When I looked into the eyes of my beautiful new fridge I saw shelves and drawers overflowing with ingredients that begged for a chance to play nicely together.

The result of nonstop cooking for a week straight.

Have you seen our March Meatball Madness posts??!

When I studied the contents it became blatantly obvious that my fridge and my well-being needed a big pot of soup!

I’m going to make this a relatively wordless Wednesday post. After all we are just making soup! Even if this Spring Thyme Green Minestrone soup is extra special in my humble opinion. The recipe below is more of a guide, there is plenty of room for making this your own between the fresh veggie choices, the type of herbs and seasonings, the beans and pasta, even what you swirl into your bowl.

Fresh Basil Pesto and/or grated parmesan cheese swirled into this veggie packed soup is delicious and boosts the green factor.

This Spring Thyme Green Minestrone soup is packed with nutrients making this a healthy choice for any meal. It also makes a giant batch so it’s the perfect way to Share the Love with your friends and neighbors.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Spring Thyme Green Minestrone

This Spring Thyme Minestrone Soup is packed with nutrients making this a healthy choice for any meal. It also makes a giant batch so it's the perfect way to Share the Love with your friends and neighbors.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

Veggies

• 8-10 cups fresh veggies, diced or sliced such as: carrot, onion, celery, leek, fennel, shallot, jalapeno, spinach, kale, asparagus, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cans white beans, drained & rinsed such as: butter beans, great nothern beans, cannellini beans
• 1/2 cup fresh herbs, fine chopped such as: parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil, cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound ditalini pasta cooked al dente and reserved
• 1/2 cup basil pesto optional, to swirl in soup for serving
• freshly grated parmesan cheese optional, to grate onto soup for serving

Instructions

• In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in your 'hard' vegetables, like carrots, onion, celery, garlic, fennel, leeks, shallot, jalapeno. Saute until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Then add in your 'soft' vegetables, like spinach, kale, asparagus, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli. Continue to saute for another 5-7 minutes.
• Add vegetable broth, beans, and fresh herbs. Bring to a light simmer then add the ginger, lemon juice and seasonings. Adjust to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.
• Meanwhile prepare ditalini (or other favorite small pasta) al dente. Reserve.
• To serve. Place some cooked pasta in bowls. Ladle in hot soup. Swirl with basil pesto and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy! Don't forget to Share the Love!

The post Spring Thyme Green Minestrone appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Italian Bean Soup with Mini-Meatballs. 

I intentionally did not call this a recipe for Pasta e fagioli, although it was clearly my inspiration. 

Pasta e fagioli is traditionally a meatless dish, comprised of pasta and beans in a tomato base.  When I did my standard recipe research I had a hard time avoiding the bazillion copycat recipes for Olive Garden’s Pasta e fagioli.  

We may be the only family I know who has not had a bowl of Olive Garden’s Pasta e fagioli.  I’m sure it’s delicious but I chose not to compete with the masses.

Instead I’m delivering Italian Bean Soup with Mini-Meatballs, inspired by Pasta e fagioli AND the delicious Italian Meatballs we enjoyed over the weekend.  I think this was a combination of win.

I’ve made it known that I have a soft spot for meatballs.  In fact I’ve even shared with you my Food Truck Fantasy (Mobile Meatballs).  They seemed like a great combination with this tomato based soup.  I prebaked the meatballs for 10 minutes so they would firm up a bit and hold their shape when added to the soup.  They then completed their cooking nestled in the fabulous broth.

Besides the white beans, the addition of small pasta, such as Ditalini is key in this soup.  I cooked the pasta separately and added it to individual serving bowls.  This way, if there were any leftovers, the pasta didn’t drink up all of our broth.  I’m delivering a bowl of Italian Bean Soup with Mini-Meatballs to one of my favorite taste-testers (who happens to be a big fan of Olive Garden’s Pasta e fagioli).  I’ll let her report back.

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Italian Bean Soup with Mini-Meatballs {Pasta e fagioli inspired}

I'm delivering Italian Bean Soup with Mini-Meatballs, inspired by Pasta e fagioli AND delicious Italian Meatballs.

Course Main Course

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the meatballs…

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 handful fresh parsley finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

For the soup…

• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 carrots chopped
• 2 celery ribs chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. Mrs. Dash garlic & herb seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 30-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup Marinara or tomato sauce
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 15-ounce cans white beans such as Cannellini or Great Northern, drained and rinsed.
• 1/2 pound Ditalini dried pasta or other small pasta

To serve…

• freshly grated parmesan cheese
• fresh parsley
• drizzle olive oil

Instructions

For the meatballs…

• Line a shallow baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl combine all meatball ingredients, except meat. Add meat and gently mix until just combined. Form into small (3/4-inch diameter) meatballs, arrange on baking sheet. Should make 60 – 70 meatballs. Bake for 10 minutes and reserve. Meatballs will complete their cooking in the soup.

For the soup…

• Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Drain and reserve.
• In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onion, carrots and celery; sauté until tender about 10 minutes. Add in garlic and seasoning and cook an additional minute.
• Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Add in drained beans and return to a simmer. Gently add meatballs to soup pot and simmer for 10 minutes.

To serve…

• Add a generous scoop of warm pasta to individual bowls, then cover with hot soup. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese, fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil

The post Italian Bean Soup with Mini-Meatballs {Pasta e fagioli inspired} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.