Minestrone Soup

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Quick Summary

Minestrone Soup is a classic Italian soup that is hearty, healthy, and perfect for lunch or dinner on a cold day. This easy homemade minestrone is a family favorite. Serve the soup with crusty bread and Parmesan Cheese.

Minestrone Soup with vegetables, beans, and Parmesan cheese in bowl.

If you read our blog regularly, you know I LOVE a good soup. White Bean Soup, Black Bean Soup, Lentil Soup, and Potato Leek Soup are a few of my favorites. You can check out all of our soup recipes HERE, there are a lot:)

I really love this Easy Minestrone Soup too. It’s a CLASSIC! And this minestrone soup recipe is easy, healthy, and comforting. It’s WAY better than canned soup or the Olive Garden’s minestrone soup:)

Minestrone is an Italian soup that usually includes vegetables, pasta, beans, and sometimes meat. I omitted the meat because I wanted the soup to be vegetarian and honestly, I don’t think it needs it. The soup is super hearty because all of the vegetables, beans, and pasta.

The soup is made in ONE pot and I always love a good one pot meal. It is the perfect soup for a cold day or when you need to use up the veggies from your garden or veggie drawer.

Let’s get this soup party started!

Minestrone soup in pot being served in a wooden ladle.

Soup Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Veggies– carrots, celery, zucchini, green beans
  • Diced tomatoes– use canned tomatoes and don’t drain! You can use fire roasted tomatoes for extra flavor.
  • Vegetable broth– can use chicken broth if you don’t need the recipe to be vegetarian.
  • Cannellini beans– rinsed and drained
  • Herbs– dried basil, oregano, and thyme
  • Elbow macaroni– can use gluten-free pasta
  • Parmesan cheese & fresh basil– for garnish

How to Make Minestrone Soup

  • Heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add in zucchini, green beans, and diced tomatoes.
  • Stir in vegetable broth, beans, basil, oregano, and thyme. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
  • Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. If you need to add more broth, you can.
  • Season soup with salt and pepper. If you want a little heat, you can add crushed red pepper flakes. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.
Minestrone soup in two white bowls and large white pot with crusty bread and spoons.

Variations

  • Minestrone soup is very versatile. You can add whatever vegetables, beans, and pasta you like. I included carrots, celery, zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans. You could also add in bell peppers, yellow squash, peas, spinach, or kale.
  • I used cannellini beans, which are a white bean. I use canned beans to keep the recipe super simple. You can use great Northern beans or red kidney beans too.
  • I chose whole wheat macaroni for the pasta, but any small pasta will work well in this soup.
  • Spice it up with crushed red pepper flakes.
  • If you want the soup to be vegan, omit the Parmesan cheese and if you need the soup to be gluten free, you can use gluten-free pasta.

Serving Suggestions

Garnish a steaming bowl of minestrone soup with parmesan cheese and fresh basil. I also like to serve the soup with a loaf of fresh crusty bread.

You can also serve with:

How to Store

I always make a big pot of this soup because it reheats well and we love eating the leftovers. I could eat it for lunch and dinner all week long, and I usually do. It is a great recipe to have on hand durning the cold winter months.

  • Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
  • You can also freeze the soup for up to three months. The pasta might break up a little after defrosting and reheating, but it will still be good.

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Minestrone Soup Recipe

This easy minestrone soup recipe is perfect for a cold day. It is hearty, healthy, and comforting. Serve with crusty bread, if desired.
4.68 from 61 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 celery ribs, diced
  • 1 medium zucchini, diced
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans
  • 28 ounces diced tomatoes (can use fire roasted tomatoes)
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 14 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 cup elbow macaroni (can use gluten-free pasta)
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add in zucchini, green beans, and diced tomatoes.
  • Stir in vegetable broth, beans, basil, oregano, and thyme. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
  • Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. If you need to add more broth, you can.
  • Season soup with salt and pepper. If you want a little heat, you can add crushed red pepper flakes. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 141kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 4g, Sodium: 868mg, Potassium: 397mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 3185IU, Vitamin C: 17.9mg, Calcium: 63mg, Iron: 2.2mg
Keywords minestrone soup, soup, vegetables

Have you tried this recipe?

