Minestrone Soup Recipe

Here’s an Italian style recipe for a vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe!

Loaded with fresh vegetables, beans, and pasta cooked into a savory broth, this uber-healthy soup packs nutrition, fiber, and flavor! It’s a hearty and filling dish that’s perfect for any meal, any time of the week! This is the last, best minestrone soup recipe you’ll ever need!

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Best Minestrone Soup Recipe

This hearty and heartwarming dish is also the perfect meal for a crowd. Keep it warm in a crock pot and let guests help themselves. Serve with a side of grated parmesan cheese and some cheesy breadsticks for dipping.
Kids love the mild flavor of comforting minestrone soup, and with all of its colorful ingredients, they won’t even know how nutritious it is. Add a side of grilled cheese and make it a full meal deal!
Budget-friendly, minestrone soup is also a terrific time-saver. It can go from stovetop to table in less than 30 minutes!

Minestrone Soup Ingredients

VEGETABLES: Veggies like onions, carrots, celery, and spinach give minestrone color, texture, and amazing flavor. Minestrone soup is perfect for using up leftover veggies or if time is short, toss in a frozen bag of mixed vegetables. Sliced mushrooms, zucchini, diced sweet potatoes, corn, sliced cabbage, or kale can be added to or used in place of the vegetables.

BEANS: Red kidney beans add a boost of fiber and hold up well. Canned beans are best because they don’t need to be soaked first. Black beans, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, lima beans, or any combination of beans will add more flavor to the soup.

THE BROTH: Everything is slow-cooked together in a savory vegetable broth with garlic and a can of diced tomatoes (including the juice).

PASTA: Ditalini are short pieces of tube-shaped pasta that are standard for this recipe. If ditalini isn’t available, small elbow macaroni or orzo will do the trick. Rice is sometimes added to a classic minestrone – white, brown, or long-grain will all work. Be sure rice is ready to use or par-boiled.

PROTEIN: This recipe is written as a vegetarian recipe, however all kinds of meat can be added to minestrone soup if desired. Leftover meat works especially well because it’s already cooked. Ground beef, sliced summer sausage, ham, chicken, turkey, even frozen mini-meatballs will make this soup extra hearty.

How to make Minestrone Soup

Easy-to-find ingredients are what make this soup such a winner!

Saute carrots, onions, celery, and garlic in oil until softened.
Stir in the next 4 ingredients and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.
Add pasta and cook until tender, then add spinach. Serve hot.

What To Serve with Minestrone Soup?

Bread is the perfect compliment to any soup! It’s fun and delicious to dip and dunk Pizza Dough Breadsticks or Easy Dinner Rolls. Round out the meal and make an easy side Tomato Salad or a Spinach and Strawberry Salad while the soup is simmering.

Tips For the Best Soup!

Caramelizing the carrots, onions, and celery (also called a ‘mire poix’) gives the soup its depth of flavor, so don’t forget this critical first step. Always drain and rinse canned beans before using in any recipe to rinse off salt or preservatives that would affect the flavor.

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Minestrone Soup Recipe

This is the best Minestrone Soup Recipe packed full of vegetables, noodles, and delicious flavor!

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Servings

Author Shannon Johanson

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup carrots diced
1 onion diced
1 cup celery diced
3 cloves garlic minced
15 ounces red kidney beans drained and rinsed
6 cups vegetable broth
28 ounces diced tomatoes with juices
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
4 ounces ditalini pasta
1 cup frozen chopped spinach

Instructions

In a large stockpot over medium heat pour in olive oil. Add diced carrots, onions, celery, and minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes or until vegetables are just tender.
Stir in kidney beans, vegetable stock, diced tomatoes, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, once boiling turn it down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes add the pasta and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.
With 2 minutes remaining add spinach and heat until warm.

Notes

Caramelize the carrots, onions, and celery for an increased depth of flavor.
Drain and rinse canned beans to rinse off salt or preservatives that might affect the flavor.
Refrigerate cooled leftovers for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Reheat on the stovetop over low heat.