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This Spring Green Minestrone is the perfect soup for this season when there is still a chill in the air! But no matter the season, you will love the flavors of this delicious soup.
In the early spring months when a chill is still hanging around, it’s always nice to have a vibrant soup on hand that bridges each season. With leeks, peas, kale, and plenty of fresh dill, this Spring Green Minestrone is hearty and comforting while still hinting at spring.
Now, there may be two elements of this soup that leave you saying, “Alex, what are you thinking?” And that would be the miso paste and parmesan rind. Both of these ingredients add a wonderful umami flavor that adds such an interesting depth of flavor to the soup that I just love! But if you are dairy-free, feel free to omit the parmesan rind. You will still have a great soup!
Ingredients:
- Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Leeks
- Garlic Cloves
- Dried Oregano
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Salt
- White Miso Paste
- Dry White Wine
- Vegetable Stock
- Fresh Thyme
- Parmesan Cheese Rind: Omit for Dairy-Free
- English Peas
- Lacinato Kale
- Cannellini Beans
- Fresh Dill
- Lemon Zest
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- Freshly Grated Parmesan, for serving
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, for serving
Step-by-Step:
Step One: Begin to Soup base
​​​In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions, leeks, garlic, oregano, pepper, and salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions and leeks are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Step Two: Add the miso and Wine
Add in the miso and stir to combine until it melts into the veggies. ​Pour in the wine, stir, and cook until the wine has reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Step Three: Infuse the Broth
Add in the vegetable stock, thyme sprigs, and cheese rind. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and turn down to low. Cook for about 25 minutes to allow the parmesan and thyme to infuse into the broth.
Step Four: Add the peas, kale and beans
After the soup has simmered, remove the thyme and parmesan cheese rind. Turn the heat back up to medium, and​ add in the peas, kale, and cannellini beans.
Step Five: Finish the Soup
Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes until the peas are bright green and the kale has softened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in half of the dill, the lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Step Six: Garnish and Serve
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parmesan, sprinkle with dill, and red pepper flakes if using. Enjoy!
I hope this Spring Green Minestrone becomes a regular in your soup roatation! Comment below once you try it!
For More Soup Recipes:
Sausage, Fennel, and White Bean Soup
Spring Green Minestrone
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ large yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 leeks, thinly sliced and rinsed well(about 3 cups)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs (tied into a bundle with kitchen twine)
- 1 parmesan cheese rind (omit for dairy-free)
- 1 ½ cup English peas
- 2 cups thinly sliced lacinato kale
- One 15-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup chopped fresh dill, divided
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
For Garnish:
- Freshly grated parmesan (omit for dairy-free)
- Crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- ​​​In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions, leeks, garlic, oregano, pepper, and salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions and leeks are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add in the miso and stir to combine until it melts into the veggies. ​Pour in the wine, stir, and cook until the wine has reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the vegetable stock, thyme sprigs, and cheese rind. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and turn down to low. Cook for about 25 minutes to allow the parmesan and thyme to infuse into the broth.
- After the soup has simmered, remove thyme and parmesan cheese rind. Turn the heat back up to medium, and​ add in the peas, kale, and cannellini beans.
- Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes until the peas are bright green and the kale has softened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in half of the dill, the lemon zest, and lemon juice.
To Serve:
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parmesan, sprinkle with dill, and red pepper flakes if using. Enjoy!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
Do you think you can leave out the wine ?
yes you can!
This tasted like spring and health in one bite – the parmesan rind in the broth made the flavor all come together. I can’t wait for a week of this leftover for lunches!
So glad you loved it, Meredith!
Can’t wait to make this yummy soup. I love to make extra to keep for another day. Can it be frozen?
yes absolutely!
Hi Alex!
I’m hoping to make this soup this week as I’ve been thinking about it since it popped up on my feed! What would be a good substitute for the miso in this recipe? Or do you think it would be okay to just omit all together?? Thanks!
It will still be great without it! It does add a touch more salty/umami flavor so I’d add a little more salt, to taste, to help.
Very good soup and easy to put together. I like the miso flavor with the white wine and the Parmesan rind! If I had only had fresh green peas instead of frozen, still very tasty! Thank you
Happy to hear you made it and loved it! Thanks, Suzanne.
I made this soup tonight and it was great! My husband loved it! I added cooked and crumbled ground turkey because my husband prefers a more substantial soup for dinner. I also added 2 diced celery stalks, 1 peeled and diced zucchini. Added at the same time as the onion and leeks. And I also added 2 T minced parsley with the other herbs to finish the soup. I included these items because I had them on hand and wanted to use them before they went bad. I’ve made many different minestrone soups but never anything like this. So fresh and delicious! I will definitely make this again!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Jeanna.
If I don’t like leeks, could I use green onions?
That would be a lot of green onions. You could absolutely add them (maybe 1 bunch) and it would add great flavor- but there are a lot of leeks in there to thicken the soup so I would add some more diced yellow onion or another veggie you love (chopped green beans, asparagus, even diced potato. anything!)
Love your recipes and will be making this minestrone next week!
Have a question, though . . . where do I find the nutrition info? Can’t find it whether using my phone, iPad or computer. Thanks!
Looks amazing!! I unfortunately am a hater of green peas. What might be a good swap? Green beans?
This recipe is very versatile and you can swap out ingredients/veggies you love: if you add green beans cut them into 1/2-inch pieces. Asparagus would be fun, too.