Minestrone Soup – classic Italian soup. Seasonal vegetables, hearty beans and pasta in a rich tomato-herb broth. Serve it up with crusty bread and grated parmesan cheese. Easy vegetarian meal!
I’ve been making this clasic Minestrone Soup for more years than I can count. During the winter, I almost always some stashed in the freezer for a quick lunch or easy dinner on a busy weeknight.
The vegetables may change a bit depending on what’s in season, but the flavor is always spot on. Rich tomato broth with two kinds of beans – it’s a perfect balance of healthy and comfort.
I top my bowl with a blizzard of parmesan cheese alongside some crusty bread or breadsticks for a hearty meal.
Why I love this recipe:
- Packed with vegetables – perfect hearty cold weather meal.
- Traditional Italian Minestrone Soup tastes decadent but packed with nutrition.
- Freezes beautifully – I keep a batch frozen in single serve containers all winter.
- Similar to Olive Garden’s Minestrone, but much better homemade.
Ingredients needed to make Minestrone Soup:
- olive oil
- vegetables: yellow onion, celery, carrots, spinach, fresh or frozen green beans
- spices and herbs: salt, black pepper, garlic cloves, Italian parsley
- tomatoes: diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes,tomato paste
- liquids: dry red wine, chicken stock
- canned beans: kidney beans, garbanzo beans
- pasta: any small pasta works – like ditalini pasta or small elbow macaroni
- grated parmesan cheese for serving
What kind of beans are best for authentic Minestrone Soup?
- Check your pantry to see what you already. I use one light and one dark bean.
- White beans like cannellini beans, great northern beans or chickpeas, navy beans
- Red kidney beans (light or dark)
How to make Minestrone Soup:
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Drop in onion, celery and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally.
- Add minced garlic, tomato paste and dry Italian seasoning. Cook 2 minutes stirring often.
- Reduce heat, pour in wine, simmer 2 minutes letting wine reduce. Add diced tomatoes and their juices, crushed tomatoes and stock.
- Add drained and rinsed beans. Bring to a boil. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Simmer 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Next add spinach, green beans and pasta. Simmer 8-10 minutes until pasta is al dente.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve with grated parmesan and crusty bread.
Tips, subs and variations:
- If your parmesan cheese has a rind, cut a hunk off and add it to the broth for extra flavor. Remove rind before serving (it’ll look melty and gooey).
- Use chicken broth, bone broth, beef broth or vegetable broth.
- To add meat, use cooked ground beef, italian sausage or even chicken.
- Add or swap vegetables – grated zucchini, bell peppers, squash – even leftover vegetables.
- Include extra fresh herbs like oregano or fresh basil just before serving.
What to eat with Minestrone Soup (easy side dishes):
Focaccia Bread – Super easy fresh baked in under 30 minutes from pizza dough! Light, airy seasoned with olive oil, fresh rosemary and flaky sea salt.
Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks – way better than the local pizzeria! Soft bread with a crispy bottom brushed with garlic-parm butter and gooey melted cheese.
Antipasto Salad – fresh chopped romaine lettuce, salami, ham, provolone cheese, summer tomatoes, artichoke hearts, crispy chickpeas. Use my homemade dressing or your favorite store bought.
Storage, freezing and reheating:
Cool soup completely then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge up to 3 days.
Reheat in a saucepan on the stove or in the microwave.
To freeze this soup, I recommend storing in single-serve, (16-20 ounces) freezer-safe containers. Thaw and reheat as above. The flavor of frozen soup keeps up to 3 months.
Tips for making Minestrone Soup:
Taste and adjust salt before serving: Sometimes you need a dash more to elevate all the flavors.
Simmer: Bring the soup to a full boil then reduce heat and simmer so vegetables won’t be mushy.
Adding pasta: Cook pasta direclty in the soup so it takes on the flavor of the broth.
More easy Italian recipes:
Slow Cooker Lasagna (no boiling noodles)
Enjoy this delicious soup recipe!
Did you make this recipe?
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Minestrone Soup – authentic Italian recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 large carrots sliced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup dry red wine cabernet, merlot, pinot noir – not sweet wine
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes and the juices
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 15 ounce canned chickpeas
- 15 ounce canned dark red kidney beans
- 2 cups fresh spinach rough chopped
- 1 cup green beans fresh or frozen cut in bite size pieces
- 1/2 cup small pasta ditalini, small elbow, etc
- 3 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley chopped
- fresh parmesan cheese and its rind if yours has one
Instructions
- Add olive oil, onion, celery and carrots to a soup pot then season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally.
- Add minced garlic, tomato paste and dry Italian seasoning. Cook 2 minutes stirring often. Reduce heat, pour in wine and simmer 2 minutes letting the wine reduce.
- Pour in diced tomatoes (and their juices), crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. Drain chickpeas and drain and rinse kidney beans and stir into the broth. If your parmesan cheese came with a rind, cut it off and add it to the broth as well.
- Increase the heat, bring to a boil, season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ tsp pepper then reduce the heat cover and simmer 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add chopped spinach, green beans cut in bite size pieces and pasta Continue simmering 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Remove any of the remaining rind (it will look like a cheesy gooey blob) then stir in chopped parsley. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper. Remember this is a big pot of soup so season generously.
- Serve hot with fresh grated parmesan cheese and crusty bread.