Classic Minestrone Soup
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.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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
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.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Found this last week & have already made it twice! Used zucchini, yellow squash, & potatoes. I also added 1/2 can of red kidney beans with the cannelini. I I’m looking forward to finding out how well it freezes, but we’ve loved it so much we never have any left!
I salvaged a trial & arror zuchini lazagna with the ministrone recipe. Used some of the pasta & added White Beans & spices. Good!
Tomato paste is added in step 1 of the instructions :)
This is the best minestrone soup that I have ever tasted. I have made it many times now. It is so comforting, nourishing and healthy. Thank you for sharing this yummy bowl of goodness.
Made this soup and used two 14 oz. cans of fire roasted tomatoes. Followed the recipe exactly except didn’t use any tomato paste. Turned out delicious. This recipe is a keeper for sure! Thank you for posting.
Wow! This is the most flavorful and hearty minestrone I’ve ever made. I had a bunch of string beans and yellow squash and kale in my garden, so used those along with the fingerling potatoes and frozen peas I had on hand. I also had some chickpea penne, so decided to use that as my pasta and WOW. I will say it again – so flavorful and chock full of beautiful color. and nutrition. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
I’m delighted to hear how much you have enjoyed this soup, Pekio! Thank you for taking the time to review.
I’m going to use all the usual vegetables that you mention as well as asian long beans and the greens will be watercress, swiss chard and malabar climbing spinach. The watercress because I picked alot at one of my secret spots and I have to use it. Growing my own asian long beans and climbing spinach so I gotta use them. I also made pesto with watercress and basil because I have so much!
It is officially soup season for me (the first cold snap is good enough, right?!) so breaking this and several of your other soups out! I adore this recipe. So good!
A cozy bowl of soup sounds perfect on this rainy day here! I’m happy you enjoyed it, Nikole.
i make this every fall with the last of my herbs and veggies from the garden but I’ve also made it in the dead of winter with a mix of frozen and fresh produce and both work out deliciously!
This recipe is stupid good!! So healthy and so much flavor!! Thank you for sharing, I am stoked I found your page :D
it may have been the thyme that caused the sourness.
Good soup…although next time I’ll add some changes. Double the broth, cook the potatoes from the beginning with carrots, celery, and onion (somehow they were too hard), and follow noodle instructions package regarding time instead of recommended 20 minutes. Also might use kidney beans instead of cannelloni as I feel the taste is a bit deeper. Love the squeeze of lemon at the end.
I made this for dinner last night because I had an abundance of vegetables that are great in this soup. Since I like my soups really thick, I omitted the 2 cups of water and put 4 cups of yellow squash and zucchini in it, I only had red onion so that was what I used. After adding the pasta I only needed 10 minutes additional cooking time. I didn’t have fresh spinach but I substituted a thawed out box of chopped frozen. Delicious! Even my hubby loved it and he is not a big fan of soups.
Delicious! I used crushed tomatoes instead and pureed some of the veggies my kids don’t like. Doubled the recipe for midweek freezer meals. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Thank you!!!
Love love love this soup! I make a pot about once a month. Last time I made it with split peas but I don’t like that as well as the lentils.
Could you provide some nutrient info please. May be difficult because we use what is available, but I wouldn’t think that various squash or veggies would make much difference.
Hi,
Do you have the recipe for the vegetable broth that you add in? Thanks so much!
Hi Elena, I don’t sorry!
I make this recipe ALL the time! It is so good and a great way to get your veggies in. I follow the recipe exactly but switch up the seasonal vegetables according to the season. Thanks Kate and Cookie for an amazing recipe that is super simple and extrodinarily delicious!
SO good!
I forgot to buy beans so I threw in some leftover chicken I had— tasted great!
Although I tweaked the recipe slightly, it turned out excellent! In fact, it blew right through the, “I don’t usually like my own cooking” barrier, thus I ended up having seconds. Definitely needs a whole lot more salt to balance the flavors out and I cooked the pasta separately so that it doesn’t turn to mush, and I added a teaspoon of herbs de Provence, but otherwise followed the recipe verbatim. Highly recommend this to all my friends
Fantastic!really tasty ,tried many recipes ,the slight difference is the pinch of pepper flakes ,it really works !i also put a good chunk of Parmesan rind in to the soup while it is hot and it melts in.
Thanks
Mel
Uk (the small island !)
Minestrone brings me back to my childhood, and this soup tastes just how I remember it. Thank you for sharing! Absolutely wonderful!
You’re welcome, Dominique! I’m excited it has provided a great memory for you :)
So yummy! Out of all of our 100s of soup recipes we have tried, this is my hubs favorite! I doubled the veggies and the thyme and oregano. Thank you!
So yummy! Out of all of our 100s of soup recipes we have tried, this is my hubs favorite! I doubled the veggies and the thyme and oregano. I also used chickpea pasta instead of regular pasta. Thank you!
I made this soup today and it is delicious. I used squash, peas and potatoes for the vegetables. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I never liked minestrone until I made and tasted this one! Thanks for my conversion Kate:) My version had small white soaked beans and zucchini. I stuck to the other veggies from recipe. I didn’t have tomato paste but added a heaping tbsp of sweet Hungarian paprika. Oregano and thyme are the reason why I normally don’t care for minestrone so I went easy on those, skipped lemon entirely. The acidity from canned crushed and 2 fresh tomatoes was enough for my taste.
