Minestrone soup is so hearty it can stand on its own as the main dish! I fell in love with minestrone at the Olive Garden, so this is a pretty darn close attempt at copying the classic Italian soup.
If you want a few more Olive garden Copycats, here is the Best Alfredo Sauce and Zuppa Toscana recipe.
Minestrone soup is not just tasty, it’s healthy as well! The delicious tomato-y broth is chock-full of vegetables and beans. It’s the perfect dish to serve to kids who are finicky with eating produce.
Made in one-pot, healthy minestrone is a great option for a quick weeknight dinner as the weather starts to cool off and the kids gear up to go back to school. Sometimes knowing that I will have a quick clean-up is enough to motivate me to make a homemade dinner… just sayin’.
What is Minestrone Soup?
Minestrone is an Italian soup known for its thick tomato-based broth. It can be made with pasta or rice, and typically contains carrots, tomato chunks, kidney beans, celery, onions and potatoes. However, the creation of this soup came from a need to use up leftover vegetables. So, feel free to use any veggies that are taking up space in your refrigerator. Or, alter the recipe to whatever is fresh and in season. Seriously, you can’t go wrong!
Tips for Minestrone Soup
- Make Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup – Have gluten allergy? No problem! Substitute the pasta for wild or white rice.
- Make Minestrone Soup Spicy – Like it spicy? Add some red pepper flakes to your minestrone for the perfect touch of heat.
- Make Minestrone Soup Vegan – Easily make your minestrone vegan by using egg-free noodles (or rice!) and a vegetable-based broth. One of my new favorite products is Better Than Bouillon’s No Beef Base broth concentrate.
- Switch up the Vegetables You Use – Minestrone is extremely versatile. If you don’t have the exact ingredients this recipe calls for, don’t worry! You can use red or yellow zucchini, sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower… I mean, anything! The broth compliments any vegetable. Use what you have and don’t let anything go to waste.
- Pasta Make Broth Disappear! – Pasta are notorious for sucking up liquid. As your leftover minestrone sits in the fridge, you may notice that your Pasta are slowly absorbing your broth. If this is a problem for you, add more broth to the soup.
Storing Minestrone Soup
- Keeping Minestrone Soup Fresh – Store your minestrone soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. The kicker? Minestrone gets tastier as it marinates in the fridge. That’s right…each bowl you reheat will taste richer and richer.
- Freezing Minestrone Soup – You probably know by now that I am the queen of having frozen, homemade food on hand. However, I would discourage you from freezing minestrone. The reason is that this soup contains fresh vegetables.
Serving the Minestrone Soup
Some freshly grated parmesan cheese is the perfect garnish for minestrone. After all, that’s what they do at Olive Garden! It wouldn’t hurt to add some chopped basil or cracked pepper to the mix.
Like I said before, minestrone is a stand-alone kind of soup. However, there is nothing like sopping up that hearty broth with nice piece of bread. Try making my Parmesan Garlic Flatbread Recipe or No Knead Bread.
Other Soup Recipes to Make
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots (diced into small cubes)
- 2 small zucchinis (diced into small cubes)
- 1/2 large onion (diced into small cubes)
- 6 celery ribs (diced into small cubes)
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 15 oz canned great Northen beans (drained)
- 15 oz canned Kidney beans (drained)
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp dry basil
- 1/2 cup pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat the pot with olive oil, add zucchini, carrots, celery and onions. Sautee for about 10 minutes, until vegetables soften.
- To the pot, add canned diced tomatoes. Season with Italian seasoning and dry basil.
- Add vegetable broth, pasta, kidney and Great Northen beans. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Depending on the thickness of the soup, you can add 2 more cups of water to the mix.
- Press garlic into the mixture and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Serve while the minestrone soup is still warm.
Can I make this in an Instantpot?
Hi Maria, I’ve never tried it, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. It already cooks pretty quickly without an Instant Pot—are you trying to speed up the process?
Thinking about making this tonight, however I'm short zucchini and/or squash. Any good suggestions, or it will it still come out just as good if I omit zucchini?
