Minestrone (with any vegetables)

So you’ve got a fridge of half-forgotten vegetables, and no idea what to make for dinner? Minestrone to the rescue! This recipe doesn’t ask for perfection—it just asks what you’ve got in the fridge. A lonely half-a-zucchini? Toss it in. That bag of spinach you meant to add to omelettes all week (but ended up eating cereal instead)? Perfect. This minestrone is less of a recipe and more of a formula.

Jump to the recipe if you’re ready to go, or read on for lists of vegetables, a list of ingredients you can substitute, and some minspiration.

Veggies you can toss into this minestrone

You can truly use just about any vegetable you’d like, so don’t feel tethered to this list. That said, these veggies play particularly well in minestrone.

How to add vegetables: This is a true one-pot recipe—the pasta, veggies, and everything simmer together. But different ingredients have different cook times, so to keep everything from turning to mush, it’s important to group veggies into two categories: slow-cooking and quick-cooking. Start with the slow-cooking ones, then toss in the quick-cooking ones a minute or two before everything else is ready. And be sure to time it so the pasta finishes alongside the vegetables.

Don’t worry if this sounds like a lot to remember—the recipe takes you through it step-by-step.

Minestrone combinations I love

In the summer, I like Swiss chard, corn, and zucchini. In the fall and winter, I go with sweet potatoes, kale, and mushrooms. And I love peas, baby spinach, and potatoes for spring.

Ingredient substitutions

There are a few essential ingredients (onion, olive oil, garlic, lemon), but everything else is up in the air. If you go really far afield it might turn out to be less of a minestrone and more of a random vegetable soup. But if you do it thoughtfully, it’ll still be delicious!

• Carrots and celery: If you don’t have carrots and celery on hand, you can play it by ear, depending on your other ingredients. They are usually the backbone of a soup, but you can easily leave these out if the other vegetables you’re adding carry a lot of aromatic flavor. For instance, if you’re adding fennel and bell peppers, you’ve probably got enough aromatic flavor there.
• Vegetable stock: Any stock will work here, as long as it goes with your other flavors.
• Red pepper flakes: You can substitute another dried hot pepper blend or omit entirely if you don’t want spice.
• Diced tomatoes: If you’re making minestrone in the heart of tomato season, feel free to replace the can of diced tomatoes with an equal amount of chopped very ripe tomatoes (2 cups [400 g]).
• Beans: Literally any beans will work here—just choose ones that go with the rest of your flavors.
• Pasta: Use whatever little pasta you’ve got on hand. Or if you reeeally don’t feel like going to the grocery store, you could probably get away with using whatever pasta you have on hand. You just might need to break out the chopsticks if you go with something like spaghetti.
• Parsley: Using something different from parsley will take this out of traditional minestrone territory, but cilantro, chives, or dill would also work here (as long as they go with your other ingredients, and as long as you like the flavor). You can also omit the parsley.
• Parmesan is totally optional and can be omitted or replaced with another similar hard cheese (romano, asiago, etc.).

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