Minestrone soup is a classic Italian soup packed with flavor and nutrition! This soup recipe is perfect for keeping you cozy during fall and winter. This Minestrone recipe is so easy to make, and versatile while being a great meal prep soup!
All I crave is for soups when the weather starts to get chilly in the evenings. And this minestrone with some bread is my ultimate comfort food!
SOUP season is almost here! It is getting pretty chilly in the evenings, and so I would take a hearty bowl of soup for dinners from now on! I am sorry if I flood my website with soup recipes! But trust me they are all so delicious.
I first tasted the minestrone soup at Olive Garden, and please don't at me. I am an immigrant. And on my first day in the US, I found myself at Olive Garden ordering a bowl of minestrone soup and cheese fondue! I always felt that vegetarian options were scarce at the restaurants during my initial days here. But, now it's almost been a decade and I call this country my home away from home.
And, I promise over the years of perfecting the minestrone soup recipe, this recipe is better than Olive Garden!
Jump to:
- What is Minestrone Soup?
- Why You'll Love This Recipe?
- Expert Tips To Make This Minestrone Soup
- Ingredients To Make The Minestrone Soup
- Variations for Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Step-By-Step Recipe To Make The Minestrone Soup
- What to Serve with Minestrone Soup?
- Storage Instructions
- Minestrone Soup Recipe - Frequently Asked Question
- More Soup Recipes From The Blog!
- Better than Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
What is Minestrone Soup?
Minestrone in Italian means serving a thick vegetable soup. Calling Minestrone Soup is like calling it soup soup! This thick vegetable soup is made in a hearty and herby thick tomato broth, which is packed with seasonal vegetables, cannellini, or red kidney beans, and some small variety of pasta. I love to add vegetables like corn, zucchini, and French beans. You can also add, different squashes, and potatoes to make this soup even more filling! A hearty base of almost all soups is onions, carrots and celery, and so are they in this recipe.
I pretty much add any canned beans I have on hand! And, sometimes I like to add pesto, as it brings more oomph to this recipe! My family and I love this soup, and it is in our weekly rotation menu! Inaaya loves to dip fresh buttery bread in the soup and enjoy! This minestrone is one of her favorites and the only way she will eat beans.
I prefer to use canned San Marzano tomatoes and during summers made with fresh tomatoes for this minestrone soup recipe. I find San Marzano tomatoes are sweeter in taste, more juicy, and have fewer seeds than the other varieties of tomatoes. Hence more often seen being used in soups and pasta sauces.
Why You'll Love This Recipe?
- Because this recipe is better than olive garden Minestrone Soup.
- It is a One-Pot Recipe for hearty and cozy lunches and dinners.
- This recipe is easy, quick and delicious.
- I love how versatile this recipe is. And the ingredients can be substituted with whatever you have in your pantry.
- You can use an Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or a traditional cooking pot
- You can make this soup vegan and gluten-free.
Expert Tips To Make This Minestrone Soup
- Make it Vegan - Minestrone is a naturally vegetarian soup. If you want to make this soup vegan, replace parmesan cheese with vegan parm, or skip it.
- San Marzano Tomatoes - You should use canned fire-roasted San Marzano tomatoes for this recipe. It
- Make it Gluten-Free - Use a gluten-free variety of pasta for this recipe, to make it gluten-free.
- Use Herbs and Spices - I like to use oregano, thyme and black pepper powder along with salt in this recipe.
- Cook the Soup - Cook the soup on medium flame, to let the vegetables and beans cook in the broth and absorb all the delicious flavors.
- Vegetable Broth - Vegetable broth adds the umami to the soup, along with nutrition! Try not to skip it.
- Add sugar - Adding a tiny amount of sugar to tomato-based broths, soups, and curries is all restaurant's best-kept secret! The sugar helps caramelize the tomatoes, and the umami flavor is packed with oomph.
- Add Protein - Serve this minestrone soup with a side of grilled cheese, with some vegan/vegetarian sausage crumble to add more protein!
- Meal Prep - Meal prep this minestrone, and have it through the week.
- Serve the Soup - Serve the soup hot with a side of green salad and grilled cheese, garlic bread, or chili cheese toast.
Ingredients To Make The Minestrone Soup
Olive Oil - Use good quality single-origin cooking olive oil for the fruity flavor in this recipe.
Bay Leaves - You can use either fresh or dried bay leaves in this Minestrone recipe.
Aromatics - We will be using fresh minced garlic for this recipe.
Vegetables - We will be using the holy soup veggie mix of onions, carrots, and celery. I like how loaded this soup is with vegetables. You can add any seasonal vegetables of your choice. I am adding zucchini, corn, and French beans.
Beans - For a quick-fix meal, I prefer to have canned red kidney beans and cannellini beans on hand. Today, I am using red kidney beans for this recipe.
Spices - We will be using dried thyme, oregano, fine black pepper powder, salt and sugar to spice this soup. Use smoked paprika if you can tolerate spice. You might wonder why sugar. A little bit of sugar will caramelize the flavors, and create a balance of flavors in the soup.
San Marzano Tomatoes - You must use canned and diced San Marzano tomatoes to make this recipe. These tomatoes add a sweet umami flavor, and have fewer seeds than other varieties of tomatoes. I use the fire-roasted diced San Marzano tomatoes for that extra smoky flavor.
Pasta - Use any mini pasta available like mini macaroni, mini shells, or ditalini. I am using mini shells for this recipe. Use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free.
