Spring Minestrone With Kale and Pasta Recipe (2024)

I added cannellini beans, did not use ginger, and squeezed a good amount of lemon juice into the soup. The lemon really made the spring vegetables pop. Delicious! I will definitely make this soup again.

Consider adding edamame in place of peas to boost the protein content of this delicious soup.

very fresh and flavorful! I cooked the pasta separately and added to each serving, because I didn't want it to absorb all the liquid in the leftovers. I had mature kale, so I added in step 2 with the broth - cooked till tender before adding asparagus and peas.

It's March and I'm Still in my houseI must departMy thirst to douse.What thirst, you grouse?My thirst for soup!Veggies onceVeggies twiceCooking veggies and ...orzoApologies to Maurice Sendak, but his was one of my favorite poems to read to my kids when they were young, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head as I cook this delightful Spring soup with the only small pasta I had to hand.

Stuck with the recipe but subbed quinoa for the pasta because I was all out. Go big on the ginger and garlic-yum!

I made this today pretty much as directed. I had a cup of cooked chickpeas so I added that towards the end. I also threw in a Parmesan rind to the broth at the beginning. To finish I added a generous cup of chopped dill, celery leaves and parsley and finished with the juice of half a lemon. It was fabulous.

Made this for dinner tonight. Included the ginger, adding crushed red pepper at same time, and threw in a Parmesan rind with pasta. Also added a few chopped carrots with onions/celery to add a splash of color. Had baby spinach on hand. Nice depth of flavor. Will definitely make again!

So good! Use the ginger. Try it with asparagus and pesto. Allow WAY MORE than 20 minutes.

Anybody ever use drained canned peas in such a recipe? Currently the only kind of peas I have on hand! May be reporting back...

If one were to throw caution to the wind and recklessly add a whole pound of orzo, one will find that one's "soup" has instead become a rather firm pasta dish. Flavor was still nice!

Made this tonight with baby spinach and used the ginger. The ginger gave the soup some welcome aromatics, even though it’s not traditional for minestrone. Added a little hot sauce for zip. Will definitely make again, but with more salt.

My kids turned up their noses initially but gobbled it up in the end. I followed the advice of another commenter and added white beans and lemon juice. Followed the rest of the recipe - loved the ginger. Great soup for a rainy spring evening!

I didn't have any pesto, but I had Green Goddess Dip from Melissa Clark containing basil, cilantro, and kale. So that topped my version of simmered orzo, greens, peas and asparagus. Delicious! Spring dish for a chilly day.

This was fantastic! I didn’t have any spinach or kale so I used arugula. I also added Italian sausage. The soup was a big hit with my family, including my one picky eater.

Next time will make a broth with asparagus ends and use that as the broth, increase the peas and asparagus and reduce the kale to no more than two cups, maybe less. Good soup, but kale was too dominant for a true spring soup. (and I say this as a kale-lover)

Made this, didn’t really like. Needed pesto and Parmesan

Great recipe! I subbed canelli beans for the peas to get some more protein in there (and because my husband hates peas!) and added a good squeeze of lemon, which I think were successful tweaks.

Try lemon juice at end

Winner. I lightly sauteed all of the vegetables before adding to the stock.

OK- followed the recipe as posted w/ garlic, ginger , lemon, & pesto @ the end & parm rind but added cannellini beans, edamame & some rotisserie chicken so it was loaded but just didn't have much zip/flavor- broth was kind of bland. What more could I add? Am not a fan of too much hotness but maybe some red pepper flakes or gochujang?

This sounds interesting, though not sure about that kale. It tends to dominate. I'd substitute chard.

oops, before posting my comment, missed the comment from @Jane H. Glad to hear it was delicious with the chard substituted!

As I am not now, never have been, and probably never will be, a kale fan, I used Swiss Chard, and also threw in some leftover white beans. Otherwise stuck with the recipe, and the result was delicious!

It's January so I'm ignoring the title of this dish - i was in neeeeed of consuming greens. Easy recipe but everything needs way more time than it says to cook. I let the celery mix go on for a while longer as well as the asparagus. Would've added lemon juice if I had any. Don't skip the pesto!

Use Trader Joe’s lentils instead of asparagus broccolini

A terrific recipe idea for cleaning out the fridge! I was out of basil and instead of ginger I used a bouquet garni of thyme, rosemary, and parsley stems, and threw in a split seeded jalapeño, which gave the broth a terrific, warm glow. You can also vary the proportions of vegetables versus pasta.— i used about half a cup of ditalini and it was plenty

Next time will do 1.5x veggies, maybe only 1.5 qts., not 2 qts., liquid, and add lemon. Used white beans instead of pasta. Delicious.

Surprisingly good! Used chard stems in place of celery, and chard in place of kale. Frozen peas and trader joe's pesto. Used zucchini instead of asparagus, and orzo as the pasta. Brightened it up with lots of lemon and cooked the soup with a parmesan rind.

When I discovered I was out of pasta, I subbed 5oz of quinoa. It was delicious and worked well!

This is one of the best tasting soups I've ever made. This recipe created 6 large bowls which were consumed within 24 hours. I used 'large' asparagus. Also, did not use kale...just spinach.