Italian Minestrone Soup
Italian Minestrone Soup is a hearty, vegetable packed soup with beans, tender pasta, and a rich tomato broth flavored with a Parmesan rind. It’s flexible, made to use up whatever vegetables you have on hand, and it freezes nicely for easy lunches. Budget friendly and naturally vegetarian, with an easy vegan option. Made with pantry staples, it comes together in about 30 minutes and serves 12.
Soup has no season. I will eat soup in any weather. We lived in Arizona when it was 120 degrees outside and I was still making soup, so I’m not the person to ask about seasonal appropriateness here.
Minestrone is my all time favorite, and not just because I grew up eating it in my parents’ Italian restaurant.
It’s the vegetables. All of them, in one delicious bowl, with beans and pasta making it hearty enough to be a full meal. The real beauty of minestrone is that it’s built to use up leftovers.
That sad half cup of vegetables in your crisper drawer? This is its purpose. There’s no wrong combination, which is exactly how it’s meant to be.
It comes together in about 30 minutes, freezes beautifully, and makes a fantastic lunch the next day. Want meat? Quarter some Italian meatballs and toss them in. If you love a good soup like I do, I have plenty to choose from!
Easy Soup Recipes for Dinner
- Swamp Soup – hearty sausage bean and collard green soup
- Spicy Lasagna Soup – all the lasagna flavor in a spoonable bowl
- Chicken Piccata Soup – bright lemony chicken soup with capers
- Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup – deconstructed cabbage rolls in broth
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See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and their quantities.
Ingredient Notes
Vegetables – Onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic build the base. This is a use-what-you-have situation, so swap freely. Those bits of leftover vegetables hanging out in the fridge are perfect for this.
Beans – Kidney beans and Cannellini beans together give the best mix of texture and heartiness. Drain and rinse them well.
Parmesan Rind – The secret to a deep, savory broth. It simmers in and adds a nutty richness you can’t get any other way. Don’t worry, it melts into the soup. If you see some left, just take it out before serving. Save your rinds for exactly this.
Pasta – Small shells or Ditalini hold up best. Use your favorite, and break up larger pasta if that’s all you have. This is a use up the pantry and fridge kind of recipe.
Seasoning – Along with oregano, thyme, and rosemary, my Homemade Italian Seasoning rounds out that classic minestrone flavor.
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How To Make Italian Minestrone Soup
- Cook the pasta in salted water to al dente. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large pot (at least 6 quarts) over medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and celery, and cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, spices, and red wine, and stir to combine.
- Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Parmesan rind, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the fresh spinach and simmer 5 minutes or until the spinach is wilted and the flavors come together.
- When ready to serve, stir in the cooked pasta and let it soak up some of the flavor for a few minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, garnish with grated Parmesan and parsley, and serve warm.
For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove until warmed through.
Freezer: Minestrone freezes beautifully. For the best texture, freeze it without the pasta and add freshly cooked pasta when you reheat it. This keeps the pasta from getting too mushy and absorbing too much of the broth.
Make Ahead: Great for prepping ahead! Keep the pasta separate until serving so it doesn’t soak up all the broth and go mushy.
Thickening Note: The soup thickens as it sits since the pasta absorbs broth. Add a splash more broth when reheating to thin it back out.
For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Variations
Add Meat: Quarter some Italian Meatballs and toss them in while it simmers, or add cooked Italian sausage or cooked ground beef.
Different Veggies: Zucchini, squash, cabbage, Swiss chard, and corn all work beautifully. Use what you have.
Creamier Broth: Puree half the Cannellini beans with a cup of broth before adding, for a thicker, creamier soup.
Spicy: Add in some crushed red pepper flakes or a few dashes of hot sauce if you like your soup with a kick.
Vegan: Use vegetable broth and skip the Parmesan rind. For that nutty depth, stir in 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
Regional Twists: Use local and seasoning vegetables. Try butternut squash and pancetta for a winter version, or chickpeas and fennel for a Sardinian spin.
What’s the Difference Between Minestrone, Pasta Fagioli, and Vegetable Soup?
These three get mixed up all the time, so here’s the quick breakdown:
Pasta Fagioli literally means “pasta and beans,” and that’s mostly what it is, pasta and beans with little else, maybe a bit of tomato.
Vegetable Soup is exactly what it sounds like, just vegetables, with no pasta, no meat, and few or no beans.
Minestrone splits the difference and goes heartier, taking that vegetable soup base and adding both beans and pasta to make it a filling, complete meal.
So if your vegetable soup has beans and pasta in it, congratulations, you’ve basically made minestrone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Loosely translated, it means “to serve as a remedy,” which is fitting for tis vegetable heavy soup. Authentic minestrone is also regional, made with whatever vegetables and herbs are available locally.
Yes, it freezes beautifully. For the best texture, freeze it without the pasta and add freshly cooked pasta when you reheat, since pasta gets mushy after freezing in the broth.
Small shapes like ditalini or mini shells hold up best. Use whatever you have, and just break larger pasta into smaller pieces before cooking. I like to keep the pasta shapes the same size as the vegetables for easier eating and even cooking.
It’s no a necessity but it does add a ton of flavor and makes the broth more authentic. If you don’t have one, the soup is still good. You can always add in some shaved Parmesan cheese, or use nutritional yeast for a similar flavor but in a vegan version.
You can always add cream but the best way to do it is with the beans. Puree half the Cannellini beans with a cup of broth and stir it back in. It thickens the broth without any cream.
Yes. Use vegetable broth, skip the Parmesan rind, and add 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast for that nutty, cheese flavor.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Dice all the vegetables the same size so they cook evenly.
- Save your Parmesan rinds in the freezer just for soups like this.
- Puree half the white beans with broth for a creamier texture without cream.
- Cook and store the pasta separately if you’re making it ahead, so it doesn’t get mushy.
- Don’t run to the store if you’re missing a vegetable. Use what you have. That’s the whole point of minestrone.
This Italian Minestrone Soup is hearty, cozy, and the best way to use up whatever vegetables you have. Simmer up a big pot and serve it with a hunk of crusty bread!
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please leave us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five-star review in the comment section below. Thanks!
Hearty Italian Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion diced ~ 1 cup
- 3 carrots diced ~ 1 cup
- 3 stalks celery diced ~ 3/4 cup
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced ~ 1/2 cup
- 4 cloves garlic minced fine ~ 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- ½ tablespoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- ½ cup red wine optional, substitute more broth
- 15 ounces dark red kidney beans drained, rinsed
- 15 ounces Cannellini or white Northern beans drained, rinsed
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 6-8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese rind about 1-2″
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 8 ounces pasta cooked, I prefer Ditalini or mini shells pasta
- salt and pepper to taste
- dash hot sauce optional
- Fresh parsley chopped for garnish *optional*
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot (at least 6 quarts) over medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and celery. Stir to cook veggies until soft – roughly 3-5 minutes.
- Add garlic, spices, and wine. Stir to combine.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, cheese rind, and broth.
- Bring to a boil.
- Turn heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the spinach and pasta.
- Stir until spinach is wilted and simmer 5 minutes to combine flavors.
- Enjoy with friends, family, and crusty bread.
Notes
- Dice all the vegetables the same size so they cook evenly.
- Save your Parmesan rinds in the freezer just for soups like this.
- Puree half the white beans with broth for a creamier texture without cream.
- Cook and store the pasta separately if you’re making it ahead, so it doesn’t get mushy.
- Don’t run to the store if you’re missing a vegetable. Use what you have. That’s the whole point of minestrone.
Nutrition
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