Easy Nutritious Vegan Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup

Love it? Share it!

Finding recipes that meet the needs of your vegan and gluten-free eaters, and also please the rest of your clan can often be a daunting challenge.  That’s why I am in love with this super healthy recipe for Vegan Gluten Free Minestrone Soup.  

While many minestrone recipes include meat, this one completely bypasses the need for it by substituting high-protein beans and red lentil pasta.  

And because we’re using pasta made from legumes (beans), not wheat, there’s no gluten to mess with the sensitive tummies of people who can’t have gluten.

But best of all, this recipe is a wonderful symphony of beautiful vegetables, blended together and brought to a perfect finish with just the right amount of Italian herbs and spices.  

I’ve got 6 more reasons why this should be a regular go-to in your recipe arsenal too, but if you’re like me, you just want the recipe!  So feel free to click “Here’s the Recipe! in the Table of Contents below. You can jump back up here when you’re done.  I’ll wait.  😀

You back?  Ok, so in case you need even more convincing after peeking at the yummy, easy recipe, here are 6 more reasons this vegan gluten-free minestrone soup is sooo fabulous!!

1. Kale, wonderful kale!

That’s right, that wonderful super green.  Dense in nutrients, kale does more than add great flavor to the soup.  Here are just a few of its healthful benefits to your body: 

• Supports your immune system, with 4x the vitamin C of spinach, plus vitamin E and beta carotene.
• Bone health- Kale supplies calcium, and oxalate, which makes calcium more available for absorption.   Also, vitamin K works with vitamin D to support bone metabolism.
• Protects you from heart disease.  Contains potassium and substances that bind themselves to cholesterol, promoting healthy blood pressure levels.
• Possibly cancer-fighting substances found in kale; studies are still ongoing.
• Eye health is supported by phytonutrients found in Kale
• Learn more about kale at https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-kale

2. Garbanzo beans.

Did you know that garbanzo beans are the same thing as chickpeas?  (It’s also the name of my daughter’s favorite sock monkey, Garbanzo, but I don’t expect you to know that. 🙂)  

Garbanzo beans are high in fiber, protein and folate.  Good for your liver. They’re low in saturated fat and help you feel full, which helps with weight loss.  They’re also great for feeding the “good bacteria” in your gut.  Aaaand, they have a great texture so they won’t get soggy after sitting in the fridge a couple of days.  Win win win!

3. Red Lentil Pasta

• First of all, we’re talking gluten-free pasta.  Throw in those yummy noodles and dance like nobody’s watching because You Can Eat these noodles and feel great, celiac or not! But these noodles come from the hearty family of legumes, as in beans.  So they contain:
• 11-12 grams of protein, which is DOUBLE the amount of traditional pasta!  
• Plus they’re higher in fiber.  Because of being higher in both protein and fiber, they are better for your blood sugar levels.  Keep you on an even keel, with no fast sugar peak and crash like simple carbs.

4. Makes Friends with Other Veggies

In other words, you can throw in any other leftover vegetables you might have on hand, (ok, don’t get too crazy) and as long as you keep the amounts in proportion to each other and the amount of liquid, your soup should be good.  I found a little thunk of zucchini in my freezer (from I don’t-want-to-say-how-long-ago), threw it in and it blended perfectly. Oh and all the veggies can be either fresh or frozen, it’s all good.

5. Vegan Gluten-Free Minestrone is Great for Meatless Monday.

I could go on about the benefits of going vegan altogether, but even going meatless one day a week is very helpful.  By eating less meat and more fruits and vegetables, you can look forward to:

• Reduced chance of developing diseases such as cancer, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
• Easier path to losing weight and keeping it off, by filling it up on lower calorie, high fiber plant-based options.
• Saving money. 
• Reducing your carbon footprint.  Fewer carbon emissions from meat processing.  Better use of land for growing vegetables that are eaten directly by humans.

6. Perfect Cozy Soup

Finally, this simple, vegan or vegetarian, gluten-free Minestrone soup is the perfect meal for a cozy at-home meal on a cold winter day. 

I hope you have great success in the kitchen with this fun-to-make, hearty and healthy minestrone soup.  If you’re into all things vegan, check out my post, Easy Vegan Chik’n Lo Mein with Veggies Recipe.

Happy Cooking!

Here’s the Recipe!