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This minestrone soup recipe is loaded with vegetables, beans, and pasta in a delicious tomato broth. This classic soup is nourishing, easy to make, and makes amazing leftovers!
Love restaurant-style Italian soups? Try this Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Zuppa Toscana, or my Pasta e Fagioli recipe.
Why you’ll love it
Minestrone is a really tasty Italian vegetable soup that usually has pasta, beans, and a tomato-based broth. I think of it as the ultimate vegetable soup! You’ve maybe tried Olive Garden minestrone soup, but I’m here to convince you that my version is so much better.
It’s one of those soups you can make on a lazy Sunday in chilly weather, and you’ll actually look forward to eating it for the rest of the week. It’s also easy to make with everyday, wholesome ingredients. There’s nothing complicated about it!
What you’ll need
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing
- Onion, celery, and carrots, and garlic – this is a classic savory base for soups
- Zucchini and fresh green beans – for veggie goodness
- Canned tomatoes – to give the broth a thick and rich quality
- Broth – use either chicken or vegetable for more savory flavor
- Italian seasoning – a wonderful blend of dried herbs like rosemary and thyme that comes in one jar
- Cannellini and red kidney beans – for added protein
- Pasta – I used elbow macaroni, but any pasta variety that’s fairly small like ditalini will work
- Basil – optional, but it adds a burst of freshness and flavor
- Parmesan – use lots and lots of freshly grated parmesan
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This is my go-to Dutch oven for making this soup and others.
- Parmesan is best when freshly grated from a block, and I use this Microplane zester.
- Easily mince garlic (no peeling!) with this garlic press, and store leftover cloves in this garlic saver.
How to make minestrone soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Prep your veggies. Sauté the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic until softened. Add in the crushed tomatoes, broth, zucchini, beans, and seasoning. Bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Stir in the macaroni, and cook until the pasta and veggies are tender. Season the soup with salt & pepper as needed. Stir in the basil if using, and top each bowl with plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese!
Pro tip
If you happen to have a parmesan rind, throw it into the pot while cooking the soup to infuse extra flavor! It really makes a difference. Sometimes if you ask at the cheese counter, they’ll give you an extra rind if your parmesan block didn’t come with one. Don’t forget to take it out of the soup when it’s ready, though.
Substitutions and variations
- If you want to add a non-vegetarian twist to this soup, try sautéing some bacon or pancetta with the veggies at the beginning. It’ll be incredible!
- You could include other vegetables like cabbage or peas. Feel free to add/swap veggies based on personal preference, what’s in season, and what’s in your fridge.
- If you want it to be extra hearty, go ahead and throw in a potato as well.
- You can swap the crushed tomatoes for diced tomatoes, but I like the thickness and body that the crushed tomatoes give to the soup. If going the more traditional route and using diced tomatoes, I would probably add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the soup as well at the end of step 1.
- Want to make it in your pressure cooker instead? Try this Easy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup Recipe.
What to serve with minestrone
- A slice of crusty bread like sourdough or French bread would be perfect.
- You could serve this soup as an appetizer before your main course.
- Or make it a soup and salad kind of dinner! Try a side salad with Italian Dressing, homemade Creamy Balsamic Dressing, or go all-out with Caesar Salad and homemade Garlic Parmesan Croutons.
Leftovers and storage
- Minestrone soup will keep for about 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- The pasta will soak up the broth the longer you leave it, so you may need to add some more chicken or vegetable broth when reheating leftovers.
- If you’re planning on freezing the bulk of the soup, I suggest adding cooked pasta when you’ve thawed it instead.
Leave me a star rating and review below if you made this hearty minestrone soup recipe! As always, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram so I can see your creations. 🙂
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled & sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth or veggie broth
- 1 small zucchini chopped
- 1 cup fresh green beans chopped
- 1 (14 ounce) can red kidney beans drained
- 1 (14 ounce) can white kidney (cannellini) beans drained
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Fresh basil optional, to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste
Instructions
- Add the oil, butter, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to a large soup pot. Sauté for 7-10 minutes.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, broth, zucchini, green beans, red kidney beans, white kidney beans, and Italian seasoning. Increase the heat to high, and bring it to a boil.
- Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat so it's simmering and cover the pot with the lid slightly open and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta. Continue simmering the soup (I leave the lid off) for another 15-20 minutes or until the pasta and veggies are tender. Stir occasionally to stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom.
- Before serving, season to taste with salt & pepper (I am generous with both), stir in the basil (if using), and serve each bowl with some parmesan cheese grated/shaved over top. This minestrone is fairly thick. If you find it too thick, add a splash more broth to thin it out (especially leftovers).
Notes
- The pasta will soak up the broth the longer you leave it. You may need to add more chicken/veg broth to leftovers. If you’re freezing the bulk of this soup or planning on having lots of leftovers, I recommend cooking the pasta separately and adding it in when you reheat it.
- I recommend chopping the vegetables quite small (see the ingredients photo in the blog post) so they cook properly in the timeframes I suggest in the recipe.
- Want to make this soup in your Instant Pot? Check out that version here.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on January 29, 2020. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!
I just love this recipe! I used fire roasted tomatoes and bone broth for some protein. I add the noodles as it’s served so they’re not mushy. This is a repeat in my house!
So glad to hear it! 😀
Hi Natasha! If adding a potato, what step should it be added? Thanks!
Hi! Hmmm… probably step 4. Depending on how small you dice it, I find potatoes usually take about 15-20 minutes. Add a bit earlier if you really want it to be fall-apart tender.
Can you substitute rice for pasta? If so how does that change the cooking time?
Hi! I don’t know as I’ve only made it with pasta. Perhaps use cooked rice?
Great recipe! I’ve made twice using my homegrown tomatoes, zucchini, beans, and herbs plus a couple of my chili peppers to add a little spice. Wonderful! Last batch I ate for dinner with hubby and then enjoyed for lunch until finished.
Thank you!! So glad it was a hit. Thanks for your review!
I made this for the first time and it turned out wonderfully. I did add a small round steak cut up small and two small potatoes chopped small as well. I will be making this again. My husband loved it.😊😊👍👍
So happy it was a hit for you both, Donna! Thank you for your review!
I’ve made this twice already! It’s way better than I thought it could be! I’m so happy that I found this recipe, thank you so much!!! 😍
Yay!! You’re very welcome! 🙂 Thanks for your 5-star review!
It’s delicious!!! Dangerously comforting! It’s got medicinal properties.
So glad you enjoyed it, Isaiah! 🙂 Thanks for your review!!
I made this recently as I had veggies in the fridge to use up and a small amount of macaroni in a box that I had no idea what to use it in. This was a major hit with my family. I used store bought chicken stock instead of broth. I also added fresh basil and Locatelli grated pecorino cheese to finish when plating. I served it with garlic toast. This is a must make hearty recipe in these times when meat is so expensive. My family never missed the meat and I never mentioned it! 😉👍
I’m so happy to hear that it was a hit! Really appreciate your review, Mary! 🙂
Omg best minestrone I’ve ever had! Added Italian sausage and it was out of this world! Thank you so much for sharing! ❤️
Wonderful! You’re very welcome, Kim!
Can this also be made in a crockpot? What would we need to do differently to make this in the crockpot?
I haven’t tested it, but I think 3-4 hours on high should work or 6-8 on low. You may still want to do the searing step in a skillet, though, for more flavor… but you probably could just add it all in at once. I’d add the pasta in the last 30 min or so on high.