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Italian Minestrone Soup
5 from 9 votes

Italian Minestrone Soup

Italian Minestrone Soup is an absolute classic! It's chock-full of vegetables, beans and pasta in a flavorful tomato-based broth. This recipe is a great jumping off point, but you can easily adjust and customize this soup to suit your taste!

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
50 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 268 kcal
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Italian, American

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium to large onion finely chopped
  • 2 medium carrot peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
  • 2 talks celery trimmed and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
  • 1 large or 2 small Yukon Gold potatoes about 8 ounces) peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces, or other waxy potatoes
  • 1 medium zucchini ends trimmed and chopped into ½-inch pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
  • ¼ cup parsley fresh, flat-leaf, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ teaspoons rosemary finely chopped fresh
  • salt Kosher salt and freshly ground
  • black pepper Kosher salt and freshly ground
  • Pinch red chili flakes crushed
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 cups tomatoes canned, crushed or ground peeled
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can cannellini beans drained and rinsed, white
  • 1 Parmesan Cheese optional, rind
  • 6 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock or broth
  • ½ cup soup pasta such as small shells, farfalline, ditalini, elbow macaroni, or acini di pepe, small

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook, stirring regularly, for about 4 minutes until starting to soften.
  2. Add the potato, zucchini, garlic, parsley, and rosemary, and season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Stir regularly, and continue to cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat, cooking another 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, beans, and the Parmesan cheese rind, if using. Then add the broth, raise the heat to bring to a simmer, then partially cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
  4. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the pasta and cook, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
  5. Remove the cheese rind from the soup, then ladle into mugs or bowls and serve topped with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino Romano cheese, if desired, alongside crusty Italian bread.

Notes

  • This is a very customizable soup, so don't feel that you have to stick to the recipe if you want to make changes. A couple of popular additions include green beans cut into 1-inch pieces and/or chopped leafy greens such as kale, spinach, or chard.
  • Italian minestrone soup usually includes beans, typically either white beans of some kind or kidney beans. I use canned cannellini beans which I drain and rinse, but you could also use great northern beans or small white beans which are both smaller than cannellini and are good in soup.
  • Some good examples of shapes that will work in this soup include small shells (used in the photos), farfalline (mini bow-ties), ditalini, elbow macaroni, or acini di pepe.
  • Oftentimes, the pasta in soup soaks in more of the broth after the first day and the leftovers can become a bit mushy. Using smaller pasta shapes definitely helps, but you can also cook the pasta separately and then mix some into each bowl of soup as needed when serving.

Nutrition Information

Calories 268kcal (13%) Carbohydrates 38g (13%) Protein 15g (30%) Fat 4g (6%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Monounsaturated Fat 3g (15%) Cholesterol 11mg (4%) Sodium 305mg (13%) Potassium 662mg (14%) Fiber 8g (32%) Sugar 10g (20%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6 servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 268

% Daily Value*

Calories 268kcal 13%
Carbohydrates 38g 13%
Protein 15g 30%
Fat 4g 6%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Monounsaturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 11mg 4%
Sodium 305mg 13%
Potassium 662mg 14%
Fiber 8g 32%
Sugar 10g 20%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.