There’s nothing like hot soup and crusty bread on a chilly evening, and this light and healthy minestrone soup recipe is one for the books! Packed with veggies and protein from lentils, this soup is perfect for a light, healthy, and delicious meal. Best of all is that it comes together quickly, so it’s perfect to make on any night of the week!
Light and Healthy Minestrone Soup Ingredients:
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 4 thin slices of prosciutto
- 1 small yellow onion
- 3 medium carrots
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 heaping tbs tomato paste
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup red wine (I used zin)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 2 inch piece of parmesan rind
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp parsley
- ½ tsp thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup cooked lentils (recipe here)
Start by dicing the onion, carrots, celery, and prosciutto into small uniform pieces. Sauté onion in the olive oil in large, heavy bottom pot. I use my Dutch oven for this. Once the onions are translucent, add in the prosciutto and continue to cook until brown bits start to form. Next, add in the carrots and celery and continue to cook until things start to get nice and brown at the bottom. Smash and chop the garlic as fine as possible and add that in next, cooking for about a minute until fragrant.
Add in the tomato paste, mixing it to coat the veggies. Next add in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Once you’ve gotten all the brown bits up and into the liquid, add in the chicken stock and water and start to bring the soup to a simmer.
While the liquid is coming up to a simmer, crush the cherry tomatoes. You can also use half a cup of canned, crushed tomatoes, but I had tomatoes in the house so I used fresh. If you are using fresh tomatoes, I find that the easiest way to break them down is in a NutriBullet or blender.
Add the crushed tomatoes to the broth along with the parmesan rind, bay leaf, oregano, parsley, and thyme and stir to combine. Once the broth is simmering, add in the cooked lentils. Simmer for 15 minutes to make sure that the flavors of the light and healthy minestrone soup come together.
Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper if needed, but note that this soup gets a lot of salt and flavor from the prosciutto and the parmesan rind. This light and healthy minestrone soup is delicious right after it’s made, or after it sits. It packs well for lunches and can be made ahead of time for an easy dinner party meal. Enjoy!