Classic Minestrone Soup

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Minestrone soup is the pot I put on when the crisper drawer is full of odds and ends and nobody can agree on dinner. Carrots, celery, zucchini, and green beans cook down into a tomato broth with two cans of beans and a handful of small pasta. It comes out of one pot in about an hour. It’s the kind of bowl that feels like a whole meal instead of a starter.

The part that makes or breaks it is the soffritto at the start. Onion, carrot, and celery cooked slowly in olive oil until they soften and sweeten build the base flavor of the whole pot, and stirring the tomato paste in with the garlic for a minute before any liquid goes in toasts it and takes away that raw tinny taste canned paste can have. Skip those eight minutes and you get vegetable water with beans in it.

I add the pasta and the quick-cooking vegetables in the last stretch instead of at the beginning. So the zucchini still has some bite and the noodles don’t turn to mush. A squeeze of lemon and a last drizzle of olive oil right at the end wake the whole pot up, which sounds fussy but takes about ten seconds.

Why You’ll Love This Minestrone Soup Recipe

• One pot, start to finish. The pasta cooks right in the broth, so there’s nothing extra to boil, drain, or wash.
• Cheap and flexible. Canned beans, canned tomatoes, and whatever vegetables are already in the fridge carry the whole thing.
• A real meal in a bowl. Between the beans, the pasta, and all those vegetables, nobody leaves the table hungry.
• It gets better overnight. The broth deepens in the fridge, which makes this a good pot to cook on Sunday.

Minestrone Soup Ingredients

Two different beans give this more texture than one. Cannellini go soft and creamy against the broth while kidney beans hold their shape, so you get variety in every spoonful. If you only have one can of either, use it and add a second cup of chopped vegetables instead.

• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 cup ditalini or small shell pasta, uncooked
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan, for serving
• Crusty bread, for serving

Recipe Variations

• Stir in a cup of diced ham or browned Italian sausage with the broth if you want meat in the pot.
• Swap the spinach for chopped kale, adding it with the pasta instead of at the end since kale needs longer to soften.
• Use a rinsed parmesan rind in place of some of the salt, dropping it in with the broth and fishing it out before serving for a deeper savory background.

How to Make Minestrone Soup

1. Build the soffritto: Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is translucent and the carrots have started to soften.
2. Toast the paste and garlic: Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and thyme. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens a shade and smells sweet instead of sharp.
3. Add the broth and beans: Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and the vegetable broth. Stir in both cans of beans, the salt, pepper, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes if using. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes.
4. Cook the pasta right in the pot: Stir in the pasta, zucchini, and green beans. Simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom, until the noodles are al dente and the green beans are tender.
5. Wilt the spinach: Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes, just until it collapses into the broth. Fish out and discard the bay leaves.
6. Finish and taste: Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Taste and add more salt if it needs it; broth brands vary a lot in how salty they start out.
7. Serve: Ladle the minestrone soup into bowls, shower each one with grated parmesan, and serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Recipe FAQs

Why Did My Minestrone Turn Thick and Stew-Like Overnight?

The pasta keeps drinking broth as it sits, so leftovers always tighten up. Stir in a splash of broth or water when you reheat and it comes right back.

Can I Use Dried Beans Instead of Canned?

Yes, but cook them separately until tender first, then add about 3 cups of cooked beans where the cans go in. Dried beans won’t soften properly simmering in an acidic tomato broth.

What Vegetables Can I Swap In?

Green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, diced potato, peas, and butternut squash all work. Add firm things like potato with the broth and quick ones like peas in the last few minutes.

Is Minestrone Soup Vegetarian?

As written, yes, with vegetable broth. Leave the parmesan off or use a vegetarian hard cheese to keep it fully meat-free.

Can I Make This in a Slow Cooker?

You can, though it’s a different rhythm. Sauté the vegetables and tomato paste on the stove first, then move everything except the pasta and spinach to the slow cooker for 4 hours on low. Stir the pasta and spinach in for the last 20 minutes.

Cooking Tips

• Cut the carrots and celery about the same size as the pasta. Even pieces mean every spoonful has a little of everything instead of one giant carrot chunk.
• If you know you’ll have leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl. The broth stays brothy that way instead of getting soaked up.
• Salt in stages and taste at the end. Canned tomatoes, canned beans, and broth all bring their own sodium, and they don’t add up the same way from brand to brand.

Storage and Freezing

To store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens as it sits.

To freeze: The soup base freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Freeze it before the pasta goes in for the best texture, then cook fresh pasta into it when you reheat.

To reheat: Warm on the stovetop over medium-low heat with an extra splash of broth to loosen it, or microwave in 1-minute bursts, stirring between.

How to Serve Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup wants crusty bread more than anything else, either torn straight into the bowl or toasted with a little olive oil. A simple green salad with vinaigrette on the side turns it into a full sit-down dinner. If you’re feeding a crowd, our Lasagna Soup makes a good second pot alongside it for anyone who wants something meatier.

Loved This Recipe?

Minestrone Soup is the pot I trust to turn a random fridge into a dinner everyone actually finishes.

Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.

Classic Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup packed with vegetables, cannellini and kidney beans, and small pasta simmered together in a savory tomato broth.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:40 minutes mins

Total Time:1 hour hr

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil divided
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 2 carrots peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juices
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
• 1 cup ditalini or small shell pasta uncooked
• 1 medium zucchini diced
• 1 cup fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan for serving
• crusty bread for serving

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Instructions

• Build the soffritto: Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is translucent and the carrots have started to soften.
• Toast the paste and garlic: Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and thyme. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens a shade and smells sweet instead of sharp.
• Add the broth and beans: Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and the vegetable broth. Stir in both cans of beans, the salt, pepper, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes if using. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes.
• Cook the pasta right in the pot: Stir in the pasta, zucchini, and green beans. Simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom, until the noodles are al dente and the green beans are tender.
• Wilt the spinach: Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes, just until it collapses into the broth. Fish out and discard the bay leaves.
• Finish and taste: Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Taste and add more salt if it needs it; broth brands vary a lot in how salty they start out.
• Serve: Ladle the minestrone soup into bowls, shower each one with grated parmesan, and serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Notes

Cook the onion, carrot, and celery slowly for a full 7-8 minutes and toast the tomato paste with the garlic before adding liquid; that base is where the flavor comes from. Simmer the soup to a full boil before reducing, and cook the pasta directly in the broth so it thickens the pot as it softens.