Hey, Tina! You could just add a little bit more of all the other veggies and beans to compensate. I think most of the flavor will be largely the same! Hope it works out!
Would like to add meat to this recipe, what do you suggest.
Hey Cheryll, Love that idea! Italian sausage is my favorite here, but ground beef or chicken would work too. Let me know what you end up using!
I use ground turkey and my family loves it!!
Love hearing this feedback! Thanks for sharing!
This soup is wayy better than Olive Garden’s!! The broth is so flavorful and yummy. The vegetables turned out tender, but not mushy. The veggie to bean ratio was golden. With all the veggies and beans and absolutely no sacrifice in flavor, this recipe is definitely going to be a new staple for me.
What a raving review, Carol! Thanks so much! Enjoy your soup! 🙂
I love this soup recipe for a base recipe to which I add ground mild italian sausage for even more flavor.
Linda, that sounds like a DELICIOUS addition!
What is the amount per serving?
Hi Melissa, a serving size of minestrone soup is roughly 1.5 cups. Enjoy!
Is the measurement the same substituting rice for pasta?
Yes! You can use the same measurement. I usually swap the pasta for about 1/2 cup of uncooked rice, and it works perfectly in this soup.
Thank you ☺️ I’m making this soup for Christmas Eve dinner.
I follow the recipe exactly and let it simmer for at least two hours to bring out the flavor, but it was very bland.
Mine was also VERY bland, I saved it by adding a boat load of salt and pepper to taste, an extra teaspoon of oregano, the celery leaves off my celery and parmesan cheese. Now it tastes more like Olive Garden!
Hi Emily, what brand of canned diced tomatoes did you use? And which Italian seasoning brand? I’m trying to understand where the issue might be coming from because it really shouldn’t be bland. Thank you so much for your time and feedback!
Hello Lynn! I'm sorry it turned out too bland for your taste. I would suggest adding more broth concentrate, salt, or even lemon juice to bring out more flavor. Hope this helps!
Hello, could I make this in the crockpot and add the pasta to the crockpot 20 minutes before serving? I would love to come home to this ready to go!
Hi Julie! I haven't tried making this soup in the crockpot myself, but a few readers have mentioned they have and it worked well for them! A few tips they've shared is to sauté the zucchini, carrots, celery, and onions and then add them into the crockpot with everything else (except for the pasta!). Add the pasta towards the end of cooking (about 30 minutes). Most people have mentioned to cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. Let me know if it works out!
I have a question about the canned beans. Should I drain them or add the aquafaba to the soup? Can’t wait to make it!
Hi Kari! I typically always drain the beans unless specified otherwise! Enjoy!
Another cold, rainy day. Another pot of this minestrone. It is 100% spot on to Olive Garden's. Bought some delicious garlic bread sticks to go with and shaving some fresh parm and cracked black pepper on top. It's in my regular rotation. Well done!
Cold rainy days are hard...but I'm glad this minestrone hits the spot! Keep enjoying it and thanks for leaving a comment, Martin! Enjoy!
I'm not a fan of Celery. What would be a good substitute for half (or more) of the 6 ribs called for?
Hi Crystal! If you wnt to substitute the celery for something that will give a similar flavor, you could try fennel, leeks, or green bell pepper. You can also try to completely omit the celery and just add more of the other vegetables (zucchini, carrots, tomatoes). I think this soup will be very forgiving!
How many does this feed
Hi Timothy! This recipe feeds about 10 people. Enjoy 🙂
Is it really 6 stalks of celery? Or 6 ribs?
Oh, yes, Peggy! Thanks for catching that! It is definitely 6 ribs. This is my bilingual-ness is showing through!
Delicious. I added some crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 chopped jalapeño, 2 Bay leaves, and some frozen mixed pepper strips. I didn't have kidney beans so a put a can of cannelini beans and a can of chicken peas.
Great substitutes, Eleni! I really love it, especially the chopped jalapeños. That would taste awesome!
