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!
(This post was originally published in November 2016, but was updated with new photos and content in 2022).
Minestrone soup is an extremely popular Italian soup. It has a very loose framework which can easily be adjusted based on what you have in your kitchen and what you like. At a basic level, it includes a variety of vegetables (onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes), beans, stock/broth or water, and usually pasta.
The earliest origins of Italian minestrone soup pre-date the Roman Empire. In the centuries since, what was once a "vegetarian by necessity" type of dish has been elevated and transformed into what we see today.
There is no single and authentic way to make minestrone, but one thing that most people agree on is that it's hearty! This versatile and comforting soup can easily be vegetarian or not, and is a great way to use up vegetables in your fridge or from your garden.
Ingredient notes
- Tomatoes: This minestrone soup recipe uses some canned tomato paste to help build flavor in addition to canned crushed or ground peeled tomatoes. Note that canned tomato sauce isn't the same as crushed or ground peeled tomatoes, as it contains added spices.
- Beans: 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.
- Potatoes: Some people include cubed potatoes in their minestrone, and others don't. I'm on team potatoes, but you can leave them out if you prefer. I recommend waxy potatoes (such as Yukon gold) as they hold their shape better when cooked.
- Broth: If you prefer to make a vegetarian soup, use vegetable broth here. Otherwise, I always have chicken broth on hand and use that.
- Pasta: Use a small soup pasta or macaroni. 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.
- Parmesan Rind: This is completely optional but highly recommended. Adding a rind from a wheel of Parmesan cheese (ideally the best kind—Parmigianino-Reggiano) while the soup is simmering adds great flavor to the finished minestrone! Various grocery stores and markets actually sell the rinds leftover from the freshly grated parmesan they sell. I get mine at Whole Foods. If you're vegetarian, skip the rind as Parmigiano-Reggiano is made with animal rennet and isn't vegetarian.
How to make it
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook, stirring regularly, until starting to soften (PHOTO 1). Then, add potato, zucchini, garlic, parsley, and rosemary, and season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes (PHOTO 2).
Add tomato paste and stir to coat (PHOTO 3). Then stir in crushed tomatoes, beans, and a Parmesan cheese rind, if using (PHOTO 4).
Add broth, raise the heat to bring to a simmer, then partially cover and reduce the heat to low (PHOTO 5). Simmer for about 15 minutes (PHOTO 6).
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the pasta and cook, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
Remove the cheese rind from the minestrone soup, then ladle into mugs or bowls and serve topped with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino Romano cheese, if desired, alongside crusty Italian bread.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
Italian minestrone 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.
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.
Other recipes you may like
- Zupa Pomidorowa (Polish Tomato Soup)
- Red Lentil Potato Soup
- Česnečka (Czech Garlic Soup aka Hangover Soup)
- Soupe de Chalet (Swiss Cheese and Potato Soup)
- Autumn Vegetable Soup with Sausage and Green Lentils
- Tom Yum Gai (Thai Hot and Sour Chicken Soup)
- Meatball Soup with Potatoes and Carrots
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Italian Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium to large onion finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 stalks celery trimmed and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 large or 2 small Yukon gold (or other waxy) potatoes (about 8 ounces) peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium zucchini ends trimmed and chopped into ½-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch crushed red chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups canned crushed or ground peeled tomatoes
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can white cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock or broth
- ½ cup small soup pasta such as small shells, farfalline, ditalini, elbow macaroni, or acini di pepe
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the pasta and cook, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
- 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
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Tara
Great minestrone soup recipe! It looked just like the pic when finished, and tastes even better the next day! The Parmesan rind while cooking and the additional Parmesan and/or Romano for serving are highly recommended.