This veggie-packed, herby noodle dish is the classic minestrone soup you love with simple ingredients and flavors, perfect with some grated parmesan on top!
Don't let the ingredients list intimidate you! It's all hearty vegetables and flavorful herbs with beans, broth, and noodles to even it out. It's a comforting soup that's super easy to make any night of the week.
Classic Minestrone Soup
Have you had minestrone before? It's a classic Italian soup that is chock-full of colorful veggies, hearty beans, yummy herbs, and the tastiest finale ever: noodles! So it's definitely filling and filled with flavor, but it's also super healthy thanks to all that veggie power loaded into it. I love a classic minestrone on cool evenings when all you want is a big bowl of something warm and homemade.
It comes together quickly enough, and it's one of those recipes that you can amend the ingredient list as you go based on what you have in your fridge and pantry. It's super flexible; just use what you like and have on hand and you'll be good to go! It's good enough to eat solo (and get seconds), or pair it with a simple side salad and a piece of crusty, rustic bread, perfect for dipping. A little sprinkle on parmesan on top, and bon appetit! You'll be in soup heaven.
What is minestrone soup?
Minestrone soup is a thick Italian soup made with a bunch of veggies, beans, and usually either rice or pasta (or sometimes both!). There's not one set recipe for minestrone because it's sort of one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink recipes, which is great news for easy dinners and clearing out the pantry!
Where does minestrone soup come from?
Minestrone originated in Italy. The name literally means "big soup" and that is the perfect description of it! It's thick, rich, hearty, and full of great flavors and bunches of fresh ingredients.
What vegetables are in this minestrone soup recipe?
Common vegetables in a classic minestrone include onions, celery, carrots, and tomatoes, but you can throw in anything you like and have around! Potatoes, squash, zucchini, and green beans are all delicious additions. This is a great soup to use what you like, add veggies that are in season, and clean out the vegetable drawer with. I've never made a batch of minestrone soup that I didn't like and I basically make it different every time I make it.
What spices do you put in minestrone soup?
Minestrone is definitely a herbacious soup and has garlic, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper in it to give it that classic Italian flavor!
Can you make minestrone soup in the instant pot?
You can! Set it to the high saute setting and add the olive oil, onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until onion is tender. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, oregano, and thyme, and stir for another 1 minute. Stir in vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, water, mixed seasonal veggies, salt, bay leaves, pepper, pasta, and beans, and select the manual setting. Adjust pressure to high and set timer for 5 minutes. After it's finished cooking, quick-release the pressure. Stir in the spinach or kale and season with salt and pepper to taste! Serve hot with fresh grated parmesan on top.
Can you make minestrone soup in the crock pot?
Minestrone in the slow cooker is the easiest thing ever! Simply add all the ingredients to the crock pot, minus the spinach or kale, and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. Stir in the spinach or kale before serving -- it wilts quickly so it doesn't need to cook along with everything else!
Why is this the best minestrone soup?
This minestrone is so incredible because it's totally flexible. The ingredients listed below make it incredible, but you can also play with it a bit and I promise you won't mess it up! Use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock if you want, or feel free to use any variety of vegetables that you like! Plus, it's a one-pot soup which makes prep and clean-up super simple. I think being able to make a recipe to your liking is an important aspect of making it "the best". You know what YOU like!
Can you freeze minestrones soup?
Absolutely! Minestrone soup is a great freezer item. Store in airtight, freezer-safe containers after it's completely cooled, and freeze for up to 4 months. To thaw, place container in the fridge overnight and reheat the soup in a large stock pot over medium heat until warmed through when ready to serve.
Minestrone soup variations:
You can really and truly add what you like and have to minestrone! Onion, carrot, celery, and tomatoes are important, but as for the other veggies, you can use all kinds: yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, green beans, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or anything else you love. Feel free to use either chicken or vegetable stock as the base. You can also use any sort of white bean you like or have, and you can use shell pasta, orecchiette, elbow pasta, or rice for the starch!
What kind of pasta do you use in minestrone soup?
I prefer using either shell pasta, orecchiette, or elbow pasta in minestrone soup, but you can also use rice if you like!
Can you add meat to minestrone soup?
Traditional minestrone soup is not made with meat, but if you want to up the protein and make the soup even heartier, feel free to brown some ground beef, turkey, or pork when you're sautéing the onion, carrots, and celery!
More soup recipes you will love:
- Homemade Butternut Squash
- Easy Baked Potato Chowder
- Healthy White Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
If you’ve tried this Easy Minestrone soup recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation.
Print
Classic Minestrone Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 10-12 1x
Description
This veggie-packed, herby noodle dish is the classic minestrone soup you love with simple ingredients and flavors, perfect with some grated parmesan on top!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium ribs celery, chopped
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 large can diced tomatoes, with the liquid (28 ounces)
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chopped mixed seasonal vegetables (potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans and/or peas all work)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup small shell pasta, orecchiette, or elbow macaroni
- 1 can Great Northern beans or cannellini beans (15 ounces), rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups home cooked beans
- 2 cups baby spinach or chopped kale
- Additional salt and pepper, to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for garnishing
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and cook until the onions are tender, about 8 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.
