Dairy Free White Bean Minestrone with Pesto
This hearty, vegetable-packed minestrone is the kind of soup that makes you want to pull out a big pot and spend a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen. Tender carrots, celery, and onion build a deeply savory base, while creamy cannellini beans and ditalini pasta make every bowl genuinely filling — no dairy required to get there. The real magic is the homemade pesto swirled in at the end: fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, and nutritional yeast blended with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon create that rich, cheesy depth you'd normally expect from a parmesan-heavy sauce. Nutritional yeast is the quiet hero here, delivering a savory, umami punch that makes the pesto taste indulgent without any actual cheese involved. A handful of baby spinach stirred in at the finish adds color and a little extra nutrition without weighing anything down. The recipe serves 6, so it's ideal for a weeknight batch cook or a casual dinner with friends. Store-bought pesto almost always contains dairy, so blending your own takes just a few minutes and makes a noticeable difference in both flavor and peace of mind.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the soup
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 parmesan rind (optional)
Can be omittedparmesan rind
- 1 cup small pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni), uncooked
- 2 cups baby spinach or chopped kale
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- 1
Make the pesto: combine the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and nutritional yeast in a blender or food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, stream in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth and bright green. Add the lemon juice and 1/4 tsp salt, pulse once more to combine, then taste and adjust salt. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- 2
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.
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