Minestrone Soup

Minestrone is the ultimate one-pot vegetable soup.

A colorful, flavorful, and nutritious combination of seasonal vegetables, legumes, and herbs come together into one of the most iconic Italian dishes.

Minestrone is comforting and satisfying, excellent for meal prep and a delicious family dinner.

What is Minestrone?

Minestrone means “big soup” in Italian, and the recipe is such an integral part of the Italian diet that each region has its variation.

Like other Italian soups, think of Tuscan white bean soup, Lentil Soup, chickpea soup, and tortellini soup; Minestrone combines seasonal vegetables and sturdy herbs with protein-rich legumes.

To make minestrone a fulfilling meal, pasta, rice, or farro are often added – we chose pasta.

We recommend adding a piece of Parmigiano crust to the pot and topping the Minestrone with a teaspoon or two of basil pesto and some shaved parmesan.

The result is a thick, creamy, chunky, deeply satisfying one-pot meal that the whole family will love.

Tip: Minestrone is easy to make in one pot and cooks in about 30 minutes. Chopping the veggies, however, can take some time if you are not used to it. To speed things up, you can use pre-chopped or frozen veggies.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Flavor base

Like most other Italian soups, Minestrone starts with a soffritto (flavor base) of extra virgin olive oil, onion, celery, carrot, leek, and garlic.

The veggies are chopped and sautéed in the oil to release flavor and aroma. This first step is essential to infuse Minestrone soup with a deep, rich flavor.

Some regional variations add a small piece of lard, pancetta, or prosciutto to this initial flavor base. We skip this to keep the recipe vegetarian.

Vegetables

Feel free to swap veggies with what’s seasonal where you live. We use:

• Potatoes: substitute sweet potatoes.
• Cauliflower: substitute broccoli, chard, or kale.
• Vine tomatoes: substitute canned tomatoes, canned, crushed, or whole peeled.
• Frozen peas: substitute green beans, snap peas, or snow peas.
• Zucchini: you can use any summer squash or courgette. Substitute mushrooms or bell peppers.
• Beans: You can use white beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, or borlotti beans. You can also use canned beans or dried ones cooked in water.

Herbs

A rosemary sprig and bay leaves are usually added to minestrone.

Substitute thyme for rosemary and sage for bay leaves.

We recommend garnishing the soup with fresh basil leaves.

Pasta (optional)

Pasta is optional. Traditionally, ditali or ditalini pasta is used. We use ditalini.

The pasta is cooked in the pot with the vegetables. Its starch releases right into the soup, making it ultra-creamy, cozy, and comforting.

You can substitute pearled farro or barley for pasta, but we recommend precooking them first or adding them at the start, as they take about 30 minutes.

Water

The vegetables are cooked with water.

Substitute vegetable broth for water, although not necessary since plenty of vegetables are already in the soup.

Parmigiano crust (optional)

If you have Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano in your fridge, add their crust to the minestrone pot.

The crust softens and infuses the soup with a rich, savory flavor. You don’t have to eat the crust, although you can if you want to.

Toppings

We recommend shaved parmesan cheese and a tablespoon of basil pesto for each portion.

To make the recipe vegan, you can use vegan parmesan and vegan pesto.

1. Prepare the vegetables

Tip: If you are a seasoned cook, you can peel and chop the veggies as you cook the Minestrone. If you don’t have much practice in the kitchen, we recommend taking a few minutes to chop the veggies before you start cooking.

Cut the leek in half lengthwise, rinse its layers under running water, and thinly slice it.

Chop onion, celery, and carrot into small pieces.

Chop potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and zucchini into slightly bigger but still small pieces.

2. Make the flavor base

Heat the olive oil in the largest pot you own. Add chopped onion, celery, carrot, leek, and grated garlic.

Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add the vegetables

Add chopped potatoes, cauliflower, cooked beans (drained), hot water, rosemary, and bay leaves—season with salt and black pepper.

Simmer for 12 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add chopped tomatoes, zucchini, frozen peas, cheese crust, and pasta.

Stir in extra cup of water and finish cooking for another 12 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked but with a bite. Add more water to reach your desired consistency.

Taste and adjust for salt, then turn the heat off and let the Minestrone cool down for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Serving suggestions

Serve in bowls. You can top each bowl with shaved or grated parmigiano, fresh basil leaves, a good quality extra virgin olive oil drizzle, and a spoonful of basil pesto.

Nico’s serving tip: Add a thick slice of toasted crusty bread to your bowl. Cover the bread with grated parmesan cheese, then pour over the hot Minestrone. Garnish with all the other toppings as recommended. The cheese melts, and the bread softens. You are in for a treat!

Make ahead: Minestrone is an excellent meal prep recipe. For the longest storage, it’s best to make it without pasta.

Refrigerator: Minestrone with pasta keeps well for up to 2 days, in an airtight container in the fridge. Minestrone without pasta (you can use farro or barley instead) lasts up to 4 days.

Freezer: If you make Minestrone with fresh vegetables, you can freeze it for up to 2 months. Let it cool down thoroughly first.

Thaw: Defrost in the fridge or as you reheat it in a saucepan with a dash of water.

More soup recipes

THICK AND CHUNKY SOUPS: Black bean soup, vegetable soup, split pea soup, curry lentil soup, mung bean soup, lentil vegetable soup, kale soup, and Harira soup.

SMOOTH AND CREAMY SOUPS: Carrot ginger soup, sweet potato soup, broccoli soup, cauliflower soup, potato leek soup, asparagus soup, and Turkish lentil soup.

For even more inspiration, check out our compilation of our best soup recipes.

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