This spring minestrone soup is the best way to celebrate the arrival of warmer weather. Made with an abundance of spring veggies, chickpeas and ditalini pasta, this spring vegetable soup is naturally vegan and extra hearty for a cosy lunch or even a light dinner.

Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
This spring minestrone soup makes the most of all those spring vegetables like asparagus, spring onions and kale.
It's a springtime version of a traditional minestrone, and it's super versatile as you can use any veggies you may have on hand.
The soup is hearty enough to enjoy on its own, but you can also serve it with your favourite crusty bread.
It's also quite light at under 400 calories per serving even though it's extra filling thanks to the pasta and chickpeas.
Why you'll love this spring minestrone soup
- It's loaded with spring veggies.
- It's super easy to make.
- It has a great mix of vitamins and protein from the chickpeas.
Ingredients and substitutions
Olive oil — Use a tablespoon of quality extra virgin olive oil to saute the spring onions, celery and aromatics. If you don't cook with oil, you can use some veggie stock instead.
Spring onions (scallions) — You only need the white and light green parts of green onions for this soup. Leeks are another excellent option here, or you can use a mix.
Celery — A couple of celery stalks will add texture to this minestrone. Add some carrots, too, if you want.
Aromatics — A mix of fresh garlic, rosemary and thyme infuses this spring soup with so much flavour. If you don't have any fresh herbs, use a tablespoon of Italian seasoning instead.
Chickpeas — Canned chickpeas add a healthy dose of protein to this soup. You can sub them with cannellini beans.
Pasta — Ditalini have the perfect shape for this soup, but any other type of small pasta would do. Stelline and orzo are good ideas.
Lemon juice — This is optional but highly recommended if you want to add some zesty brightness to the soup.
Kale — Any kind of kale works here, and you can sub with baby spinach or collard greens.
How to make spring greens soup
Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven and add the spring onions and celery. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until slightly softened.
Add the asparagus and zucchini and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes or until the veggies are cooked to your liking.
Stir in the garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Add the chickpeas, pasta and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Stir the soup occasionally so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.
Stir in the lemon juice and kale, cover the pot and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the kale wilts.
Season to taste and serve with extra lemon juice if you like.
What else can you add to spring minestrone?
As mentioned above, this minestrone is like a blank canvas for all your spring veggies and greens.
Here are some things you can add to your spring minestrone:
- Leeks
- Fennel
- Frozen peas
- Sugar snap peas
- Green beans
- Baby potatoes
- Artichoke hearts
- Cavolo nero
- Spinach
Leftovers and storage
- The spring minestrone soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- The pasta will continue to absorb the liquid, so you'll need to add some extra veggie stock when reheating the minestrone.
- I don't recommend freezing this soup.
Recipe notes and tips
- If you're not a vegan, you can add some crispy pancetta to this spring minestrone with kale and pasta.
- Sprinkle some vegan parmesan on top of each bowl before serving for extra flavour.
- Make sure you don't simmer the soup for too long because the pasta will be overcooked. The pasta should be al dente, and remember that it will continue to cook even after you turn off the heat.
If you liked this spring minestrone soup, you might also like some of my other easy vegan soup recipes:
- Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup (Ribollita)
- Polish Sauerkraut Soup (Kapusniak)
- Greek Chickpea Soup with Lemon (Revithia)
- Red Lentil Potato Soup with Lemon
- Easy Barley Soup with Vegetables
Looking for more delicious inspiration? Follow Skinny Spatula on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Spring Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6-8 spring onions (scallions), white and light green parts only, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 10-12 asparagus spears, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 x 400 g (14 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 100 g (3.5 oz) ditalini or another type of small pasta
- 1.5 litres (6 cups) vegetable stock
- Juice of half a lemon
- 100 g (3.5 oz) kale, hard stems discarded, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven and add the spring onions and celery. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until slightly softened.
- Add the asparagus and zucchini and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes or until the veggies are cooked to your liking.
- Stir in the garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Add the chickpeas, pasta and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Stir the soup occasionally, so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Stir in the lemon juice and kale, cover the pot and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the kale wilts. Season to taste and serve with extra lemon juice if you like.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 378Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 623mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 12gSugar: 17gProtein: 16g
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
Kathleen says
OMG, made this for dinner tonight. Used both cannellini beans and chickpeas and leeks and kale and onions and asparagus and celery and enjoyed every single bite of it! What a well done minestrone! We added fresh grated parmesan to the top and made sure we had plenty of fresh cracked black pepper
Alice says
So happy you enjoyed the minestrone, Kathleen!
Heather Joseph says
Instead of chickpeas can I sub with shredded chicken?
Alice says
Sure, you can make it with shredded chicken.