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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Comments

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  1. This looks awesome! Cozy and comforting. I did the same thing- I kind of overdid it in December myself 😉

  2. Minestrone is one of my favorite soups. I just love that it has a little bit of everything in it. I got SO sick of baking, but finally felt inspired to bake again yesterday

  3. This looks just perfect for the new year when we’re all a bit cookie-d out 🙂 And it’s certainly nice to know I’m not the only one who does that “make-a-huge-pot-of-soup-want to-eat-it-all-week-long” thing!
    love,
    cathy b. @ brightbakes

    1. I do freeze it. The pasta gets a little broken up after defrosting/reheating, but I don’t mind:)

  4. I love minestrone soup, such an easy way to include lots of vegetables. Love your use of whole wheat pasta!

  5. can i just come live with you and eat your food? that’s a normal question to ask someone, right? 😉

  6. This soup IS easy! It also looks so hearty and delicious. Love your soup bowl, too. Thanks for sharing this, Maria.

  7. Looks FABULOUS Maria! And we definitely love those bowls. Wonder if we could get them for our cafeteria…

  8. I love, love, love minestrone. I always think the more veggies, the better. The last time I made it, I added lentils, which are a nice change from cannellini beans.

  9. Good timing – I’m making minestrone soup tonight! I use the pioneer woman’s roasted vegetable one though. The roasted mushrooms are incredible!

  10. Beautiful soup…this is great for a chilly snowy weekend here in Manhattan. Thanks for sharing; enjoy your weekend!

  11. Cute crock! (that sounds funny)

    I love minestrone. I like to simmer it with a bit of parmesan cheese rind (I keep them in the freezer for such occasions.)

  12. Your soup looks wonderful Maria! We’re expecting more snow this weekend, and a nice warm bowl of soup while sitting on the couch under a blanket sounds perfect 🙂

  13. I am loving this recipe – so simple =) You always think minestrone would be complicated because of all of the ingredients but it doesn’t have to be! Soups right now are key for the hubs and I – I swear we crave it during the winter! P.S. I LOVE those soup bowls!!!

  14. Your soup looks delicious! January is definitely the time for lighter meals after all the decadence of Christmas.

  15. I love minestrone soup, why don’t I ever make it? It’s winter and a must make recipe.

    The soup bowl is so cute!

  16. We made this for dinner last night and it was great!! The Hubster is a huge minestrone fan, so I knew he’d enjoy it! The whole family loved it, and it really was super easy! Thanks for the great recipe!

  17. A steamy bowl of minestrone is great for any time of year & healthy too. Wish you were here in Mexico girl, miss you 🙂 xo

  18. This does look easy! I’ve been sick for a few weeks and have had almost nothing but chicken soup, and this looks like a wonderful way to change things up!

  19. I made minestrone soup this week too with zucchini, beans, and corn and I used quinoa instead of noodles. I ate it 5 days in a row. 🙂 YUM!

  20. I love your pot with a big fat SOUP written on it 🙂
    That’s a super easy recipe and just perfect for these cold winter evenings!

  21. great soup, maria! the parmesan on top MAKES it for me. most importantly, however, i love your little dish. 🙂

  22. Oh Minestrone, what a great idea. I have been thinking about making some soup already all weekend and I haven’t made minestrone in ages. Thanks for the inspiration, yours looks delicious!

  23. I’m all about the soup this winter.
    I love those bowls! Where did you find them Maria?
    Happy New Year!
    Stacey

  24. My cookie addiction is hibernating now that the holidays are over too 🙂 I’ll gladly take this soup instead. It looks comforting and warming for this chilly time of year 🙂

  25. I love minestrone – there was a little cafe on my college campus that always has the best. It’s a soup I still haven’t made at home; I can’t wait to try your recipe! And I love that soup mug, totally adorable!

  26. This soup looks fabulous! Adding it to my must make list as soon as I can get back into the kitchen!

  27. What a great, easy soup recipe. With recipes like this, there is not excuse to stop by a fast-food restaurant!

  28. I just made this and it was so good!!!!! I changed it up just a tiny bit, I added red pepper and garlic salt because I ran out of garlic, I used black beans and I also added 2 bay leaves. Perfection 🙂

  29. I made this for my husband and I was so glad because I LOVED IT! I browned some bacon bits first, then used that grease instead of the olive oil. It makes him happy to have “meat” in his soup. lol. It was deeeeeee-licious!! thank you!

