soup With Lentils (Freezer-Friendly)
How to store and reheat this lentil minestrone
This soup is good in the fridge for up to 5 days. It reheats best in the microwave or on the stove. Keep croutons separate at room temp if you make them.
You can freeze this soup for up to 6 months in an airtight container, and even longer if you use something like Souper Cubes to freeze it in to avoid freezer burn. If you freeze it, you can thaw it in the fridge overnight, in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.
Happy prepping!
Budget-Friendly Vegan Minestrone
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 onion diced small
- 2 carrot diced small
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 2 TBSP tomato paste optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes undrained
- 6 cups water divided, or veggie or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup lentils
- 1 tsp oregano
- 6 oz mixed frozen veggies or 2 cups seasonal veg, diced small
- 6 oz elbow macaroni or small pasta of your choice
Instructions
- Heat up a large pot over a medium heat and add the olive oil. After a minute or two, stir in the onions and carrots with a pinch of salt. Cook for 5-7 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring, until the onions start to soften and become fragrant.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste and more salt and pepper. Stir to coat the veggies in the paste and cook on medium for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the can of diced tomatoes, 3 cups of water, lentils, and oregano. Add another pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Let the lentils cook for about 15 minutes.
- Add the remaining 3 cups of water, mixed frozen veggies and pasta. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the pasta cook through for about 10-12 minutes.
- Taste the soup and adjust spices as needed! Then divide it among your containers and let it cool for 15-20 minutes before sealing and storing.
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