Minestrone Soup
This minestrone soup recipe is SO easy and delicious. It's filled with pasta, beans, tomatoes, and veggies and seasoned with Italian herbs.
- Total time
- Unknown
- Active time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 4, 4 to 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Equipment
- 2 required
Ingredients and Constraints
Ingredients
- Optional
Ingredient watchpoints11 watchpoints
Short requirements and tradeoffs to check while gathering ingredients; detailed source notes stay expandable.
Yellow Onion
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
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Details and source
Source: Minestrone Soup
Carrot
2 medium carrots (chopped)
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Ribs Celery
2 celery ribs (thinly sliced)
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Sea Salt
1 teaspoon sea salt (plus more to taste)
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Garlic
3 garlic cloves (grated)
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
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Source: Minestrone Soup
White Beans
1½ cups cooked white beans or kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
The source ingredient row lists alternatives.
Details and source
Acceptable alternatives: Kidney Beans
Source: Minestrone Soup
White Beans
1½ cups cooked white beans or kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Green Beans
1 cup chopped green beans
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Parsley
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Parmesan Cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for serving)
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Source: Minestrone Soup
Additional ingredient notes
Minestrone Soup Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this minestrone soup recipe: Onion, carrot, and celery – These vegetables create the aromatic base of the soup, known as a soffritto in Italian.
You’ll sauté them in olive oil before adding the other ingredients. Garlic – It adds additional depth of flavor to the soup. You’ll stir it in after cooking the onions, carrots, and celery so that it doesn’t burn. Diced tomatoes – For sweet, tangy flavor. Green beans – They add vibrant color and crisp-tender texture to the soup.
Required setup
Equipment
large pot
Source recipe card equipment.
Before You Cook
Constraints, controls, and warnings to review before starting.
Decisions before cookingDetails1
Reviewed comparisons and tradeoffs that affect the path before the first active step.
Variations
If you don’t have these exact ingredients on hand, don’t worry.
As Alice Waters writes in The Art of Simple Food, minestrone soup is endlessly customizable. Part of the beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up to use what’s in season or what you have on hand. Here are a few ideas to get you started: Substitute chopped fennel for the celery. Replace the green beans with diced zucchini or yellow squash, or use a mix of all three. In the summer, use diced fresh Roma tomatoes instead of canned ones. Stir in fresh greens, like spinach or kale, near the end of the cooking time. Swap in a quick-cooking grain like pearled farro or barley. Instead of using canned beans, cook your own! Then, use the aromatic cooking liquid in place of some or all of the vegetable broth in this soup.
Method Timeline
Prep
ActivePrep
15 min
Prep time from the source recipe card.
Cook
ActiveCook
30 min
Cook time from the source recipe card.
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, salt, and several grinds of black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
medium heatPot
Image detailsOnions, carrots, and celery in a Dutch oven with wooden spatulaLove And Lemons · Minestrone SoupDev reference Visual cue
until the vegetables begin to soften.
Checks2
Visual cueInfoVisualuntil the vegetables begin to soften.
Expected state: until the vegetables begin to soften.
TimingInfoTimingfor 8 minutes
Target: 8 minute
Expected state: Add the onion, carrots, celery, salt, and several grinds of black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
Inputs and tools6
Uses
- 2 medium carrots (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (plus more to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
Why and source
This step has reviewed source-backed guidance.
- Source: Minestrone Soup
Step 2
Add the garlic, tomatoes, beans, green beans, broth, bay leaves, oregano, and thyme. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 3
Stir in the pasta and cook, uncovered, for 10 more minutes, until the pasta is cooked through.
Step 4
Season to taste and serve with parsley, red pepper flakes, and parmesan, if desired.
Image detailsVegetarian minestrone soup with crusty breadLove And Lemons · Minestrone SoupDev reference Checks1
ServiceMain recipeSource service instruction
Season to taste and serve with parsley, red pepper flakes, and parmesan, if desired.
Inputs and tools2
Uses
- Red pepper flakes
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Why and source
This step has reviewed source-backed guidance.
- Source: Minestrone Soup
Handling and Storage
Reviewed hold, storage, make-ahead, and service-timing guidance.
Minestrone Soup Serving Suggestions
This recipe is best right after it’s made, as the pasta absorbs the broth as it sits in the leftover soup.
If you want to make it ahead of time, I recommend cooking the pasta separately and stirring it into the soup as you’re ready to eat. Alternatively, you can skip the pasta and add an extra cup of beans to the soup. Prepared this way, the soup will keep well for up to four days in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, top each bowl with a sprinkle of parsley, red pepper flakes, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. If you’re vegan, feel free to skip the cheese, or garnish your bowl with a scoop of vegan pesto instead. (Non-vegans take note: regular pesto is also a great topping for minestrone soup!). Serve the soup with good crusty bread and call it a day, or round out the meal with a side salad. This arugula salad, this beet salad, and this pear salad would all be fantastic with this minestrone soup.
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Recipe structure
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Main recipe
Recipe card ingredients and steps.
4, 4 to 6
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Source and Origin
Origin declaration
Adapted from source
Imported from the love-and-lemons page for dev review.
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Minestrone Soup
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