Minestrone Soup
Minestrone Soup is an example of rustic Italian comfort food at its best! Serve this vegetable soup with Italian bread for an easy winter meal!
Sometimes you just need a good soup. Like the kind that you can eat for lunch…and then again for dinner! That’s this Minestrone Soup. It’s packed with flavor and it’s super easy to make. Soup season lasts a long time in our house. We kick off January detox with soup…and we don’t stop until late March or early April. Fortunately, there are plenty of different soups out there to keep us from getting bored. This Minestrone Soup, though? It makes several appearances in our kitchen during soup season – it’s that good!
Similar to chocolate chip cookies, there is no set recipe for Minestrone Soup. There are hundreds (thousands?) of variations on this classic recipe. In general, Minestrone Soup is a thicker soup with a rustic Italian vibe. In fact, one of the things that makes this soup so popular is the fact that it can be made with a variety of vegetables. It’s literally a ‘catch-all’ for whatever you happen to have laying around at the time!
Minestrone Soup
This soup is often referred to as a “poor man’s soup,” because it’s a collection of ingredients left over from previous days’ meals. Leftover beans? Toss ’em in! Zucchini? Sure! Carrots and onions? Yup – chop ’em up and put ’em in the pot! This soup actually belongs to a style of cooking known as cucina povera (“poor kitchen”). Recipes in this style often have rustic, rural roots.
In general, the basic ingredients for Minestrone Soup include:
- Onions
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic – I used a heaping spoonful of minced garlic
- Tomatoes
- Leafy vegetables – I used baby spinach leaves
- Broth – either vegetable or chicken can be used here
Aside from the flexibility with ingredients, one of the best things about this soup is how simple it is to make. Don’t get me wrong – I do love a good soup that simmers all afternoon on the stovetop. Minestrone Soup is not that. A pot of this soup can be ready in ~45 minutes. Whip up a batch on a Sunday afternoon, and you’ve got easy lunches for the whole week. That’s how we roll around here!
We typically eat this soup by itself – it’s quite delicious. However, if you are looking to bulk this up a bit, you might add a side salad, garlic bread or homemade Italian bread.
Minestrone Soup is popular for a reason. It’s a staple menu item at Italian restaurants, and a number of different versions can be found in the canned soup aisle at the grocery store. I much prefer this homemade recipe, though! This soup is a perfect choice for cold winter days, and it’s a favorite in our house! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do – stay warm!
Did you make a batch of this Minestrone Soup at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 celery ribs sliced
- 1 small zucchini halved and sliced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained (see note)
- 1 15-oz. can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cups frozen cut green beans
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup small pasta ditalini, orecchiette or elbows work well
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
- {for topping} freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- {for topping} fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Using a 4-quart Dutch oven (or larger), add olive oil and place over medium heat.
- Once heated, add the onions, carrots, celery, zucchini and tomato paste. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes, or until onions have softened.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes, Great Northern beans, kidney beans, green beans, bay leaves, broth, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt and red pepper flakes; stir until well combined. Bring mixture to a low boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add pasta and parsley; stir until well combined. Continue simmering for 10-12 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
- Add spinach leaves; stir until well combined. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until spinach leaves have wilted.
- Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped basil.
Notes
Looking for more tasty winter soup recipes? Check out some of our other favorites, too:
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use vegan parmesan cheese i love italian food soooooooooooo much i never had minestrone soup before perfect for raining days in Singapore and after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Yes! You can absolutely use vegan Parmesan to keep this recipe vegan, Ramya. It’s delicious, and it’s perfect for those rainy days you’re having over there right now. 🙂
I always get minestrone soup when I see it on the menu (ahemm, at Olive Garden) 😉 so thanks for sharing how easy and straightforward it is to make it at home! Perfect for a cool Spring day!
Haha – Olive Garden does have a good minestrone soup. 🙂 It’s truly very easy to make at home, and it’s perfect for these days when the nights are still chilly and you need something to warm up. Make a batch!!
I could always go for a bowl of soup, especially when it looks as good as this minestrone soup! A big bowl served alongside some toasty bread and I’m set. Just what I need today … even though it’s spring, it’s still cold and this would warm me right up!
I hear ya, Dawn – we love soup around here. We’ve even been known to make soup in the summer when we have so many fresh veggies around. This soup is perfect for these days when it’s still chilly and you need something to warm your belly! 🙂
What a gorgeous minestrone David! So many beautiful colors and textures. I love how minestrone can incorporate the veggies and beans we have on hand. Dark red kidney beans are a must for me, and they look delicious in your photos. 😋 It’s cold and rainy over here, I wish I had a bowl of this soup right now!
I hear ya, Shannon – we’re always keeping a look out for easy recipes like this that are ‘catch-all
s’ for the random ingredients that end up hanging out in the fridge. This soup is pretty fantastic, and it’s perfect for cold, rainy days! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this delicious and easy-to-make recipe for Minestrone Soup! I love how versatile this soup is, and how it can be made with a variety of different vegetables. It’s great to have a go-to recipe for soup season that’s both healthy and filling. I’ll definitely be giving this recipe a try, and serving it with some homemade Italian bread. Thanks again for sharing!
This Minestrone Soup truly is versatile – it’s a great way to use up those littles bits and bobs of random veggies and other things that might be hanging out in the fridge. Add some good crusty bread, and you’ve got a delicious meal! Thanks, Raymund!
this looks very tasty david. Maybe a bit too much for our current 33C weather! Oh when will winter arrive? :=)
Haha – soup on a 33°C day might not be the best decision. Maybe if it was 33°F instead! 🙂
This is the best minestrone I’ve ever seen. Love the ingredients!
Why thank you very much, Mimi – I’m truly honored! 🙂
Minestrone Soup is a quintessence of comfort winter food, in my book. And importantly, it is also healthy and relatively light while being super hearty. Give me a slice or two of crusty garlic bread, and I’ll be a happy person 🙂
I hear ya on the crusty garlic bread, Ben! As good as this soup is (and it’s delicious), the crusty garlic bread is always the part I look forward to the most.
I do love a good Minestrone soup David. And yes it’s a great way to use up any leftover vegetables and beans hanging around in the fridge. It’s another rainy day here so a bowl of this soup would go down so well right now!
This soup tastes extra fantastic on rainy days, Neil! 🙂
Homemade minestrone is always a better option than canned – in my opinion and David, wow this looks so fabulous! For me, soup season happens year round especially when a delicious soup like this is involved! And the fact that its ready in 45 minutes is an added bonus!
BTW your photos of gray pan etc with that soup are phenomenal!
Hey Shashi! I do love homemade soups – they are usually pretty simple to make, and they’re way cheaper and tastier than anything you can buy in cans. This one is quite delicious, and I do highly recommend making a batch! I’m thinking of making another batch this week. 🙂