Classic Minestrone Soup

Classic Minestrone Soup is a ONE POT recipe made with cut up vegetables, seasoned broth, elbow pasta, and grated parmesan cheese, ready in under 30 minutes!

It’s the dead of winter and all the warm comforting meals of Ultimate Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Classic Beef Chili and Ultimate Slow Cooker Beef Stew are popular on our site right now, but we’re looking for a lighter vegetarian option.

Enter minestrone soup, the pasta cousin to Vegetable Soup.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE SOUP

Classic Minestrone Soup is an Italian comfort food full of veggies, herbs, pasta, and parmesan cheese. I love making this on weekdays when everyone is busy and we just need something quick, but still want filling and satisfying.

Plus it’s only one pot, so cleanup is quick and easy!

This easy minestrone 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.

Serve minestrone with extra parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves on top, along with garlic bread on the side.

HOW TO THICKEN MINESTRONE SOUP

If you want a thicker soup add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste and stir until well combined. You can also add another ½ cup of parmesan cheese, or more pasta to add more bulk to the minestrone.

You can also just add an additional can of kidney beans that you’ve mashed to the soup.

HOW TO MAKE MINESTRONE SOUP IN AN INSTANT POT

• 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.

HOW TO MAKE MINESTRONE SOUP IN THE SLOW COOKER

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.

HOW TO STORE MINESTRONE SOUP

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.

Leftover minestrone soup with last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

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MORE CLASSIC SOUP RECIPES

• Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup
• Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup
• Easy Creamy Tomato Soup
• Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
• Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ADD TO MINESTRONE SOUP?

Minestrone is traditionally a vegetable soup, which means you can add other veggies to this if you want to. Use whatever is in season in your area, or anything you’re trying to use up in the fridge. Here are some suggestions that would work well with this minestrone soup recipe.

• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Parsnips
• Chickpeas or white beans
• Potatoes
• Red bell pepper
• Leafy greens like spinach or kale

TIPS FOR MAKING MINESTRONE SOUP

• This soup pairs perfectly with a salad like my classic wedge salad.
• You can add meat for more protein, like leftover rotisserie chicken or ground beef.
• Simmer this minestrone with a parmesan rind for a deeper savory flavor in the broth.
• Make this a spicy minestrone by adding ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes.
• You can easily make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken, and making sure to use vegetarian-standard parmesan cheese.
• 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.
• Make this minestrone gluten free by using gluten free pasta and gluten free broth.
• I prefer to use fresh or frozen green beans instead of canned, to maintain the flavor and texture of the veggies.

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Classic Minestrone Soup

Classic Minestrone Soup is a ONE POT recipe made with cut up vegetables, seasoned broth, elbow pasta, and grated parmesan cheese, ready in under 30 minutes!

Yield 8 servings

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Author Sabrina Snyder

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 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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