Italian Minestrone Soup is warm and comforting, perfect for a cold day. With beans, pasta, and vegetables in a creamy tomato sauce, this soup is both filling and nutritious.
Need more warm an hearty soup ideas? Try my Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey Meatballs and my Instant Pot Italian Sausage Soup.
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Why this Italian Minestrone Soup Recipe is a Keeper
Minestrone is a classic Italian soup, made with beans and pasta in tomato broth. It’s easy to adapt, and is a great soup to serve with a crusty Italian bread. Here are a few reasons why you’ll want to try this recipe for traditional minestrone soup at home:
- Easy Ingredients: All of the ingredients for this copycat Olive Garden minestrone soup recipe can be found in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- Adaptable: Adjust the ingredients in this easy minestrone soup to your tastes and dietary needs. Add your favorite herbs, vegetables, and seasonings.
- Makes Great Leftovers: Make this vegetarian minestrone soup recipe ahead of time, then eat it throughout the week. It is great for meal prep.
What Kind of Pasta is Best for Minestrone?
Minestrone is best made with small pasta shapes. Try ditalini, orzo, elbow macaroni, or orecchiette.
Ingredient Notes for Authentic Italian Minestrone Soup
You’ll love this soup with grated parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and chicken stock. Here are some other ingredients you’ll need to make this Italian vegetable soup on the stove:
- Tomatoes: Use canned or whole diced tomatoes. You can also use tomato paste in this minestrone recipe.
- Olive Oil: Cook the vegetables in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Kidney Beans: Use one cup of cooked kidney beans or white beans; canned beans work best.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Red pepper flakes add spice and flavor to the soup.
- Broth: Use vegetable broth or chicken bone broth to make minestrone at home.
- Dry Pasta: Ditalini works especially well, but you can use any short pasta shape. For best results, we recommend cooking the pasta separately before adding it to the bean soup.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Prep Ahead Suggestions for the Best Vegetable Soup with Pasta
- Make Ahead: Make a pot of minestrone soup ahead of time, then freeze it for later. It’s super easy to reheat the soup when you’re ready to enjoy.
Pro Tip for this Minestrone Recipe
While the soup is cooking, add a parmesan cheese rind for more flavor.
How to Make Minestrone Soup
These are the basic steps for making homemade minestrone. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Cook the Vegetables
Heat olive oil in a large pan, then add onions and garlic. Sautee until the onion begins to brown. Then, add carrots, green beans, celery, oregano and thyme; stir to combine. Afterwards, add tomatoes, kidney beans, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes.
2. Cook the Soup
Cook on medium heat until the tomatoes soften. Then, add broth and bay leaves. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Cook the Pasta
Add the pasta and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add basil and turn the heat off. Then, add cilantro and serve the soup.
How to Store, Reheat and Use Leftover Vegetarian Minestrone Soup
- Storing: Store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.
- Using Leftovers: Leftover soup should be good for up to 3-4 days.
Variations and Substitutions for the Best Minestrone Soup
- Vegetables: Add hearty vegetables like cabbage, kale, or winter squash for a more substantial meal.
- Base: Change up the tomato for a white sauce for a white minestrone soup.
Classic Minestrone Soup Recipe FAQs
To make this soup gluten free, just use a gluten free pasta variety.
Yes; you can use chickpeas or a different kind of bean if you’d prefer.
Expert Tips for Making this Italian Soup
- Customizable: Minestrone soup is extremely customizable. For example – you can add bell peppers, zucchini, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, potatoes, or butternut squash to it. You can also try farro or barley.
- Garnish: To finish off this white bean soup, serve with parmesan cheese or sour cream.
- Protein Pasta: Use protein plus or chickpea pasta to add protein to this easy vegetarian soup.
- Instant Pot: You also make this recipe using an instant pot. Start with the sauté setting, then switch to pressure cook.
- Meat Minestrone Soup: Add ground beef, Italian sausage, or shredded rotisserie chicken to the soup.
Italian Minestrone Soup
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- ¾ cup Chopped Onions
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- ¾ cup Carrot, chopped
- ½ cup Green Beans
- ¾ cup Celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Oregano, dried
- 1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
- 2 Medium Ripe Tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup Cooked Kidney Beans
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
- ½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 4 cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 Bay Leaf
- ½ cup Small Elbow Pasta
- ½ cup Basil, chopped
- Cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan; add onion followed by garlic, and sauté for a few seconds on high flame until the onion begins to brown slightly.
- Add carrots, green beans, celery, oregano, and thyme, and stir to combine.
- Next add tomatoes, kidney beans, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes, and cook on medium flame until tomatoes turn a little mushy.
- Add broth and bay leaves, cover, and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in pasta and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped basil and switch off the heat.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top; serve hot and enjoy!
Christina’s Notes
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- Customizable: Minestrone soup is extremely customizable. For example – you can add bell peppers, zucchini, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, potatoes, or butternut squash to it. You can also try farro or barley.
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- Garnish: To finish off this white bean soup, serve with parmesan cheese or sour cream.
-
- Protein Pasta: Use protein plus or chickpea pasta to add protein to this easy vegetarian soup.
-
- Instant Pot: You also make this recipe using an instant pot. Start with the sauté setting, then switch to pressure cook.
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- Meat Minestrone Soup: Add ground beef, Italian sausage, or shredded rotisserie chicken to the soup.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided are estimates. It is recommended that you verify this information with your own trusted resource.
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This recipe is my personal adaption of an ethnic-inspired recipe. It is not intended to be an authentic recipe. I’ve recreated this recipe because I enjoy the flavors and I want to encourage my readers to expand their tastes and try new flavor combinations. The recipe, ingredients, and processes may have been adapted to make the recipe accessible to the average American. I have provided links to authentic versions of the recipe in the post above. I encourage you to visit these pages and learn more about the traditional version(s) of this recipe.
Such a hearty winter soup. Love it!