  30. Found this when I was Googling minestrone recipes. Used it as a jumping off point for making my own. So fabulous! Thanks for sharing! I’ll be checking out some of your other recipes.
    Thanks,
    Sara

  31. YUM!! This was delicious and so easy! I didn’t have fresh green beans on hand so I used canned and it was great. Also added a cup of frozen corn. So delicious on a cold rainy NW day! Thank you!

  32. I thought this was delicious, however, next time I’ll add the pasta 10 minutes prior to the simmer being done. The pasta was extremely mushy because it was boiled to death for 35 minutes. Pasta this small should take 7-8 minutes.

  33. Since finding this recpie I make it pretty much everyweek. It’s AMAZING and so versatile, I can’t believe how much I love it. Thank you for putting this on the internet lol

  34. This is delicious! One of my new favorites for fall. I made it as above except used potatoes instead of zucchini (which I don’t particularly care for). With the exception of the celery and garlic, all the veggies came from my garden which made it even better. Minestrone has always been one of those soups I want to like more than I actually like, but not any more! Even my non-vegetarian husband, who was a little skeptical when I served it, really liked it. Thanks!

  35. 5 stars
    My husband love Minestrone soup but all the other recipes took forever to make them so I would only make it every now and then on the weekend and I was never really a big fan. Well when I found this recipe when he was sick one week to make him feel better it was so fast and so easy and I loved the taste. He really loves the taste as well and has now told me that i have ruined him of all other minestrone soups because this one is always so much better. Thank you so much! This is now one of my go to recipes.

  36. Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband loves minestrone and I’m not a big fan of it normally but I love this one and he says it’s the best minestrone he has ever had.

  37. 5 stars
    So easy, quick, and tasty! I used all fresh ingredients since, for once, I actually had fresh herbs on hand. Served with cheeze-it Italian four cheese crackers for lunch. Mmmm. I’m already searching through your other recipes for dinner ideas. Thanks!

  38. I’m concerned about cooking the pasta for 35 min. Doesn’t that make it too mushy? Thinking of throwing it in for last 6 min or so as the package of pasta indicates.

  39. Making this tonight! Does this soup freeze well? If so, is there a certain point I should freeze it or fine at the end? Thanks!

  40. When I make minestrone, during cooking I also put some pieces of the parmesan crust inside. It gives it an incredible taste!

  41. 5 stars
    I made this today, more like this morning. It came out DELICIOUS! I am not an experienced cook at all. But WOW! I added some pieces of pumpkin and peas. Yummy!

  42. Omg, the flavors were incredible. I added a little spinach and a can of kidney beans too. And extra basil and garlic.
    I didn’t have veg broth so used beef.
    Hubby said it was really good. Sprinkled Italian blend cheese on it, and had garlic bread and red wine! Yum!

  43. We truly enjoyed this delicious soup. It’s a great way to get all your veggies in a bowl.
    Thank you for this recipe!

  44. 5 stars
    I made this soup 3 nights ago for dinner & it was a hit with the hubs. I have the leftovers in the frig & it’s great warmed up for my lunch.

  45. 5 stars
    This makes a beautiful soup that is delicious! I made a couple of changes … I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, added leftover roasted chicken breasts that i shredded and added some chopped spinach. Other than the macaroni this is also very healthy! Thanks very much!

  46. 5 stars
    This was yummy! I bought a package of minestrone vegetables pre cut in a bag at Wegman’s. So easy!

  47. 5 stars
    My family really enjoys this and it is so easy to make. Plus I feel good preparing something healthy for them. This is part of our regular dinner rotation now. Thank you!

  48. 5 stars
    Have made many times and love it. I use kidney beans and don’t add green beans. I also don’t add the noodles when it says to. I cook them ahead of time and then just add to our bowl before we spoon in the soup (this is because I ultimately always freeze some and don’t like frozen noodles thawed). Love this recipe!!

  49. 5 stars
    Super delicious and nutritious! Simple ingredients that hit the spot! The soup essentially makes itself after combining ingredients! Best recipe to have on hand when your body is craving healthy food!

  50. 5 stars
    Absolutely love this soup. It’s so versatile. Sometimes I add sliced sausage, spinach and beans. Perfect soup for the winter.

  51. 5 stars
    I made this and it was excellent! I amped it up by adding red pepper flakes and I made a batch of pesto and topped it with a tablespoon prior to serving! A little grated parm on top and Ohmygoodness!