Vegetable Broth - I like to use low-sodium store-bought vegetable broth for my soups. You can also use vegetable bouillon cubes, or vegetarian better than bouillon
Garnishes
Flat Leaf Parsley - I like to add a pop of green for garnishes, and flat leaf parsley works perfectly for this recipe.
Parmesan Cheese - Parmesan cheese adds the right saltiness and sharpness to cut the tartness from the tomatoes. If you want to make this recipe vegan, use vegan parm or skip adding parm.
Red Chili Flakes - add some red chili flakes to add spice and smokiness to the soup.
Parmesan
Variations for Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Don't worry if you don't have canned tomatoes, because you can substitute it with marinara sauce.
- Are you bored eating this soup the same way? Add some pesto! I bet you will love the addition of pesto in this recipe.
- Substitute any seasonal veggies with the vegetables mentioned. I like to add sweet potatoes, pumpkin and squashes, potatoes, asparagus etc to the soup.
- If you want to add more protein to the recipe, brown some ground-up vegan sausage, and add puffed tofu. I like to serve the soup with grilled cheese.
Step-By-Step Recipe To Make The Minestrone Soup
1. In a pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add bay leaves.
2. Next add in the onions, and minced garlic. Saute until onions are golden and translucent.
3. Add 1 cup of diced carrots and ¾th cup of cut celery stalks. Mix well.
4. Next, add in the 1.5 cups of vegetables. I am adding a mix of zucchini, corn and french beans.
5. Add spices. Add 1 teaspoon each or oregano, thyme and black pepper powder. You can also add half a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Next add 1.5 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix everything well.
6. Add 1 cup of any mini pasta you have on hand, and add 28oz of fire-roasted San Marzano Tomatoes!
7. Add 4 cups of vegetable broth and simmer on low, until the pasta and veggies are cooked.
8. Once the soup thickens and the veggies and kinds of pasta are cooked roughly after 15-20 minutes, grated parm.
9. Garnish it with finely chopped fresh leaf parsley.
10. Serve it with a side of toasted buttery bread, grilled cheese, garlic bread, or chili cheese toast.
What to Serve with Minestrone Soup?
This soup is delicious and filling on its own, but there are always a few extras that will make it even more delicious.
Bread - Toast a delicious sourdough bread with butter and serve along with soup! You can also serve it garlic bread or chili cheese toast and or grilled cheese.
Green Salad - I served a delicious green spring salad to go with the soup, with some marinated tofu and red wine vinaigrette.
Storage Instructions
Store the minestrone for up to 5-6 days in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. Heat only the portion of the soup you desire to drink! Although it is so delicious, it just won't sit in your refrigerator!
Minestrone Soup Recipe - Frequently Asked Question
Without adding pasta you can follow the same cooking directions on Saute mode on the Instant Pot. Press cancel. Press the soup mode and cook the soup for 30 minutes. After 5 minutes of cooking, do a quick pressure release, and let the steam out. Now add the pasta and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes, covered with a glass lid.
Add all the ingredients listed in the ingredients list except pasta. Now start the slow cooker and let the soup cook for 6-8 hours. In the last 15 minutes add the pasta, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
Of course, kids can eat minestrone soup. If your kids are old enough to chew on veggies, keep the bite-sized big, if not cut them into fine pieces. This soup is a great way to add nutrition to their diet.
Skip parm or add vegan parm for the recipe.
Unfortunately not. I tried freezing the soup, but everything became mushy when thawed.
Yes, you can add bulgar, couscous or orzo to this recipe. These give a delicious chewy and creamy texture to the soup.
Cook up some vegan sausage, until it is brown, and it will taste delicious in this minestrone soup.
More Soup Recipes From The Blog!
Better than Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion Finely Chopped
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 2 Carrots Diced
- 2 Celery Stalks Diced
- 1.5 Teaspoons Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano
- 1 Teaspoon Thyme
- ½ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika (optional)
- ½ Cup French Beans Cut
- ½ Cup Corn
- ½ Cup Zucchini Diced
- 1.5 Cups Red Kidney Beans Boiled (13.5oz canned beans)
- 28 oz San Marzano Tomatoes Better if you can find Fire Roasted Diced
- 1 Cup Mini Shells You can also use Ditallini, Mini Elbow shaped Pasta, Orzo or Bulgar
- 4 Cups Vegetable Broth
Instructions
- In a pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add bay leaves.
- Next add in the onions, and minced garlic. Saute until onions are golden and translucent.
- Add 1 cup of diced carrots and ¾th cup of cut celery stalks. Mix well.
- Next, add in the 1.5 cups of vegetables. I am adding a mix of zucchini, corn and french beans.
- Add spices. Add 1 teaspoon each or oregano, thyme and black pepper powder. You can also add half a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Next add 1.5 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix everything well.
- Add 1 cup of any mini pasta you have on hand, and add 28oz of fire-roasted San Marzano Tomatoes!
- Add 4 cups of vegetable broth and simmer on low, until the pasta and veggies are cooked.
- Once the soup thickens and the veggies and pastas are cooked roughly after 15-20 minutes, grated parm.
- Garnish it with finely chopped fresh leaf parsley.
- Serve it with a side of toasted buttery bread, grilled cheese, garlic bread, or chili cheese toast.
Notes
- Add pesto to get an extra kick from the soup!
- Read under the FAQ section, to get instructions on making this soup using the Instant Pot and Slow Cooker.
- If you want to make it healthier, add bulgur and couscous, instead of pasta.
- Serve it with a side of green salad, to make it more nutritious.
- I love to serve this salad with crispy buttery toasted sourdough!
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