I finally decided to post a comment because it’s the 3rd time I had luck with your recipes. Thanks again for sharing your cooking and good luck with your continued endeavors!
I will be back!
Katarina
Yum! This was delicious and easy!
Eating this now. WOW ! Absolutely DELISH. I used 1 cup of red kidney beans and 1/2 cup of chickpeas. Topped with fresh parmesan cheese and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. A+++++ recipe!!!!!!!!!!
Is it 4 cups of all the vegetables or can you add as many vegetables as you would like to add?
Hi! The instructions are for quantity to add of vegetables you would like to add. I hope this helps!
This was the BEST homemade soup I have ever made. So flavorful and easy to make! The seasonal veggies I used were squash, sweet potato and mushrooms. I used cabbage in place of the collared greens and used canned peas in place of the beans. This soup is a favorite of mine and I will be making it time and time again.
The minestrone soup is delicious!
I made this tonight and it turned out great. I Used more veggies than the recipe called for since I like a little more veggies in each bite. I left out the lemon juice but great flavor.
Thanks for sharing…. it was delicious! Anything can be put in it because the seasonings are spot on. I didn’t have time to saute the veggies and just through everything in the crockpot. Came out perfectly and we will be having the leftovers tonight. Definitely will be making this often.
Hi will defintely try this recipe
I love the simplicity of this recipe
Absolutely incredible recipe!! I cannot wait to try more of your recipes, thank you!!
Thank you for this recipe, Kate! It was easy and most of all delicious!! I’ve made many of your recipes and they are all yummy!
Pasta take 5 mins max to cook- it’s been put in the pot far too soon!
This turned out great!! How do I make my broth a little redder and with more flavor. I feel like once I added my noodles it soaked a lot of the flavor.
I followed the recipe exactly but had a problem with the soup lacking flavor… felt like i spent a lot of money on ingredients and the soup turned out bland.
Beautiful recipe!
It took longer to cook than stated, the carrots seemed to take forever but it was worth every extra minute.
Everyone loved it, they literally inhaled it :))
I’m sorry it took longer, but happy you loved it! I appreciate your review, Gaynor.
Hi Kate
Just wanted to thank you for this recipe. I have been making it for a couple of years now and absolutely love it! I use whatever vegetables are in my fridge and sometimes I buy pre-chopped veg. I sometimes share with friends and they love it too.
That’s great, Anastasia! Thank you for your review. I’m excited it was a hit with everyone.
Hi Kate, Made your classic Minestrone soup 2 days ago and it is a hit!! One of my favorite soups in the Fall and Winter! It had lots of flavor. I was a little skeptical about adding the tomato paste which I usually don’t use in minestrone but it did not disappoint!!
Thanks, Francesca
Delicious!!! The flavors develop nicely during the cooking.
Hi just finished making and eating 2 bowls of this glorious soup.Thank you so much! But I could go back for another bowl love it!!!
Wonderful! What a great lunch, I wish I had some available. Thank you for your review, Lorayzine!
I’ve made this at least ten times, and it always turns out excellent. Some things I’ve discovered along the way is to double the recipe as the flavors become even deeper overnight, to offset the tomatoes’ sourness with a tablespoon of brown sugar, and to use one more cup whole wheat pasta to make the meal heartier.
I use green beans as the seasonal vegetable and add half a cup of red wine in the doubled version, and it all works because the recipe is effortless and incredibly forgiving. Another hit, Kate, thank you so much: my family insists they had never eaten a minestrone soup so delicious.
Has anyone made this as a meal prep recipe? Looking to make it for a wonderful dinner, but want to store and reheat for lunches this week. Any advice to keep the veg and pasta from getting mushy?
Thanks!
Hi Katelynn! I actually like this one leftover. The noodles to tend to absorb, but you can add a splash of broth or just enjoy a thicker consistency.
Has anyone made this as a meal prep recipe? Looking to make it for a wonderful dinner, but want to store and reheat for lunches this week. Any advice to keep the veggies and pasta from getting mushy?
Thanks!
Absolutely delicious. We keep coming back to this one and it was a great “gateway” recipe for our family as we transitioned to more vegetarian meals. It is perfect as written, but I always add a Parmesan rind if I have one for that extra little something. Yum!
Thank you for sharing, Emily! I appreciate it.
This is by far the best minestrone soup I’ve made! Only change I made is I used fresh oregano and fresh basil instead of dried thyme and oregano. I also did not add the lemon juice at the end. It is my new go to!! So yummy!
That’s great to hear, Jenny!
Amazing every time. Green beans and new potato in this one. Slightly over on some ingredients like garlic, veg and herbs, but adapt to taste! We’ve done a load of the recipes on c n k, they never fail to be delicious, healthy, sustainable, and amazing value for money. Best US site I’ve tried by miles. Seriously talented recipe makers, take a bow!
I’m glad you love it, Jules! Thank you for your review.
The Absolute BEST!
Thank you, Karen! I’m glad you loved it.