Paleo Minestrone Soup Recipe
If you’ve ever had a classic minestrone soup, you probably noticed the addition of noodles, orzo, or rice to the base vegetable soup. Minestrone is one of those recipes that traditionally doesn’t have an exact set of ingredients, as it’s usually made with whatever vegetables and ingredients are readily on hand. But the base is always a broth, vegetables, beans, and some sort of starch.
Whole30 Minestrone Soup
Given that paleo food is made without legumes and grains, this cuts out about half of minestrone ingredients. Fortunately, the flavor of this minestrone soup (which can be prepared in either a slowcooker or a pressure cooker) makes up for the fact that there are no beans or noodles. This is a hearty, flavorful, paleo vegetable minestrone soup (though we like to add meat)… and the leftovers can feed your family for days.
A Paleo Vegetable Soup Recipe
We have enjoyed this soup both with and without the addition of the pork sausage, so it is both Whole30 and vegan friendly. This minestrone soup tastes even better than the endless soup from a certain chain restaurant, and you can make your own endless salad to go along with it.
Traditional Cooking Methods
With classic minestrone, there’s no fixed (or official) recipe. This means that Minestrone will vary widely across the world depending on traditional cooking methods, ingredients, and season (what veggies are in season). Minestrone sometimes ranges from a thick and dense consistency with boiled-down vegetables, to a more broth heavy soup with large quantities of diced and lightly cooked vegetables. Our version is meant to be a delicious mix of broth and diced veggies with meat.
A Substantial Soup
In modern Italian there are three words corresponding to the English word ‘soup’: zuppa, which is used in the sense of tomato soup, or fish soup; minestra, which is used in the sense of a more substantial soup such as a vegetable soup, and also for ‘dry’ soups, namely pasta dishes; and minestrone, which means a very substantial or large soup or stew, though the meaning has now come to be associated with this particular dish.
Crockpot Paleo Minestrone Soup
Cook Time varies depending on if you use the slowcooker (6-8 hours) method or the Instant Pot (35 minutes).
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Avocado or Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow Sweet Potato, diced
- 1 cup Carrots, diced
- 2 Celery Stalks, diced
- 2 Zucchini Squash, diced
- 2 Shallots, diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 28 oz Chicken or Vegetable Broth
- 28 oz can Diced Tomatoes
- 1/2 cup Frozen Spinach (no need to thaw) -or- 1 cup packed Fresh Spinach, chopped
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 tsp Dried Parsley
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1-1/2 lb Ground Pork Sausage, leave out for vegan option, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
Instant Pot (Electric Pressure Cooker) Method
- Place the olive oil in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the prepared sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, shallots, and garlic to the crock pot. Pour in the chicken/vegetable broth.
- Add the entire can of diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, cayenne, salt, and crumbled pork.
- Stir everything together and add the bay leaves. Put the lid on and turn to lock it in place, moving the vent to the "Sealing" position. Press the "Soup/Stew" button (it will start on it's own). When the cycle is complete, manually release the pressure. When all the pressure is released, carefully open the lid away from your face.
- Add the spinach to the hot soup and let it wilt. Remove bay leaves before serving.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week or freeze in individual portions for up to 6 months.
Crockpot (Slowcooker) Method
- Place the olive oil in the bottom of a crock pot. Add the prepared sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, shallots, and garlic to the crock pot. Pour in the chicken/vegetable broth.
- Add the entire can of diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, cayenne, salt, and crumbled pork.
- Stir everything together, add the bay leaves, cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours (we prefer 8 hours). Add the spinach to the hot soup and let it wilt. Remove bay leaves before serving.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week or freeze in individual portions for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1 gramsAmount Per Serving Calories 254Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 42mgSodium 625mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 2gSugar 4gProtein 11g
Nutrition is calculated by a third party and may not be 100% accurate
Manou
Thursday 24th of January 2019
This is sooooo yummy! I skipped the zucchini and the sausage and added green beans (just because I had them). My husband and I had this for lunch a couple times this week, I just put some pulled pork on the bottom, poured the soup over and reheated. Best soup ever, according to my hubby and I have to agree with him on this one! :)
Leslie
Tuesday 1st of January 2019
What is the serving size of this soup?
Carol
Sunday 9th of December 2018
Kendra, Always love your recipes and ideas! Thanks so much! Been following and cooking a lot with OPL this past year!
soup
Monday 18th of June 2018
Minestrone soup is one of the recipes that don’t have set of ingredients. It is usually made of whatever vegetables and ingredients you have in hand.
Sara
Thursday 1st of February 2018
Cooking the pork should be listed as Step 1. Otherwise it's too easy a step to miss. Even more egregious is the step to add the pork doesn't even refer to it as cooked pork, which would serve as an additional catch. This is a poorly written recipe due to this error.
mA
Saturday 15th of December 2018
@Sara, if you read the ingredient list it says "cooked and crumbled" next to the sausage. It's not Kendra's fault that people are too lazy to read.
I made the crock pot version in January and it was amazing. I am going to use the Instant Pot this time around and can't wait to see how it turns out!! My only question for others who have used the IP: did any of the veggies turn out too mushy?