Homemade classic Minestrone Soup is hearty, aromatic and loaded with mouthwatering chunks of veggies, beans, pasta, and herbs. Simmered in a flavorful tomato broth, this healthy soup is a must-try!

Other Italian classics we love are vegetarian pasta e fagioli and Instant Pot zuppa toscana.

Reader’s Review

At the top of my list to re-make, this will be a staple soup in my house. The end result of flavor is totally amazing. Thank you!
Stuart

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Why You’ll Love My Minestrone

Traditional minestrone soup is meant to use up leftover vegetables, so it’s very forgiving, which makes it super budget-friendly and customizable.

Using seasonal veggies means you can make a variation of this soup all year round! And if you have electric pressure cooker, check out my Instant Pot minestrone.

My Italian minestrone has texture and flavor in every bite and definitely not your average vegetable soup! Although my vegetable soup is anything but average.

It’s loaded with fresh herbs, beans and pasta give it the extra body that’s balanced out by the citrus of the tomato broth and the finishing flavor of the Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients for Minestrone Soup

Diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, ditalini pasta, olive oil, garlic, celery, onion, carrots, parsley, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, rosemary, greens beans, zucchini, potato, parmesan cheese, vegetable broth.

Mirepoix: Onion, garlic, celery and carrots give the soup a great foundation to build on.
Other vegetables: I used green beans, zucchini and potatoes. Use anything you have on hand. You want to chop them into uniform sizes. Canned diced tomatoes (for the sake of this list, it’s a vegetable).
Beans: You can use white cannellini beans or red kidney beans. I like to use low sodium from a can beans for convenience but when I have time I also like to cook dried beans from scratch. Beans give minestrone a source of fiber and protein.
Broth: Low sodium vegetable broth. Chicken broth is great too if you’re not concerned about having a vegetarian soup.
Pasta: Uncooked small pasta like ditalini, orzo, or shells gives the soup body but doesn’t overpower all the other wonderful textures.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil adds nice flavor to this meatless soup.
Seasonings: Dried or fresh rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley for the finish.
Parmesan rind (optional): Added to the broth for another layer of flavor. I add it when I remember, I always have a stash in a freezer.

How to Make Minestrone Soup

Prep: Preheat a large pot or Dutch oven on the stove. Drizzle in some olive oil, add onion, garlic, carrots and celery, and saute for 5 minutes. Add rosemary and saute while stirring often. As you can tell by the tantalizing aroma, this is the base that the rest of the soup will be built on.
Add Parmesan rind, if using. It adds extra flavor but also makes this soup non-vegetarian. Up to you!
Combine: Stir in vegetables, diced tomatoes, beans, broth, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Boil: Bring the soup to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add pasta: Add ditalini pasta. You want to stir occasionally just to make sure the pasta isn’t clumping together.
Simmer: Cover your pot, reduce the heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. You want to stir a few times to make sure pasta isn’t clumping or burning.
Finishing touch: Turn off heat and let soup rest for 5 minutes. Then add parsley, stir and do a little taste test and see if you’d like to adjust any seasonings. Keep in mind you’re about to add in some beautiful, sharp, salty Parmesan cheese.
Serve: Add soup to individual bowls and don’t skimp on the cheese. Load it up with as much as you’d like with a side of crusty bread and you’re in for a taste explosion! Serve with Italian chopped salad for a soup and salad combo.

Bowls with minestrone garnished with cheese, parsley and served with bread.

Variations

Bacon or pancetta: Add some crumbled baked bacon or fried pieces of pancetta along with the onion mixture at the beginning. This will no longer make it vegetarian (obviously) but it will add a lovely smoky, salty pork flavor.
Rice: Swap out the pasta with rice! It will give it the same creaminess from its natural starch.
Fresh Parmesan: Grating your own from a wedge of Parmesan cheese is key! Buying pre-grated does not have the same flavor, and will not melt as easily into the soup. For such an absolutely delicious soup you want to finish it off in the best way possible!
Fresh basil: Chopped basil or even a dollop of basil pesto would add a pop of fresh herb. So good!
Meatballs: Add some little ground turkey meatballs or crumble up some ground sausage for a meaty bite.

How to Store and Reheat

Store: Pack it up and have it for lunch the next day! Store in an airtight container and you’ve got leftovers for up to 5 days. Usually pasta soaks up liquid but I found this minestrone didn’t become too thick and it added to the heartiness of the soup.

Freeze: If you’re going to freeze minestrone soup, freeze it without the added pasta if you can help it. Throw in some cooked pasta later on when you’re ready to eat it because pasta doesn’t freeze well. Soup will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheat: Thaw frozen soup in the fridge overnight. Reheat the desired amount on the stove, simmering on low.