Finally! It’s about time this blog offered a traditional minestrone soup recipe. Minestrone is a hearty Italian vegetable soup made with tomato-y broth and pasta or rice. I’ve been working hard on this recipe and I’m so excited to share it with you.
Minestrone was traditionally made to use up leftover vegetables, so feel free to use any seasonal vegetables and greens you have on hand. I used potatoes and spinach for the soup you see here, and it was absolutely delicious.
I listed some alternatives in the recipe, including yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, green beans or peas. That means that you can make seasonal minestrone on cool days from fall through spring!
I used canned beans here instead of cooking my own, which cuts the cooking time down to a reasonable weeknight level. The remaining ingredients are basic pantry items, including canned tomatoes, pasta, basic spices and onions.
Why is this the best minestrone soup?
- This hearty minestrone is easy to make and totally worth the effort.
- The recipe calls for seasonal vegetables and affordable pantry ingredients.
- The soup packs great for lunch, and tastes even better the next day.
- It freezes and defrosts well, too.
- This homemade minestrone is infinitely better than the Olive Garden or store-bought varieties!
I adapted this recipe from the lentil minestrone in my cookbook, which was based on my lentil soup. For this classic minestrone, I omitted the lentils, added white beans, upped the tomato paste, and reserved the final tablespoon of olive oil to mix in at the end.
Please let me know how you like this soup in the comments! I always love reading your feedback and I’m eager to hear which veggies you use in your soup.
If you’re looking for more soup recipes, definitely check out the two mentioned above, and I have even more soups here.
Watch how to make Minestrone Soup
Classic Minestrone Soup
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 bowls 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Warm up with this vegetarian minestrone soup! This classic minestrone soup recipe is healthy, easy to make, and tastes incredible. It’s vegan, too, if you don’t top it with cheese. Recipe yields 6 bowls or 8 cups of soup.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium ribs celery, chopped
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 cups chopped seasonal vegetables (potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, green beans or peas all work)
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with their liquid (or 2 small 15-ounce cans)
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 bay leaves
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup whole grain orecchiette, elbow or small shell pasta
- 1 can (15 ounces) Great Northern beans or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked beans
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped kale or chopped collard greens
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onions are turning translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add the seasonal vegetables, garlic, oregano and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and their juices, broth and water. Add the salt, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper.
- Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pot with the lid, leaving about a 1” gap for steam to escape. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Cook for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and add the pasta, beans and greens. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the the pasta is cooked al dente and the greens are tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat, then remove the bay leaves. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste and season with more salt (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more) and pepper until the flavors really sing. Garnish bowls of soup with grated Parmesan, if you’d like.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Don’t garnish with Parmesan, or use homemade vegan Parmesan.
Make it gluten free: Substitute your favorite sturdy gluten-free noodle. I used DeLallo’s Whole-Grain Rice Shells and they worked great.
Parmesan note: Most Parmesans are not technically vegetarian (they contain animal rennet), but Whole Foods 365 and BelGioioso brands offer vegetarian Parmesan cheese.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Stacey Drant Allada
Great recipe. I substituted homemade vegan parmesan. I also add 1-2 tablespoon of white Miso that adds a nice umami flavor to vegan recipes and cauliflower. My omnivore husband loves this soup so it is definitely in our regular rotation.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Stacey! I appreciate your review.
Sangeeta
Best recipe ever!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you!
Ethna
This is a FANTASTIC soup!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Ethna!
Fleur
This looks amazing! I don’t have tomato paste, is there a substitute I could try instead? And I don’t have canned tomatoes, could I use fresh cherry tomatoes?
Kate
Hi Fleur! Unfortunately you won’t get quite the same flavor without it. It really helps build the flavor profile.
Rebecca Seaman
Made this recipe last night. So delicious. Loved it. My husband loved it. A keeper!!! Thank you
★★★★★
Debbie
Thank you for this recipe. Made it today with some homemade croutons and was delicious
★★★★★
Kate
Sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Debbie.
Keri A Fitzhugh-Jobe
Love it! It’s my favorite minestrone soup recipe now and I make it almost weekly. Thank you! :)
Kate
You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved it.
Jennifer
This is delicious. I can’t have garlic or onions so I used garlic and shallot infused oils for flavor. I increased all the spices a bit to compensate as well. Love it!
★★★★★
Missy
Oh my gosh this was so good. We woke to a cold, snowy day so it was a perfect time for hot soup. Two weeks ago I made a terrible Minestrone Soup recipe that had turnips, rutabaga, and parsnips in it. That should have been my first clue! So when I found yours today I tried it. Thank you. It was exactly what I wanted for flavor and crunch. I think the lemon juice and olive oil at the end set it off.
(For the seasonal veggies I used delicata squash, potatoes, sweet peppers, and frozen peas)
Kate
Oh no! I’m happy you made this one and it was just what you were looking for, Missy.
Kelly Breeney
I make this minestrone every monday and eat it for dinner Monday – Thursday. I absolutely love it. I add a lot more water since I make my vegetable portions pretty big. Absolutely amazing.
★★★★★
Lois Demers
I’m making this right now, for lunch tomorrow (I always like my soups and sauces the second day) and I’m giving it 5 on the taste already! I used a peccoroncini and garlic olive oil to saute my veggies, added eggplant, zuccini, peppers, peas, and a small amount of corn. I got to finally use up the carton of veggie broth that I keep on hand for my daughter-in-law, (No get-togethers because of covid of course, but she’ll get a big container of this)!
★★★★★