Bean Vegetable Soup

This is the kind of soup that cleans out the fridge and fills up the house with a good smell. Red kidney beans, crushed tomatoes, fresh vegetables, and cooked pasta all simmer together in a simple broth. No stock cube needed since the beans and tomatoes build plenty of body on their own.

The recipe calls for two cups of fresh vegetables, and that’s intentionally vague. Use whatever you have: carrots, celery, zucchini, green beans, potatoes, cabbage. The 55-minute simmer gives harder vegetables plenty of time to turn tender, so don’t shy away from root vegetables or thick-cut pieces.

Adding the pasta at the very end is the right call. It goes in already cooked and just heats through. Simmering raw pasta directly in the soup would soak up too much broth and turn everything starchy and thick.

Pro Tips

• Cut all your vegetables to a similar size so they cook evenly. Big chunks of carrot alongside tiny diced celery means some pieces will be mush while others are still crunchy.
• Use canned kidney beans rinsed and drained if you don’t have cooked beans on hand. They’ll hold up fine in the simmer.
• Season in stages. Add salt and pepper at the start, then taste and adjust after the 55-minute simmer. Flavors concentrate as the liquid reduces.
• This soup thickens overnight as the pasta and beans absorb liquid. Thin leftovers with a splash of water when reheating.

Variations

• Swap kidney beans for cannellini beans and add a Parmesan rind during simmering for an Italian minestrone spin.
• Stir in a handful of fresh spinach or kale in the last 5 minutes for added greens.
• Use small shell pasta or ditalini for a more traditional soup shape that catches broth in every bite.