Autumn Inspired Minestrone Soup with Sweet Potato and Fresh Kale

This Minestrone Soup is so easy and delicious you will wonder how you ever tolerated the canned stuff! A new twist on an old classic and inspired by the favors of Autumn this soup is made with roasted squash, zucchini, and sweet potato along with kale! It’s the perfect way to kick off #soupseason!

Homemade minestrone soup is one of my favorite ways to use of the bits and pieces of produce that are hanging around your crisper drawer! The secrte to this recipe is the roasted sweet potato and fresh kale! Of all the leafy greens kale is definitely king! It's one of the most nutrient rich foods on the planet and the Palmetto Gardens family has been growing some of the finest quality greens, locally here in the US, for 3 generations!

What you are going to need to buy:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium white onion, diced

1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 28 oz can of San Marzano Tomatoes

4 cups of water *

3 tablespoons of veggie bouillon *

*Note: Or use your favorite veggie stock

1 medium yellow squash, cubed into 1/2" cubes

1 medium zucchini, cubed into 1/2" cubes

1 medium sweet potato, cubed into 1/2" cubes

1 teaspoon each: onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper

1 16oz can of white chili beans or butter beans

1.5 cups of dry ditalini pasta or your favorite small shell

2 cups of fresh, chopped, kale

Dairy-Free Parmesan, to garnish

What you are going to need to do:

Preheat oven to 400°

Cut your squash, zucchini, and sweet potato into cubes, lightly coat with olive oil and sprinkle with the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper mixture.

Roast, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring the veg halfway through roasting to get color on all sides.

While the veggies are roasting:

Into a stockpot, on medium heat sautee the diced onion, and minced garlic in olive oil until onion becomes soft and translucent.

Stir in the tomato paste and let simmer with the onion/garlic mixture for 2 minutes.

Add the can of San Marzano Tomatoes and with the use of a fork, or a potato masher, gently break up the big chunks of tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Bring mixture to a boil and then add your water+veggie bouillon or your veggie stock.

Add the dry pasta straight into the pot, along with the can of beans, only lightly drained.

Stir to combine.

Cook on a gentle, light, boil for 10 minutes until the pasta has softened.

Stir in your fresh Palmetto Garden's Kale, which has been chopped into 1-2" pieces, and gently fold into the soup to wilt the kale.

Turn the heat down to low/warm.

Retrieve the roasted veggies from the oven and gently add to the soup.

Taste for seasoning. Add onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper, to taste.

Let simmer for 5 minutes and serve topped with your favorite grated parmesan cheese!

Store leftover soup in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Add up to 1/2 cup of water when reheating as the soup may thicken in the fridge over time.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Serves: Six

Homemade Minestrone Soup

I feel like homemade soup sometimes can get a bad wrap…“it takes too long, I don’t know what to put in it, it’s bland, etc…” but this homemade Minestrone Soup is so easy and so flavorful I promise you’ll never want to eat canned soup again!

The weekends see a lot of soup-making at my house! Not only is it easy but it’s the perfect way to use up al of the odds and ends veg that is hanging around the fridge and countertops left over from the rest of the week…and this homemade minestrone soup is no exception! The best part? You can put the leftovers in a glass jar and it will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks, or freeze, for months!

What you are going to need to buy:

Tomatoes (3-4), small, diced - This is honestly the perfect way to get rid of tomatoes that have gone a little squishy in the fridge. As long as they are not moldy, they are going to be just fine for soup.

White or Yellow Onion (1), medium - (Cut into chunks. No need to be too pretty, it’s all going to cook down anyway.

Minced Garlic - (We like the jarred kind from Spice World)

Tomato Paste, 1 tablespoon

Olive Oil

Veggie Broth (2-3 cups) or your favorite veggie bouillon cubes - (we like THESE from Edward & Sons)

White Mushrooms, sliced

Non-Dairy Butter - (We used Earth Balance)

Veggie Stock or Bouillon Cubes - (We used THESE from Edward and Sons)

Roasted veggies of choice, about 3 cups, total (We used baby potatoes, carrots, broccoli, baby corn, and snap peas, but again, use what you’ve got on hand!)

Dry Pasta - 1.5 -2 servings (We like orecchiette for this but any small shell or noodle should do)

Fresh Herbs - (Use what you like, use what you have. We used some rosemary and lots of curly parsley!)

Salt and Pepper, to taste.

Parmesan Cheese for topping - (Our favorite is THIS DAIRY FREE OPTION from Follow Your Heart)

What you are going to need to do:

Start by cutting your tomatoes and onions into 1” pieces - No need to be too pretty, it’s all going to cook down anyway.

In a skillet, over medium heat, stew the tomatoes, onions, and 1-2 tablespoons of garlic until the veg is soft and mushy. (This should take 5-10 minutes)

Once a lot of the liquid has cooked out of the tomatoes and has evaporated, add the tomato paste to the skillet and stir to incorporate. Continue to stir so that the tomato paste cooks, but does not burn for about 90 seconds, to 2 minutes. Mixture will be thick.

Remove from heat and into a soup pot add the stewed mixture, the veggie broth and rosemary (or preferred herbs). Stir and return to stove-top, allowing stock to simmer, but not boil. Cover with a loose lid so that you don’t loose too much to evaporation.

Now, Roast those Veggies!

Cut all your veg into bite size (1/2 to 1 inch) cubes. Making sure everything is roughly the same size allows all the veg to roast at about the same speed. Oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

No leftover veggies and no time to cut and chop? THESE PACKS from Birdseye works just great. Simply dump the frozen veggies on a tray with oil, salt, and pepper, and roast like you would fresh!

Roast at 375 for 20 minutes, checking half-way through to make sure nothing is browning too quickly.

For the last 3-5 minutes of the roast you can turn the oven to a low broil to really make sure you get some nice color on the veggies. Watch this closely! All ovens broil at different rates…and you don’t want them to burn.

Assembly:

At this point, I like to use a stick blender in the stock liquid to bust up any remains of tomato skins, herbs, or large chunks of onions. We are not looking for it all to be super smooth, just not too chunky, so pulsing the stick blender in short bursts works better. You could also transfer and do this in a traditional blender, if you like.

After blended, into the simmering stock, add the pasta, and increase the heat to achieve a low boil. Allow pasta to cook for 8-9 minutes. Add more water, if necessary.

Add in all of the roasted veggies to the pot and like to add a bit more curly parsley at this point.

Simmer another 3-4 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with more fresh herbs and grated parmesan cheese.