How To Make Amazing Minestrone Soup

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If You Love Olive Garden Minestrone, Make This!

If you always order minestrone soup at Olive Garden, wait until you make a big, beautiful pot at home! This hearty Italian vegetable soup is loaded with colorful vegetables, tender pasta, and kidney beans in a richly seasoned tomato broth—and it’s one of our absolute favorites.

You can have it on the table in under an hour, and it tastes even better the next day. Add a loaf of crusty bread, and you have a cozy, satisfying supper that proves a meatless meal can still fill everyone up.

There’s no single “official” recipe for minestrone. In Italy, every cook makes it a little differently, depending on personal preferences and whatever vegetables are available. Even in Italy, minestrone soup recipes vary because there is no exact "official" recipe.

Why You Will Love Minestrone Soup

Minestrone doesn't take a long time to make. A lovely pot of this tasty soup can be ready in under an hour; it reheats very well and tastes even better the next day. It's packed with tons of flavor from lots of vegetables in a tomato-ey broth, and it's vegan, so it's perfect when you want a meatless meal.

I served minestrone to guests recently, and my nephew showed the soup to his son and said, "Look! It has so many vegetables in it; you can't get everything in a single spoonful!"

Well described! This soup is full of different vegetables, making it a wonderful, hearty option for vegetarians. Idea: Tuck this recipe away for Lent or put it in your Meatless Monday rotation!

Five Great Reasons Why You Should Eat Minestrone Soup

• Soup takes longer to eat than some foods and makes you slow down long enough that you don't overeat like we can when we wolf down our food quickly. What's more, eating slowly gives us an opportunity to linger and have a real conversation at the table! That's very healthy!
• It's packed with vegetables and beans, loaded with antioxidants, and provides great nutrition. The more colorful, the better, and you can add any seasonal vegetables like kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, parsnips, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, and more.
• Vegetables are low in fat and full of fiber, just what the doctor ordered for a heart-healthy Mediterranean-type diet. They help you feel full longer because they are digested slowly and are great for intestinal health, too. They slow sugar absorption and gastric emptying.
• Orange and yellow vegetables have beta-carotene, which is essential for healthy hair, eyes, and skin. A full range of vitamins helps reduce inflammation that can cause aches and pains.
• Potassium and magnesium in a vegetable-rich soup like this help the body release excess fluid that causes fluid retention and swelling.

How To Make A Great Pot Of Minestrone Soup

Start by sautéing onion or leeks, garlic, and celery in a little olive oil until everything is tender, fragrant, and a little translucent. Then add water, a vegetable broth base or a packaged vegetable bouillon (more about that in a minute), and all the canned vegetables, carrots, pepper, spices, and kidney beans.

I prefer the Knorr brand vegetable bouillon base. They are not paying me to say so, but it's great! It comes in large cubes, but now I buy it in the restaurant-sized tub because it adds so much flavor to so many things I make.

The tub has a long shelf life and makes 11 gallons of broth. (Plenty to share!) Better Than Bouillon also makes a good paste-type vegetable base in a jar. Check the label for how much to use for two quarts.

Let it simmer for a while, and give all the ingredients a chance to get to know each other better. Add the pasta and zucchini 10 or 15 minutes before serving, and toss in the spinach with 5 minutes to go. The spinach takes almost no time to cook.

Minestrone can simmer on the stove longer, but if you want it on the table quickly, this is all the time you need. Toss a handful of shredded or shaved parmesan on top if you like! Serve it with plenty of crusty bread and maybe a big green salad for a wonderful meal perfect for cold days.

Here's a ridiculously easy bread you can make to go with it; start it the night before and bake it the day you make the soup. It costs pennies to make but looks like it came from a fancy bakery, and it takes no bread-making skills! Bellissimo!!

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Yield: 12 servings

Minestrone Soup

4.5 Stars (2 Reviews)

Print

A colorful, healthy, veggie-packed soup with pasta in a delicious tomato-ey vegetable broth.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, pressed or crushed
• 1 cup celery, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Two quarts water or vegetable bouillon (If you use water, add vegetable broth base to make 2 quarts. I prefer Knorr brand vegetable bouillon cubes or their bulk vegetable base in the restaurant tub. Better Than Bouillon also makes a good paste-type vegetable base.)
• 1 tsp dry oregano or more to taste
• 1 tsp dried basil or more to taste
• 1 tsp pepper or to taste
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes, approximately 15 ounces, do not drain
• 1 can French cut green beans, approximately 15 ounces, do not drain
• 1 can kidney beans, approximately 15 ounces, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup or more fresh spinach, chopped (I remove any large stems)
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup unpeeled zucchini, cut in half if large, and sliced thin
• 1 cup small shell pasta
• Grated or shredded fresh parmesan cheese for garnish if desired.

Instructions

1. Saute onion, garlic, and celery in olive oil until tender and fragrant.
2. Add water and vegetable broth base or vegetable bouillon cubes to make two quarts of broth. Refer to the label on the product for the amount you need to make the vegetable broth. You can also use packaged vegetable broth or bouillon.
3. Add the spices.
4. Add undrained petite diced tomatoes and green beans. Add drained and rinsed kidney beans and shredded carrots. Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Add pasta and zucchini and cook 8-10 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
6. Add chopped spinach and simmer for about 5 minutes.
7. Ladle into bowls and garnish with shredded or grated parmesan cheese if desired.

We live on soup for much of the winter because we love cooking once and eating two or three times. Cleanup is a breeze when you don't have to wash pots and pans.

Here are some of our favorite soup recipes; we hope you enjoy them!

Old-Fashioned Cabbage Soup With Potatoes and Sausage - Here's a hearty soup that you can make in less than an hour with simple ingredients. So packed with yummy flavors, this is a great comfort food!

Instant Pot Beef Noodle Soup - Tender beef, celery, and carrots combine with noodles in a rich, hearty beef broth. It's ready in about an hour!

Easy Lasagna Soup - This soup tastes just like lasagna with none of the fuss. You can have it on the table in about an hour!

If you liked this recipe, you are my people! So please share this post on your social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest if you enjoyed this recipe today. It would really tickle me, and I'd be ever so grateful; thank you! 

If you liked how this recipe turned out, I'd love it if you left a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review or dropped me a note in the comments! It really helps my little business connect with people who cook and eat like us. Good food, minimal fuss. Thanks! ❤❤

Love, GB (Betty Streff)

Real food. Real kitchen. Real easy.

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