Description
Minestrone casserole brings hearty Italian comfort straight to your dinner table with a warm, satisfying blend of vegetables, beans, and pasta. Packed with flavor and simple to prepare, this one-pot wonder delivers a delicious meal your family will devour in minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta and Beans:
- 4 cups dried mafalda pasta
- 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans
- 1 cup frozen cut green beans
Vegetables and Aromatics:
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Tomato and Cheese Components:
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- chopped fresh basil and/or oregano
Instructions
- Fire up your oven to 375°F and grab a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in 2 sliced carrots, 2 sliced celery stalks, 1 chopped onion, 1 quartered and sliced zucchini, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Sauté until vegetables soften, about 5-7 minutes.
- Drain and rinse your kidney and cannellini beans. In a massive mixing bowl, combine your sautéed vegetables with one 15-ounce can of each bean type.
- Add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 cup frozen green beans, ¼ cup Parmesan, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Stir everything together thoroughly.
- Cook 4 cups mafalda pasta in boiling water for 8-9 minutes until perfectly al dente. Drain completely.
- Fold your cooked pasta into the vegetable-bean mixture, ensuring every noodle gets coated with sauce.
- Transfer the entire mixture into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan cheese across the top.
- Slide the dish into your 375°F oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until cheese turns golden and bubbly.
- Pull from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Scatter fresh chopped basil or oregano on top before serving.
Notes
- Choose short pasta shapes like mafalda or penne to help ingredients mix evenly throughout the casserole.
- Let the vegetables soften completely before mixing to develop deeper, richer flavor profiles in your dish.
- Rinse canned beans thoroughly to reduce sodium and prevent the casserole from becoming too salty.
- For a protein boost, consider adding cooked ground turkey or shredded rotisserie chicken during the vegetable mixing stage.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Casseroles
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 to 8
- Calories: 370 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 540 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg