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. 
Kay Cee
Seriously, you left that seasonal vegetable door wiiiiide open!! What a treat. I don’t know if it’s the range of veggies I can pack into this soup or that crazy addition of lemon juice (who knew?!?), but this one is a major keeper in our house!! Hubs gives two thumbs up, and the kids devour it (given a nice portion of crusty bread) Thank you for this one!!
★★★★★
Kate
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Kay.
Mau
I didn’t have any celery so added fennel seeds. I loved the aroma when frying the onion carrots and tomatoe paste at the start. I used butternut squash, courgette, flat green beans and sugar snap peas and rice. Sorry to deviate but I love smoked paprika so added 2 tsp of that and cannelloni beans, also cooked it with cheese rind. Otherwise I stuck to your recipe and it made a lovely thick main course soup. Thank you
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you got creative and enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing, Mau.
Karen L Redmond
Thank you for this recipe. It is wonderfully balanced, as are all your other recipes that I have tried. I adore the combined kitchen talents of both Cookie and Kate. I’m a dog lover and my dogs are my sous chefs when I cook (you know, hanging out for scraps that might fall on the floor). Health issues are leading me back to a vegetarian diet, and I found this site when looking for fresh, new veggie recipes. After trying out a few, I also bought the cookbook. Every recipe I have tried has been wonderful. So thanks, Kate…you too Cookie.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you found the blog and are able to enjoy this recipe, Karen! Thank you for your review.
Sunken Souffle
SOOOOO great! I used garbanzo beans and pearl barley in place of pasta and your beans. Peas, sweet potatoes, new potatoes and cauliflower made it in on the veggie side. Diced fire roasted tomatoes and hickory smoked peppercorns took it over the top. Excellent, and will certainly make it again. Thank you.
★★★★★
Daniela Lawler
Can I freeze this as is or should I leave the pasta out until it’s reheat it? Hoping to make this for a friend that’s just been diagnosed with cancer. Thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
Hi, Daniela – I know others have froze it both ways. It will be thicker if you freeze it with the noodles when thawed. I hope this provides your friend some comfort!
Denise
Is it 2 cups each of the vegetables?
Kate
Hi! The amount is for total. I hope that helps!
Frassy
Such a good soup! True to the origins of the dish, we made it with leftover vegetables (green beans, kale, spinach) and it came out delicious. Leftover onion made this a 1.25 onion soup but I take onion and garlic amounts on recipes as suggestions only anyway :-) Can’t wait to heat it up and eat some more tomorrow!
★★★★★
Brenda
I was craving a tasty vegetable soup and googled “healthy minestrone” and landed here. I love many C&K recipes so I figured this would be a winner. I used zucchini, green beans and early carrots from our garden. Because my husband is not fond of cooked tomatoes, I decided just to use the tomato paste for flavoring and realized this is the way to create a simple tomato base without the chunks. The flavor is excellent, and it is great to have a simple recipe such as this that will taste great and allow for creativity with respect to which veggies are available or desired.
Kim
This is my favorite soup to make, and I’ve made it so many times. It is so good! You can add so many vegetables to it – anything that you may have on hand. Love it!
★★★★★
Leonie
Wow what an amazing soup packed full of veg and flavour. This will become a winter staple in our house.
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful to hear, Leonie! Thank you for your review.
Moges
Dear Kate,
I tried your minestrone soup recipe and loved it!
You make the world a better place.
Though I am not a vegetarian (I am a “moderate meat eater”) I like eating vegan foods every other day. I will surely come to your blog to try out your other recipes in the future.
Bravo!
Healthy Living With Annie
I’m at the end process as of this comment and am truly enjoying what I’m tasting! I used zucchini, kale, can navy beans, 2,15oz cans of peeled Roma tomatoes which I chopped. I’m waiting to add the lemon juice! I used 6 cups of chicken broth instead of 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water. Should have put the kale in a bit sooner as it takes a little longer to soften so here’s to hoping my elbow pasta is not mushy. I think this recipe is a keeper!
Marlene
Hi true minestrone is one of my favourite soups. The base of this recipe is closest to my italian friends recipe? that she shared with me. Sadly she passed several years ago. I add cauliflower,broccoli, peas and corn. Was always a great healthy warm filling soup when had the family, hubby, and farm worker’s coming in for lunch.adding nice fresh home made bread. JUST PERFECT.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Marlene!
Kris
So tasty! My 6 year old is dairy free and it’s a great way to get some Kale (calcium) into her – she went back for seconds. I don’t know what you mean by Pepper flakes, Capsicum? I can’t find it on supermarket shelves in Australia but just put in 1/2 tsp hot crushed chillies instead and that seemed to work.
★★★★★
Kimberly P
I would say pepper flakes are chili flakes in Australia. That’s what I would use.
Deana
I am an accomplished at home cook but had never tried minestrone until today. My 6 year old daughter recently became obsessed with it and let me tell you, this recipe does not disappoint!!! It’s the best minestrone I’ve ever had.
I just used what we had on hand…garden tomatoes, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, butternut squash, peas, garbanzo beans, spinach and some noodles. Seasoned it a bit more than the recipe and threw in a Parmesan cheese rind I had in the freezer. Omg it’s incredible!!!!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful, Deana! Thank you for your review.
Kylie M
I am currently making this recipe for the second time. It is absolutely delicious! I had been wanting to make minestrone soup for a long time, but was put off by so many recipes containing meat. I’m so glad I found this recipe. I stuck to the recipe and used one cup butternut pumpkin and one cup zucchini for the vegetables. Absolutely delicious! Will be making this and sharing it again and again. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you found it too, Kylie. Thank you for your review.
Monica
Thank you for this recipe!
I’m not super skilled at cooking & I was able to follow this and make something pretty yummy!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Monica!
Colleen West
I made this for myself one weekend to eat for lunches for the week. I told my picky 17 year old to try some and she ate half the pot. That is a true testament to a tasty dish! Thank you! It’s delicious!
★★★★★
Wendy
Absolutely divine!!! I followed exactly as recipe called. I used green beans, zucchini, and butternut squash as my added vegetables. Honestly, this recipe tastes identical to the Minestrone I’ve ordered at a nice restaurant. WOW!!! DELICIOUS!!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Wendy!
Barbara T.
This recipe had a little too much tomato flavor for me. I added a small amount of sugar (1 teaspoon) to balance the acidity of all that tomato. Next time I definitely will leave out the tomato paste, or reduce the amount canned diced tomatoes a bit. I also think anything tomato requires basil, so I included 1/2 teaspoon dried basil as well as an extra can of beans.
★★★★
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t love this as is, Barbara. Thank you for sharing how you adjusted this recipe.
Diane Charest
Excellent recipe, but needed twice the amount of broth. After adding all the veggies and pasta, it was too thick to stir, and that was before the pasta cooked! I added almost another 32 oz. carton of broth. Still, one of the best soups I’ve ever made!
★★★★★
Kathy A Brown
I added more broth also, plus a bit of fresh rosemary. I never liked bay leaves, and i didn’t have spinach or other greens on hand so i chopped the leaves from the celery. My daughter and her family are vegan – nice soup to make when they visit!! Thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Kathy! Thank you for your review.
Rebecca Jeffrey
This minestrone soup recipe is best minestrone recipe I have made. It is absolutely delicious. My extra vegetables were zucchini, cauliflower green beans as well as the others mentioned in the recipe
★★★★★
Lori Alaska
Excellent recipe! We used carrots, taters & cabbage (because we live in Alaska and that’s all we had on hand) and I may or may not have added some Italian sausage. Hubs chowed and I got lots of compliments. This is definitely going into our rotation. Super tasty :)
★★★★★
Kate
Sounds like a delicious way to use what you had on hand! I appreciate your review, Lori.
MaryBeth
Nice recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Added potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, scallions for vegetables.
Switched up greens with Swiss chard. Switched up beans. Not fond of the two types you suggested.
