Cannellini beans are one of the main ingredients in my minestrone, but I don’t add them when the broth goes into the pot. They wait until the soup is almost done.
Vegetables, crushed tomatoes, pasta, green beans, and broth simmer together for 20 to 25 minutes first. Once the pasta is tender, I add the cannellini beans and give them just five minutes in the soup.
Carrots Get the Pot First
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot, then add two sliced carrots.
Keep the pieces close in size so they cook at the same rate. Sauté them for a couple of minutes, until they start to pick up some color.
Onion, garlic, and celery go in next.
I Cook the Vegetables Before Adding Broth
Add one chopped yellow onion, three garlic cloves, and ½ cup chopped celery. Cook until they soften.
Cut one large zucchini into half-moons and add it to the pot. Keep cooking until the zucchini softens too. Covering the pot can help move this step along.
I don’t rush to add the broth. Cooking the vegetables first gives them time in the hot oil before they spend the rest of the recipe simmering in liquid.
Pasta Goes in Before the Beans
Once the vegetables are ready, add fresh parsley, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, kale, crushed tomatoes, short pasta, and green beans.
Pour in four cups of vegetable broth, then season with salt and black pepper.
Let the soup simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. The pasta should be tender before moving to the final step. If you’re using fresh green beans, check those too.
Cannellini Beans Wait Until the Last 5 Minutes
Only after the pasta is tender do I add one can of cannellini beans.
Let the soup simmer for another five minutes. The recipe gives the beans this short final cook so they can absorb some of the broth flavor without spending the full 20 to 25 minutes in the pot.
Then the soup is ready to serve.
I Don’t Freeze It With the Pasta
Leftover minestrone can stay covered in the refrigerator for three to four days.
For freezing, I make one change: leave out the pasta. The original recipe warns that pasta can become mushy after being cooked in the soup, frozen, thawed, and reheated.
Without the pasta, the soup can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months.
Cannellini beans may be part of the finished bowl, but they don’t need the same cooking time as the carrots, zucchini, pasta, and green beans. I let those ingredients do their work first, then give the beans the final five minutes.
Do you add beans at the beginning of minestrone, or save them for the end?
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