- Add the garlic, oregano, and thyme, and stir to combine. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, and water, and stir to combine.
- Add the mixed vegetables, salt, and bay leaves, and stir to combine.
- Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until all the vegetables are tender (if I’m using potatoes or fresh green beans, I like to throw them in first because they take longer to cook, and I’ll then add other tender vegetables like zucchini and beans after 15 minutes of cook time).
- Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the pasta and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring often so that the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beans and spinach or kale, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot with grated parmesan on top if you desire.
Notes
- So flexible! Use what you like and what you have, it's going to be great!
- Feel free to use chicken stock instead of vegetable if that's what you have on hand.
- If using gluten free pasta, just be sure to not over cook it (it tends to fall apart when over cooked).
- Please see the post on instructions for how to make this in the Instant Pot AND in the slow cooker.
- This recipe makes a large batch, feel free to make a half batch or plan on sharing with a friend or saving half in the freezer for a later date if you don't need as much.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: minetstrone soup, easy minestrone soup recipe, vegetable soup recipe, vegetarian soup recipe, how to make minestrone soup
Sides to go with all your favorite soups:
- The Best Homemade Cornbread Recipe
- The Best Butter Biscuits
- My Favorite Go-To Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Parmesan Focaccia Bread
- Mom’s Easy French Bread Recipe
- Mom’s Jumbo Dinner Rolls
- Easy Bread Sticks Recipe
Minestrone soup is a classic Italian warming and thick soup full of veggies and comforting flavors, and it's an easy one-pot meal that anyone can make!
Lalita Howell
A classic favorite 🤩
my family loved it
★★★★★
Tiffany
This is a great recipe! I love that it can work with different veggies or pasta. The flavors are so good.
★★★★
Tiffany Saboo
Minestrone is always one of my favorite soups and this one did not disappoint! So versatile with whatever’s veggies you have on hand! I used zucchini, green beans, fire roasted corn, and green peas.
★★★★★
Carly
Really enjoyed this one, topped with lime!!
Kristin
Hearty and delicious!
★★★★★
LeAnn
The best milestone soup I've tasted, better than what I have had at any restaurant. I used spiral chickpea noodles since that's what I had on hand, next time I will make sure I use a smaller noodle since the larger ones absorbed a lot of the extra juices.
It made so much soup I was able to share it with my neighbors across the street from me. I ate my portion and for got to take a photo.
#day7soupchallange
★★★★★
Janet Slonneger
My whole family ate it up! Fantastic!
★★★★
Brittany Sinclair
I absolutely loved this soup and will definitely be making it again! I love how much it made, how easy it was and how flexible the recipe can be!
★★★★★
Debb Walker
This was super delicious soup and family loved it. Added more broth as liked it with more soupy texture than stew. Topped with Parmesan cheese and served with naan bread and was big hit!
★★★★★
Tom
I added more liquid and used GF noodles. Will definitely make this again as it is packed full of veggies and i also ground beef which made a single bowl meal.
★★★★★
Judy Nolte
Thank you for including Instant Pot directions. Good classic recipe that makes it easy to get your veggies in for the day. I left out the bay leaves and reduced the amount of tomatoes to suit our personal tastes and it came out great.
★★★★★
Simone Michals
I’m giving this soup a 4 as I usually can never eat enough of Minestrone Soup. The oregano seemed to overpowered the flavor from all the yummy veggies. I’ll try it again with far less oregano.
★★★★
Julie Lopez
Ww
★★★★
Dajeune
Loved the soup.
★★★★
Janet
Haven't had Minestrone soup much, but I enjoyed what I made. Only thing was I made earlier in the day and by the time I ate the pasta had absorb half the liquid. Just me, but it's still a weird combination to mix beans and pasta.
★★★★
Cynthia
Delicious and filling soup. Easy to make and will make it again.
★★★★★
Meryl
I loved this soup and wouldn’t change a thing.
F Murphy
As a coeliac, this is one of those dishes that I had not tried yet (as the ones served in restaurants are (due to the pasta) never gluten free, so was happy to see it on the challenge list! Excited to try it, it was great: easy to make, hearty and filling! I particularly liked the fact that there were so many different ingredients as it made eating it fun; 4 out of 5. Modifications wise, as I used vegetable stock cubes, I did not add the salt and I used a butternut squash instead of a yellow squash (never seen one sold over here) which worked great, just added a longer cooking time, so I added 2 more cups of water. I topped it with RTY Vegan Parmesan, which added a nice cheesy touch!
★★★★
Clark
Minestrone is one of my favorite soups but I've never had the courage to make it at home. This recipe is simply fantastic. It is easy to make and tastes better than any restaurant or store bought version I have ever had. Thanks for the Recipe!
★★★★★
Dani
The pesto really thickened the soup and added tasty flavors. Baking rustic Italian bread to dip in the soup was a delicious addition.
★★★★