Mix up a pot of this quick and easy minestrone from simple kitchen staples. It’s the perfect answer to a cold and blustery day.
During the Pantry Challenge, dinner was often soup, for many reasons. Soup is quick and easy to prepare; it’s a cozy, cold weather meal that can feed a crowd. Most importantly, soup can be made from almost anything, making it the perfect dish to use up odds and ends you find lurking.
Since my odds and ends were all of a similar variety, we had this soup, this Pantry Challenge Minestrone, several times during the challenge. My kids and husband love it, so it makes for a super win for supper.
If you’ve already got leftover cooked vegetables or meat on hand, just toss them in the pot. Feel free to vary the vegetables or meat or even go meatless. Soup is a very forgiving dish.
Pantry Challenge Minestrone
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 carrots sliced
- 3 russet potatoes chopped
- 3 mushrooms chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 8 cup water
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans chick peas
- ½ cup orzo pasta
- ½ cup pearl barley
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels no need to thaw
- 1 cup frozen green peas no need to thaw
- ½ lb bulk Italian sausage cooked and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning Mix
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ground cayenne pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and garlic and cook until the onions go clear and the mushrooms are tender, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the water and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the beans, pasta, barley, corn, peas, sausage, herbs, and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the pasta and barley are tender. Dust with cayenne pepper, adjust seasonings, and serve.
Adrienne
Okay the name may be a bit blah and the ingredients random, but this soup is amazing. Good guts to help you clean out the pantry. Once I started assembling I thought of this and that thing I could add. I subbed quinoa for the barley and pasta to make it gluten free and used meatballs instead of the sausage since that’s what I had handy. Family is happy!
Nancy B
You are so right when you say that soup is a very forgiving dish. I made potato soup this week and added the last of the cheese sauce leftover from the Super Bowl nachos in lieu of the sour cream called for in the recipe. Worked famously and no one ever knew 😉
Jessica Fisher
LOVE it!
Demi
Jessica, are you posting a log of your whole30 meals anywhere? I am having a hard time sticking with it because I am struggling with morning sickness, but I would love a daily dose of inspiration.
Jessica Fisher
Sorry for the delay in answering. I’m so behind on all the things. Here’s where I’m posting: https://goodcheapeats.com/meals-from-my-whole-30/
Congratulations on the baby! I would give yourself much grace while pregnant. If you don’t mind my asking, why did you decide to do it now? Have you considered some modifications? Like no sugar, alcohol, or soy? That would still be super healthy but not so hard.