This easy one-pot Minestrone Soup delivers healthy, wholesome comfort in every bowl!
Beans, fresh veggies, and pasta are simmered in a savory broth and topped with parmesan cheese.
It’s the ultimate homemade soup, perfect to warm you up on a chilly day!
What is Minestrone Soup?
This Italian classic soup is chock full of veggies, beans, and pasta or rice, slow-cooked in a tomato-based broth. It’s a simple slow cooker meal that never fails to satisfy even the hungriest of appetites!
- We like Olive Garden minestrone soup, but we love the flavor of this homemade version.
- Budget-friendly minestrone soup is perfect for large families and gatherings.
- Follow the recipe below or use this recipe to enjoy leftover beans, veggies, or pasta.
- Batch cooking fave! This recipe is perfect for doubling up to enjoy all week or to freeze for future meals!
Ingredients in Minestrone Soup
Vegetables – Homemade Minestrone is all about the veggies! I use onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and spinach. You can add in green beans, zucchini, or kale. If time is short, simply toss in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables!
Beans – Fiber-filled beans like red kidneys, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, or any combination can be used. This recipe uses canned beans, be sure to drain and rinse them before using.
Broth – For a purely vegetarian soup, switch out the chicken broth for vegetable broth. Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes with green chiles and seasonings) can be used instead of canned tomatoes for a little spicy kick.
Pasta – Smaller pasta shapes fit perfectly with the beans and veggies. Try ditalini, shells, small elbow macaroni, or orzo.
Variations – Make it meaty and add cooked chicken, ground turkey, Italian sausage, or meatballs. For a thicker soup, blend one cup of the soup in Step 3 and return it to the pot.
How to Make Minestrone Soup
- Cook carrots, celery, and onion in oil until softened. Add garlic and seasonings.
- Add remaining ingredients (except pasta and parmesan) and cook until carrots are tender. Stir in pasta and cook until pasta is done. Stir in spinach.
- Serve garnished with parmesan cheese.
Tips for Storing
- Keep leftover Minestrone in a covered container for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stove.
- Freeze portions in zippered bags for up to 8 weeks. Thaw in a pot on low heat until ready to serve. Add fresh pasta, if desired.
- If you’re planning for leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl individually. This ensures the pasta stays firm!
- If cooking the pasta separately, be sure to salt the pasta water or cook it in broth for the best flavor.
Savory and Satisfying Soups
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup – a classic fave
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup – a complete meal in a bowl
- Turkey Tetrazzini Soup – rich & creamy
Did your family love this Minestrone Soup? Leave us a comment and a rating below!
Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 large carrots finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- ½ medium onion finely diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
- 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 15 oz canned red kidney beans rinsed (about 2 cups)
- 1 ½ cups Rotini pasta dry
- 2 cups fresh spinach chopped
- shredded or grated Parmesan for garnish, optional
- thinly sliced fresh basil leaves for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, cook and stir the oil, carrots, celery, and onion over medium-high heat until the onion has softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, and beans. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until carrots are tender.
- Add the pasta, stir, and cover. Let the soup simmer covered for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and let sit for 2 minutes.
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with Parmesan cheese for serving.
Notes
- You can mix and match your veggies as you wish. Keep it meatless or add in your own favorite protein like cooked Italian sausage.
- This is a good soup for using up leftover veggies or, if time is short, use mixed frozen vegetables.
- Rinse canned beans in cold water to rinse off any preservatives and extra sodium.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine American, Italian
Diet Vegetarian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Made it, added ground beef, and loved it!!!
Made this recipe in my slow cooker, and it was delicious! I didn’t add or take away to the recipe, and it was wonderful as written. I like that it’s something I can tinker each time I make it. Might add Italian sausage and switch the pasta to orzo. It’s a great recipe! Thanks for a good Sunday dinner!
I like the recipe. I would hold out the spinach as I dont eat it. All of my spices/herbs are home grown in my Kitchen/DR so thats a bonus with all fresh rather than store bought. I also grow cherry tomatoes in house so that will also be fresh. Add some corn, green beans, some peas & some home made bread & Im set for the weekend. I ave many of your recipes & have loved them all. TY for sharing.
I really want to try this wicked looking recipe. Just wondering why you would even bother doing this in a “slow cooker” if it only takes 30 minutes of cooking time? Don’t mean to sound like a smart a$$ but, what am I missing here ?
