A classic Italian meal packed with hearty vegetables, beans, and pasta, Minestrone Soup is a delicious vegetarian dish that is also super easy to make!
What is Minestrone Soup?
Minestrone Soup is a common and traditional Italian soup made with a tomato-y broth and vegetables such as beans, onions, carrots, and celery.
Italian home cooks often cook with whatever ingredients are fresh and seasonal, so the actual ingredients can vary from family to family and from month to month.
While our take on minestrone is vegetarian with beans for added protein, this soup could just as easily have meat in it.
Really, anything goes when it comes to Minestrone! It’s an excellent way to use up extra bits of produce left in your fridge, and no matter what you add to it, it’s always tasty.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re looking for a recipe for Minestrone Soup from the Olive Garden, you’ll be so glad you found this one! Olive Garden is known for its amazing soups, like Zuppa de Toscana, Pasta e Fagioli, Chicken Gnocchi, and Minestrone.
Unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks was always my favorite thing to order at the Olive Garden because I could potentially have a little bit of all four soups!
You won’t need to leave the house to enjoy a big, hearty pot of this vegetable soup, because I’m sharing the easy recipe so you can make it at home.
This minestrone soup recipe is just as good – or probably better – than you’d find at any restaurant.
Key Ingredients in Minestrone Soup
Here’s what you need to make this classic Italian minestrone soup recipe:
- Onion, Carrot, and Celery: In Italy, these three together are known as soffritto, and are the basis for all delicious soups, stews, and sauces.
- Garlic: Three whole cloves please, minced finely.
- Vegetable Stock: I always have some of this in my freezer (it’s simple to make it from scratch with my veggie stock recipe), and it’s perfect for this vegetarian soup. Store-bought vegetable stock can also be used.
- Canned Tomatoes: Much of the rich flavor of this soup comes from a can of diced tomatoes and a few tablespoons of tomato paste.
- Beans: I am using red kidney beans and white cannellini beans in my minestrone today, but you can really use any beans you enjoy or whatever is hanging around in your pantry! Be sure to drain and rinse canned beans well before using them.
- Veggies: Spinach, green beans and zucchini are traditional vegetables that you’ll find in an Italian minestrone, and they’re in the Olive Garden version too! That said, any vegetables are welcome in this pot, so feel free to add whatever you like.
- Pasta: Look for any small “soup pasta” like ditalini, small shells, or macaroni. The pasta is cooked in the soup so that it absorbs the flavor of the broth and releases its starch to slightly thicken the soup.
- Parmesan Cheese: A little bit (or a lot!) of freshly grated parmesan cheese is the perfect finishing touch for minestrone. Leave it out to make this recipe vegan!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make This Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Saute: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies are soft. Then add the zucchini and green beans, and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer: Pour in the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and vegetable stock. Mix well, then add pasta and drained beans. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.
- Finish: Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, stir in the fresh spinach leaves and cook just until they wilt. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve immediately, topped with grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley if desired.
Tip!
The soup only needs to simmer long enough for the pasta to cook. Remember that the pasta will keep cooking as the soup cools, so be sure not to overcook it.
Recipe Tips
- Add some heat! A dash of red pepper flakes will add a bit of spice to the soup.
- Try Other Veggies. Instead of spinach, try chopped kale or Swiss chard. Yellow squash can easily be used instead of zucchini, or you can switch up the veggies entirely. Get creative!
- Drain the Beans. Canned beans should be drained and rinsed before adding them to the soup. We don’t want or need the liquid in those cans.
- Don’t drain the tomatoes. When it comes to canned tomatoes, we definitely DO want the juice from the can, so be sure not to drain it away.
Storing Tips
Keep leftover Minestrone soup in an airtight container in the fridge. It should stay good for up to 4 days.
If you’re planning to have leftovers, it’s best to cook and store the pasta separately so that it doesn’t become too soft.
The soup may thicken a bit after being refrigerated. If needed, add a splash of water when you reheat it so that it’s perfect again.
What To Serve With Minestrone Soup
If you were enjoying a bowl of Olive Garden Minestrone, you’d definitely need to have some soft, garlicky Olive Garden Breadsticks and an Olive Garden Salad, so try making those at home using my easy copycat recipes!
Homemade minestrone is also delicious with a hunk of rustic, crusty bread.
What vegetables are in Minestrone?
Here we’re using carrots, celery, and onions, plus green beans, spinach, and zucchini. I suggest sticking with the first three, but you can add other veggies, or replace the ones used in the recipe. Try sauteed mushrooms, shredded cabbage, cauliflower, wax beans, or frozen peas.
What Type of Beans To Use for Minestrone?
Any kind of beans will work! Instead of kidney beans and cannellini beans, try chickpeas, butter beans, or navy beans.
Is There Pasta in Minestrone?
Most minestrone recipes call for adding pasta. It keeps the soup filling and hearty! If you’d prefer to leave the pasta out, you absolutely can. You can also replace it with a different type of starch, like rice or quinoa.
More Satisfying Soup Recipes
Creamy Chicken Florentine Soup
Vegetarian Butternut Squash Chili
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Easy Creamy Potato Leek Soup
This Olive Garden-style Minestrone Soup might be the easiest soup recipe you’ll make this year and it’s the perfect cozy pick-me-up for a cold day. Pin it, and share it with all of your soup-loving friends!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 1 medium zucchini chopped
- 1 cup green beans chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 14.5-ounce can (425 g) diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup ditalini pasta or any small pasta shape
- 1 15-ounce can (425 g) white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can (425 g) kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the veggies soften.
- Add zucchini, green beans, and garlic. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour in the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable stock, and Italian seasoning. Mix well.
- Add the pasta, drained white beans, and kidney beans.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let the soup simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
- Stir in the fresh spinach leaves and cook until they wilt, which should take about 2 minutes.
- Give the soup a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve hot. Garnish with grated parmesan and fresh parsley if desired. Serve with crusty bread.
Notes:
- Add some heat! A dash of red pepper flakes will add a bit of spice to the soup.
- Try Other Veggies. Instead of spinach, try chopped kale or Swiss chard. Yellow squash can easily be used instead of zucchini, or you can switch up the veggies entirely. Get creative!
- Drain the Beans. Canned beans should be drained and rinsed before adding them to the soup. We don’t want or need the liquid in those cans.
- Don’t drain the tomatoes. When it comes to canned tomatoes, we definitely DO want the juice from the can, so be sure not to drain it away.
- To Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If you’re planning on leftovers, I suggest cooking and storing the pasta separately so that it doesn’t get soggy.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Michelle K Drozdibob says
This soup is delicious, very hearty and also versatile. Look in your fridge before you make it and use up some of the veggies That are a little less than fresh!
D Mercier says
When do you add the 3 garlic cloves? They are on the list then never in the recipe?
Diana says
Hi! Garlic is added in step 2 “Add zucchini, green beans, and garlic. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.”