Quinoa Minestrone Soup
Our Success® Tri-Color Quinoa is substituted for pasta in this classic Italian soup, for a gluten-free variation that’s loaded with flavor and tastes fantastic.
Ingredients
- 2 bags Success® Tri-Color Quinoa
- 1/3 cup diced pancetta
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 2 cups packed Swiss chard, trimmed and sliced
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
This soup is a year-round comfort food! Loaded with bright fresh vegetables in spring or made with hearty winter root vegetables, it’s delicious any time of year. With the addition of tri-color quinoa, it’s also gluten free.
Step 1
Prepare quinoa according to package directions.
Step 2
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until crispy around the edges. Add in carrot, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly softened.
Step 3
Stir in broth, beans and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in cabbage and zucchini. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Step 4
Stir in quinoa and Swiss chard and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through. Stir in basil. Garnish soup with Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Tips
For a kid-friendly dish, substitute your child’s favorite veggies to customize the minestrone.
This soup is just as delicious made with bacon! If you can’t find pancetta, feel free to use bacon instead.
The Best Minestrone
What sets our hearty Quinoa Minestrone Soup apart from any simple vegetable soup? Ours is a thick Italian soup loaded with savory pancetta, hearty beans, vegetables, quinoa and seasonings in a tomato broth, all topped with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese!
Although traditionally made with pasta, our version of minestrone is completely gluten free thanks to the addition of three different types of quinoa. Our Success® Tri-Color Quinoa blend includes white, red and black quinoa for more added goodness in every dish! Want to know more about this so-called superfood? Make sure to check out our Quinoa 101 guide!
Vegetable Variations
This comforting soup is often made as a way to use up leftover vegetables. Feel free choose either fresh or leftovers to add into yours! Whether you use fresh or pantry items to make this soup, plan out your meals to help you reduce food waste. Make good use of any additional vegetables you have on hand by serving them in an Autumn Vegetable and Rice Power Bowl.
For this recipe, we’ve used garlic, onions, carrot, cabbage, zucchini and Swiss chard. As we said, though, make this your own by tossing in other seasonal vegetables you have more readily available, such as butternut squash, celery, sweet potato and more.
Other Meal Inspiration
If you’re still wondering what to cook, try this Spanish rice recipe.