★★★★★
Wendy Lundon
Hi, I’m going to give this a go tomorrow. I really don’t like celery is there an alternative??
Kate
You could omit and add more carrot if you like.
Jacqueline Peacock
Really delicious soup. Tastes so similar to our favourite Italian restaurant soup it will ge made over and over again. The lemon at the end makes the biggest difference. I served it with the parmesan and a blob of pesto. Yum scrum!
★★★★★
T F
Can this be modified for the slow cooker?
Kate
I haven’t made it in a slow cooker and recommend it as is.
susan v dimaria
Wow. I do not normally eat much soup. Hubby does though. I tried it with a few subs. Spinach in place of kale. Chick peas instead of garbanzo. Had no thyme so used poultry seasoning. Wonderful! Thanks!
Heather
Simple to follow, not complicated at all and very very healthy, cheers.
My visitors loved it.
★★★★★
irbe
This has become one of my favorite and most-used recipes ever. Thank you!
★★★★★
Lisa Jenkins
Love this recipe. I got pulled away for a minute while the carrots , celery, onions and tomato paste were sauteing so the pot had a little fond built up which I deglazed with a little red wine. This soup is delicious! Thank you for an excellent recipe.So good!
Jen J
We made a double recipe to use a surplus of summer squash + bartered corn and kale. Skipped the celery (not our favorite) but otherwise followed your instructions, and it came out great – we were so pleased to find the texture, color combo, and flavors of the minestrone we remembered enjoying growing up.
Gaby Baker
Love love love this soup!!! The very best I’ve ever had!!!! Thank you
Kate
You’re welcome, Gaby!
Anne
An absolute favourite.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great, Anne!
SB
Fantastic!! Love that the tomato ingredients don’t overpower the soup. There’s really so much space to play with this recipe and really make it to your liking. I followed pretty much to recipe but added a Parmesan rind and more lemon juice. Chefs kiss!!
★★★★★
Jenny
I have made this soup quite a few times. We love it!! I use potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini squash, and baby spinach. The only adjustment I made was that I use two cans of cannellini beans instead of one (because my daughters love beans)and I blend the tomatoes (because we don’t like chunks). The rest of the soup I made as instructed. I think it’s tasty and hearty and healthy and I especially enjoy it with crusty bread on the side. Thanks for the great recipe!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jenny! Thank you for your review.
Cecilia Urton
I made the soup this morning for my daughter and her family. She texted me and said “That is the best soup I have had in years” The only thing I added was beef bullion cubes. Cecilia Urton.
Marilyn Campbell
What a fabulous recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Marilyn!
Marisa K.
I made this last night for my friend and her husband. Turned out delicious! I thought I had diced tomatoes but I was wrong so I subbed a can of tomato sauce. I also added a ton of fresh parsley at the end and all my personal favorite seasonings cause why not lol. I used ditalini for my pasta and a green zucchini, a yellow squash, and French beans for my seasonal veggies. Thanks for the recipe I was craving minestrone :)
★★★★★
Sian
Loved it. I used rainbow silverbeet and added a whole parmesan rind to the soup and it was spectacular.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Sian.
Andie
Best minestrone I’ve ever had
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great, Andie! I appreciate your review.
Terilynn Schofield
Best minestrone recipe out there! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Terilynn! I appreciate your review.
Had K
I usually don’t leave comments but this was too good! I’m a new mom and feeling a bit under the weather so I wanted something healthy but comforting. This was exactly what i needed to feel better :)
Kate
I’m glad you did, Had! Thank you for your review.
Michaela
awesome recipe! tastes great, simple and easy to make
★★★★★
Lizzie
First time making minestrone and this was just delicious. My partner said it was the “perfect bowl of soup”, among other compliments. I used zucchini, potato, and sweet potato for my veg, and elbow pasta. The lemon juice was such a great call. I will definitely be making this again soon. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Lizzie! Thank you for your review.
DW
Perfectly balanced and delicious! I used potatoes, zucchini, and corn for the seasonal veggies.
