Tortelini & Cannelini Minestrone with Spinach
This hearty and delicious soup is made from many pantry items you may have on hand already! Onions, garlic, celery, cannellini beans are all staples in our house. Throw in some spinach and tortellini and you, too, can make this Tortellini & Cannellini Minestrone with Spinach.
Today, it’s all about the budget friendly meals. Who couldn’t stand to save some money on their grocery bill? I know we could, which is sad. There’s only two of us. Granted being a food blogger really doesn’t help in that respect. I can’t imagine what our grocery bill would be like if we DID have kids.
And I can imagine those with kids are always amazed at the amount of money they spend on food every month. Well, there are some who have tight, and I mean TIGHT, purse strings on their grocery budget. More power to them. It takes seriously dedication for that.
But for the rest of us, it wouldn’t hurt to have some awesome ideas and recipes of how to spend less at the grocery store. That’s why I decided to serve up some budget friendly dishes to help us all save some extra money. The holidays are just around the corner you know.
Soups are almost always budget friendly. Except when you fail in your first attempt. Like, really, horribly, inedible-y fail and have to throw the whole pot out. Yes, that was me. I tried this in a slow cooker. Please don’t. Just saying.
Anyway.
THIS soup is delicious. Even S said so. The broth is simply flavored with some garlic, herbs and spices. There’s onion, celery, and roasted tomatoes. I had some on hand, but you can easily find the fire roasted kind where you find your canned, diced tomatoes. You probably have all of these items on hand already.
Now, you may or may not have cannellini beans on hand. If you’re me, you do. If you’re not me, they’re easily purchased and fairly inexpensive.
Now the tortellini. I went on the frugal side and purchased dried tortellini from the pasta aisle. I think the two bags were around two dollars a piece? Maybe a little less? I wanted the smaller tortellini which isn’t in the big bag, hence buying two bags of the dried tortellini.
And then there’s the spinach. Just look at all those colors! The red tomato, white beans and tortellini and that scrumptious spinach! It makes this soup. We only used half of a bag which cost about three dollars.
Okay. I see you doing the math in your head. $4 for pasta, $3 for spinach and beans, maybe $2 for tomatoes. Yup, around $10. But this soup? It could EASILY feed 6 as an entree soup or 8 with a salad or sandwich. I served up some of my slow cooker sourdough bread with ours. YUM! Also a #SundaySupper recipe, by the way!
Grab a spoon. I know you want to! *I* want to! That bean and spinach are just screaming EAT ME! The cheesy tortellini are dying to be devoured. Okay, maybe I should just eat some lunch because my stomach is growling.
Tortelini & Cannelini Minestrone with Spinach
This hearty and delicious soup is made from many pantry items you may have on hand already! Onions, garlic, celery, cannellini beans are all staples in our house. Throw in some spinach and tortellini and you, too, can make this Tortellini & Cannellini Minestrone with Spinach.
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 cups diced celery
- 1 cup roasted tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- pinch crushed red pepper
- 6 cups fat free vegetable broth
- 1 pound cheese and spinach baby tortellini
- 14 ounces canned cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
- 8 ounces baby spinach
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the celery and sauté until tender; 3 to 4 minutes.
- Combine the tomatoes and the tomato paste with the vegetable mixture and cook 1 minute then pour the vegetable broth over the mixture and bring to a boil.
- Once the broth comes to a boil, add the tortellini and then reduce the heat and simmer 20 to 30 minutes or until the tortellini are al dente.
- Drain and rinse the beans very well. Stir the beans into the broth and simmer until heated through; about 10 minutes.
- Before serving, stir in the spinach and allow to rest 2 to 3 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 378Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 60mgSodium 1188mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 6gSugar 5gProtein 22g
Scrumptious Mains (Breakfast and Dinner)
- Spicy Marinated Steak Tacos from Nik Snacks
- Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Beef from Noshing With The Nolands
- Tortelini and Cannelini Minestrone with Spinach from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Chicken Meatballs and Spaghetti from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole from Yours And Mine Are Ours
- Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes from Having Fun Saving
- Comforting White Bean-Pancetta Soup from The Weekend Gourmet
Sweet Treats
- Brown Sugar Shortbread from Shockingly Delicious
- Profiteroles with Caramel Drizzle from Food Lust People Love
- Carrot Cake Sheet Cake from Pies and Plots
Sips, Spreads, and Snacks
- Pumpkin Spice Roasted Pumpkin Seeds from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Awesome flavors in this dish. Yum! You would have thought our grocery bill would have decreased as our children leave home but instead it seems to only increase. I feel sad for those who have large families with children that are still home.
I LOVE tortellini, and beans, so this looks perfect to me
Minestrone is one of my favorite soups ever, especially when it's cold or getting colder. I love using tortellini, how creative! And so delicious, I bet. 🙂
I love the added tortellini in here. A great budget stretcher, I get frozen on sale!
This looks fantastic. I love soups lately, especially in the fall and I could always use some budget friendly recipes, I spend too much time at Whole Foods 😉
That soup looks fabulous – with Fall here and the weather cooling – I love making soups – this is definitely one to try!
This sounds absolutely delicious. I love minestrone – adding tortellini is just perfect!
I've always wanted to try making my own soup with tortelini in it. I'll definitely be keeping this on file!
I love putting tortellini in a soup, it just makes it so special. This soup looks great!!
Love your healthy, hearty soup! We are just feeling fall here in So Calif. so this looks right on.
This looks really yummy! I could eat soup everyday! Thanks for the new recipe to try!
Love it! I think I spend more now the kids are gone than I did when they were home, but then again, they are both close to 30 years old now …so that was a long time ago! 😉 Soups are so great to have and so easy to make. Your recipe sounds flavorful and delicious!
Sounds fantastic! I don' t think the hubby would even miss the meat with all the delicious ingredients!!!