Can this be made a day ahead? Would you suggest leaving out the pasta and adding just before serving or will it be ok made a day prior?
It is said that all soups taste better after aging for a day. Chili, ham and bean, vegetable, ect. There's a blending of flavors that take place overnight.
Re-warming and serving in a crockpot would be very simple.
Jw
Hi Kimberley. Your instincts are spot on. You can make the soup ahead of time, but it would be best to add the pasta until just before serving or they'll get mushy and soggy.
This is a great recipe. It is so close I can not tell the difference. I will definitely make this one again. Thank you.
Yay! Thanks for letting me know you loved it, Mae! Enjoy 🙂
You state it’s 152 calories, but don’t indicate serving size. What is the serving size?
Hi Andrea! A serving is about 1.5 cups. Hope this helps!
Are we cooking the pasta before adding or does the pasta cook in the soup? Not clear in recipe?
Hi Sandy! You do not need to cook the pasta prior to putting it into the soup! The soup simmers long enough after the pasta is added in that it cooks all together!
I am planning to make this recipe this weekend. I would like to add some chicken for protein (which I am chronically low)
Has anyone done this with added protein?
We love to add ground turkey!
Hi Annette! I think adding chicken or any other protein would be a great addition! I've had readers report adding shredded chicken. You're lucky cause this soup has tons of beans too which are another great source of protein! Hope you enjoy your soup!
This was easy to make and tasted fantastic! Be sure to use good quality diced tomatoes, it does make a difference. I did a full video review on my YouTube channel, The Real Deal Recipe Reviews, where I always try to make recipes as written and give honest reviews and opinions. This soup deserves 1,000 stars!
Hi, Daryl! You're so kind to pick one of my recipes to review — and that it tasted great in your opinion! Thanks for the "1,000 stars!" As for the tomato sauce — I totally agree with you. It's crazy how the quality of canned tomatoes can really make or break a recipe.
Yum!! I followed recipe exactly, including the 2 cups water EXCEPT I added 1 cup of pasta instead of 1/2. It was perfectly like Olive Garden’s!!
Oh great, Dawn! Sometimes that extra ½ cup is exactly what's needed! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Please don't call them "noodles" - it's likely to confuse beginner cooks.
"Pasta" is what's put into Minestrone soup - including Olive Garden's.
Hi JR, Thats a great point. I will make a change to the recipe. Thanks for that feedback 🙂
Do you drain tomatoes?
Hi, no, add all the tomato juice too. Enjoy
This was so easy and delicious! We loved it.
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it — isn’t it the best when something easy turns out so delicious? Thanks for sharing!
I have not made this yet, but looking forward to it. I just have one question it calls for noodles. I'm sure any pasta will do. I would never think noodles.So as my husband would say Pasta is Pasta.
You're correct. Minestrone soup does not have "noodles" - only pasta.
Hey! I use elbows but you can use any type that you may have on hand. As long as they arent too large. Hope you love the recipe and come back with feedback! 🙂
I am making this today, I will be updating throughout...if that's ok!
I know it's gonna b great! Talk soon, time to go shopping!!!
Love to hear all the updates. Keep us posted!
Let's hope that your minestrone is better than Olive Garden. I'm sure it is.
I have found that Olive Garden's variation is way too 'tomato' strong, very bitter and lacks real minestrone flavor.
I hope so, Cliff! Come back and let me know how it is! 😀
Cliff, Strong and bitter? It always tastes sweet to me.
I always thought that it was the sweetness from the tomatoes.
Or maybe they put a little sugar in to calm down the acid.
Love this soup. My husband can't get enough. I serve it with garlic bread sticks or thick crusty bread. Some of my guests like to add a little sour cream. To me it doesn't need anything. I love it just the way it is.
So glad to hear you and your husband love it! Garlic breadsticks or crusty bread are the perfect pairings with soup!
I made this everyone liked it. I will try homemade alfredo sauce next thank you.
That’s awesome to hear—so glad everyone liked it! Homemade Alfredo sauce is a great next step—super creamy and surprisingly easy to make. Let me know how it turns out!