Wondering what to serve with it? You can't go wrong with homemade breadsticks, crusty no knead bread, or a side salad.

Bean Soup Recipes

Simple as they are I actually love a good bean soup. I already have so many I've shared in my recipe collection:

• Bean and Bacon Soup
• Black Bean Tortilla Soup
• Black Bean Soup
• Ham and Bean Soup (Slow Cooker or Stovetop)
• Kale White Bean and Sausage Soup
• Pasta Fagioli Soup (Pasta and Bean Soup)

And now we've got this delicious yet unbelievably easy Tuscan style soup to add to the rotation! Once you try it and see what breeze it is you'll be wondering where this recipe has been your whole life!

The Flavor Secret to This Soup

So you'll notice there aren't many ingredients here. To build up flavor we use boldly flavor ingredients - lots of garlic and a parmesan rind (the dry and waxy exterior from a parmesan wedge).

I never throw away a parmesan rind. I save them for all sorts of soups and sauces (they make a delicious marinara). And here they add a delicious cheesy flavor to this soup.

If you don't have a parmesan rind (if it's not imported cheese found in the specialty cheeses it likely won't have one) you can just stir some parmesan into the soup at the end but I don't recommend skipping out on the parmesan.

Looking for more healthy soup recipes? Try my classic Vegetable Soup, Cabbage Soup and Lentil Soup.

So this is me, I eat pretty healthy most of the time so I can make room for dessert all the time. I'm kidding (sort of). But really, I think balance is important, which doesn't really mean dessert every day but sometimes I think it's necessary.

I've said it before, all the healthy food is definitely good for your physical health but I say the sweet stuff is good for my emotional health because how could I survive without sugar (especially chocolate)? Addicted? Maybe. Content with that, definitely.

This soup has got to be one of the healthiest I've ever made though. It is packed with so many fresh, healthy ingredients and it really does taste amazingly delicious!

I've learned that light and healthy recipes don't need to be boring, they just need to have the right blend of flavors and good seasoning and it makes such a big difference.

You’ll love how this soup is very filling without all lots of added fats or empty carbs. Plus it makes a big pot-full so you can have some for lunch for the next few days.

And yes, this minestrone soup recipe does call for quite a few ingredients but don't shy away from this recipe because of that. It's worth it!

Photography credit: Jess Larson