I hope you enjoy it Ron! Great question. Sometimes it’s nice to come home to a hot and ready meal after a long day or at the end of a busy day. When my kids were younger, we’d get home from practice or lessons around 6 pm, so it was nice just to be able to ladle into bowls and enjoy since it was late for them.
Delicious! My husband said my most flavorful soup recipe. I added browned chicken sausage. Thanks for the tasty new recipe.
Delicious!! I added zucchini and pasta at the same time and added some andouille sausage for a little kick and it was amazing, everyone loved it!! Love your recipes, definitely a keeper!! Thank you:)
O My God do you have some great recipes. The Banoffee Pie is to die for. I have tried many of your recipes and some I’ve not heard of and they are killers. Love them. Will keep trying and eating what you have posted. Thanks for letting us use them!!
We love the Banoffee Pie too! So happy you are enjoying them too!
It was a cool day today so I thought I’d try your minnestrone soup recipe- quick & easy! The best part-it was delicious. Thankyou for sharing!
You’re welcome Dana!
This recipe is outstanding! I made it exactly as listed above and am thrilled to find something this good!
Fantastic soup! Made one change only, added 1lb. of diced Turkey Italian sausage and omitted the pasta, as I was serving it with the delicious ham sliders, recipe from this website. I must say the left overs were yummy too. This will be in rotation in my kitchen.
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes you share, love them.
Those sound like delicious substitutions Ferryal, thanks for sharing!
Absolutely gorgeous xx
Thank you Angie, so glad you loved the recipe!
This is one of the best Minestrone soups I’ve ever tasted and I can’t believe how easy it was! As soon as I tasted it I texted the recipe to two friends before I even finished the bowl – it’s so good.
This is a very flavorful soup. I did add1 pound cooked and drained ground beef and left out the spinach. Because I end up freezing some of the soup I leave out the pasta. I will cook the pasta and add it to the bowls before serving the soup to the bowl. This is a fairly quick soup to make, even when I have browned the ground beef. I usually have all these ingredients on hand. You could always use frozen and thawed spinach, but I would only use half of a small box.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Bobbie Jean!
i love this recipe! i subbed the spinach for zucchini and the chicken broth for veggie broth. this is one of the best soup recipes i have tried!
LOVED IT! I’ve never made Minnestrone before, so this was a “new recipe” for us. My husband does not like kidney beans, or tomato-based soups, so….I didn’t tell him what was in it. He ate TWO huge bowls-full and said “This new recipe is a keeper!” I made it (almost) exactly as written. (The only adjustment: I only had frozen spinach, so I substituted one cup of frozen cut spinach for the two cups of fresh.) The veges were done to perfection – not too mushy or too crispy. The broth was sublime, with a perfect broth-to-vegetable ratio. It made enough for two meals for us, presuming he will once again have two bowls-full. THANK YOU! This is by far the best off-the-internet recipe I’ve tried.
Yay!! So happy to hear that Sharon! And that sounds like the perfect substitution. Enjoy your leftovers!
Do you think this soup would taste good if I substituted vegetable broth instead of chicken broth? I have 2 vegan kids and I’m always looking for something to serve to them.
thanks!
We’ve only made this recipe as written Rebecca, but if you try please let us know! I imagine it will still be delicious though!
Just made this for a second time (had some tweaks each time and I prefer more of the spices and garlic) and it’s fantastic. Thank you for making it so easy!!
Hi Andy, I am so glad you liked the recipe and were able to tweak it to suit your preferences!
The recipe has really good flavor and it’s easy to make. I used gluten free noodles and they completely fell apart making it visually unappealing. Note to self – Use regular and more dense noodles next time. I also needed 2 extra, 14 oz cans of broth because it was very thick. I also added another 1/2 tsp of all herbs/spices because of the added liquid. I liked the flavor a lot but due to the noodles falling apart I didn’t serve it to anyone but me.
I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor of the soup and hope you’ll have bettr noodle success next time!
I made this for a group of 12 or so for an annual New Year’s party with friends. I’m the “soup man” every year at this event, and this was perhaps my biggest hit ever, with phrases like “this is absolutely perfect” tossed around freely. It is also very easy to make. Thanks for a real winner!
Ahh, so glad your crew loved it Jeff! Happy New year!
I made this in my slow cooker on low for 8hrs and the flavors were delish! However, my carrots and celery were still quite hard. I thought I sliced them pretty small. Any suggestions?
Hey Christina, so glad you loved it! Did you soften the carrots and celery with the onions before adding them to the slow cooker? This should definitely help!