★★★★★
PAUL TAEGEL
Delicious. Lemon juice adds a great dimension.
★★★★★
Mary Flanagan
Made the ‘summer minestrone’: fresh tomatoes (instead of canned diced), yellow squash, corn, kale, green beens, snow peas, as well as the listed ingredients. Wonderful! Can’t wait to try the ‘autumn’ variation!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great, Mary! Thank you for sharing.
Marilyn
It was incredible!! Best minestrone ever!!!!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Marilyn!
Julie
Hi! Nutrition information says one bowl. How much is one bowl in oz or cups? Thank you! It was so delicious!!
Kate
Hi Julie, roughly 1.5-2 cups. I’m glad you loved it!
Gerard Healy
I love that this recipe gives free license to experiment with different veggies. This time I had green and yellow zucchini as well as baby kale on hand. No Northern or Canellini beans in the pantry today. So, I used a can of mixed beans (navy, pinto, garbanzo, and kidney) instead.
I followed the recipe exactly as stated with the one exception of throwing in a tsp of cayenne and garlic powder with the oregano and thyme. It turned out amazing!!! I have so much that I’m now scrambling to find containers suitable for freezing. LOL. Thanks for posting such a great recipe!
★★★★★
Dave
My son sent me this recipe saying it is the best minestrone soup he has ever had. I prepared it today and I have to agree with him it is absolutely delicious. Im looking forward to trying out your vegetarian chili next.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great, Dave! Thank you for sharing.
Hannah
Great recipe! I could only find beans in tomato sauce, so I used them with the sauce and skipped the tomato paste, it came out great. Lemon juice is a surprising and wonderful addition! I used zucchini as the seasonal veggie as it is that time of year, but I am looking forward to trying other vegetables as well. Delish, will make it again for sure.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Hannah! I appreciate your review.
Eileen Swiers
All the vegetables are wonder but the tomatoes overpower them. I think if I adjust the proportions, this will be just fine.
★★
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t love it as is, Eileen. Thank you for your feedback.
Pam
Make at least two pots a month for myself…its the lemon that takes it over the top! And ciabatta, of course.
★★★★★
Kate
Yes, with ciabatta of course. Thank you for sharing, Pam. I’m glad you are loving this soup.
Dave
This is a PERFECT fall meal! So hearty and full of flavor. I used sweet potato, zucchini and corn as my seasonal vegetables…the corn added a touch of sweetness. I think I added too many veggies and some extra black beans I had in the fridge so it came out more like a stew…but I love that. Served it with fresh olive bread. We were so stuffed afterwards, buts it’s super healthy..so who cares. Happy there are leftovers.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing, Dave. I appreciate your review.
Nick
Kate – again, you manage to transform a familiar recipe into something far more special :-) Followed verbatim, and it was truly delicious. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Nick! Thank you for your review.
Lisa
My son gave me your cookbook as a gift last year for Christmas. I’ve made a few of your recipes and everything has been awesome. Today I wanted to make a minestrone soup and I looked in the book and I saw the hearty lentil minestrone soup recipe but I didn’t have lentils.. and I didn’t want to go out. I went online and saw this similar recipe. I followed it exactly but I used spinach instead of kale. I also added a couple more cups of broth and for the seasonal veggies I used potatoes, green beans and zucchini! It came out fabulous and I honestly can’t stop eating it! Thank you for this outstanding recipe and I look forward to trying more.
Kate
You’re welcome, Lisa! I hope you try the lentil version too. It’s delicious!
Kelsey
Any suggestions on making this crockpot friendly? We are obsessed! I pair this with some baguettes + truffle butter, and use the fire roasted diced tomatoes and it’s amazing. This site has taught me everything my mother never did about how to cook veggies!
Kate
Hi Kelsey, I haven’t made this in a crock pot so I can’t say for sure. But if you try it, wait to add the noodles until later and cook them first. You would likely need to decrease the amount of liquid as well.
Neda
Delicious!
The kids and hubby absolutely adored this recipe!
Another wonderful one to add to our rotation! Thanks lovely!
★★★★★