Meat Minestrone Soup

Meat Minestrone Soup is one of my favorite soups. A 16-ounce serving has about 400 calories, 9 grams of fiber, and 19 grams of protein.

Although this recipe has a long list of ingredients, you can prepare and cook it in about one hour. Adding pasta is optional.

When you add pasta it continue to absorb liquid after the soup and pasta are cooked. Pasta that is hardly distinguishable when cooked al dente can swell to twice its size as shown in the photos.

If you prefer a thinner soup add an additional cup of water or broth.

For a vegetarian soup, use vegetable stock and omit the meat.

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) olive oil
• 1 (150-250 g) small to medium onion
• 8 oz (225 g) extra lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey
• 2 (10 g) cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) dried red pepper flakes
• 2-14 1/2 oz (411 g) cans low sodium beef broth
• 14 1/2 oz (411 g) low sodium canned stewed or diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) dry red wine (optional)
• 1 cup (250 ml) water
• 2 (150 g) carrots, diced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon (1-2 ml) hot pepper sauce
• 14 1/2 oz (411 g) low sodium canned Great Northern, Kidney, pinto or garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (300 g) medium zucchini
• 1 cup (150 g) elbow macaroni or other short pasta
• 2-3 cups (70-100 g) packed spinach, washed, trimmed and torn
• 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) fresh basil

Method of Preparation