Classic Minestrone Soup

by Sabrina Snyder

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18 Comments

5 from 9 votes
8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
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Classic Minestrone Soup is a hearty, comforting meal that has it all! Ready in under 30 minutes and uses one pot! Great for a busy weeknight!

I have the ultimate line up of Soups to keep you full and warm this winter season. This Classic Minestrone will not disappoint but you should also try my Pasta e Fagioli and Ultimate Slow Cooker Beef Stew which are some of my other favorites!

pasta and veggie soup
pot of soup collage with ladle taking a scoop of soup
Recipe Snapshot

Why You’ll Love This Soup?

  • Easily prepped and easy to make this soup is ready for the family to enjoy in less than 30 minutes.
  • This soup is great to use up any vegetables that you have from the week, while you’re creating a hearty, homemade meal the whole family will love.

Sabrina’s Classic Minestrone Soup Recipe

Minestrone Soup, is the cousin to Vegetable Soup. This hearty soup adds pasta to make it a bit more filling while still keeping it light with all the veggies. I love making this on weekdays when everyone is busy and I just need something quick to feed my family, but still want filling and satisfying. Perfect to serve during the Fall and Winter months!

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Classic Minestrone Soup Recipe

Classic Minestrone Soup is a hearty, comforting meal that has it all! Ready in under 30 minutes and uses one pot! Great for a busy weeknight!
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Author Sabrina Snyder
pasta and veggie soup
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion , diced
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 2 stalks celery , sliced thinly
  • 1 carrot , diced
  • 1 cup green beans , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 4 vine tomatoes , chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 15 ounces kidney beans
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup elbow pasta
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese , grated

Instructions

  • Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven on medium heat with the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and cook for 5-6 minutes until translucent.
  • Add in the green beans, tomatoes, salt and pepper, oregano, basil, crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, chicken broth and pasta and bring to a boil, cooking for 8 minutes until the pasta is tender before serving with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 1221mg | Potassium: 802mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2130IU | Vitamin C: 29.9mg | Calcium: 224mg | Iron: 3.5mg

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Note from Sabrina

I like to use fresh or frozen green beans instead of canned, to maintain the flavor and texture of the veggies. Canned is fine if that is all you have, but add them in at the very end so they don’t go soggy. Additionally, I like to simmer this minestrone with a Parmesan rind for a deeper savory flavor in the broth.

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About this Recipe

Classic Minestrone Soup is an Italian comfort food full of veggies, herbs, pasta, and Parmesan cheese. This soup is my go-to when I have a lot of vegetables to use up from the week, and I even make this with a salad for lunch some days. Plus it’s only one pot, so cleanup is quick and easy! Serve it with extra Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves on top, along with Garlic Bread on the side.

Can this be made ahead of time?

This good-for-you Minestrone Soup recipe is perfect for making ahead and freezing. If you’re going to do this, I recommend leaving out the pasta and the Parmesan. Then when you’re ready, reheat on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the pasta and heat until cooked through, then stir in Parmesan and serve.

Serving Ideas

This soup pairs perfectly with a my Classic Wedge Salad and some Crusty Garlic Herb Bread. This soup would also make a great starter to serve before Lemon Chicken and Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes. A perfect end to this meal would be making a batch of my Peanut Butter Cookies.

How to Store

  • Store: Soup with last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
  • Reheat: Then when you’re ready, reheat on the stovetop over medium heat until it is warmed throughout.
  • Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this soup if you have added the noodles or Parmesan.

Alternative Cooking Techniques

Instant Pot Method

  • Use the sauté function to soften the onions with seasoning and extra virgin olive oil.
  • Add all other ingredients (except Parmesan), then close the lid and seal the pressure valve.
  • Set the pot in manual mode for 5 minutes, then allow pressure to release naturally.
  • Top with Parmesan and serve.

Slow Cooker Method

  • Add all of your minestrone ingredients (except pasta and Parmesan) to the slow cooker, stirring to combine.
  • Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.
  • When there’s 20 minutes left in the total time, stir in the pasta and Parmesan.
  • The soup is ready when the pasta is al dente.

Variations

  • Vegetables: Use whatever is in season in your area, or anything you’re trying to use up in the fridge. Zucchini, Yellow squash, Parsnips, Chickpeas or white beans, Potatoes, Red bell pepper, and leafy greens like spinach or kale would all work well in this recipe.
  • Tomatoes: You can substitute chopped tomatoes on the vine with a can of diced tomatoes if that’s what you have on hand. Don’t worry about draining the diced tomatoes.
  • Protein: You can add meat for more protein, like leftover Rotisserie Chicken or ground beef.
  • Spicy: Make this a spicy soup by adding ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes.
  • Vegetarian: You can easily make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken, and making sure to use vegetarian-standard Parmesan cheese.
  • Gluten Free: Make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free pasta and gluten free broth.
  • Heartier Soup: If you want a thicker soup add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste and stir until well combined. You can add another ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, or more pasta to add more bulk to the minestrone. Add an additional can of kidney beans that you’ve mashed to the soup.

More Tasty Soup Recipes

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Photos used in previous posts:

Easy Minestrone Soup
close up of ladle of soup
ladle taking soup from pot

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. This is the first time I have ever come across this site and I am blown away by the depth of coverage just on minestrone soup. I will 100% be using this site as my go to site of every page/recipe is as clear and knowledgeable as this. Kudos.

    Reply

    2. My daughter n law made this soup a few days ago. It was so delicious I could not stop eating it. Now I am trying my luck making it.

      Reply

  2. I made this recipe last night and it was fantastic! Not only was it easy to make the left overs we’re just as good. My husband raved over how good this soup was.

    Reply