Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is flavorful hearty Italian soup with beans, pasta and veggies. Not only it is delicious and comforting but nutritious.
Instant Pot black bean soup, Instant Pot zuppa toscana and Instant Pot vegetable soup are other budget friendly soups we make year round.
Instant Pot Minestrone
This Instant Pot minestrone soup is a living proof that soup is not only for fall. And neither is Instant Pot. Minestrone is hearty, healthy and extremely delicious. It uses farmer’s market produce, cleans out the fridge and feeds kids for days that are home from school.
Just like this pressure cooker lentil soup and pressure cooker vegetarian chili recipes, loaded with pulses and veggies to the brim! Minestrone is one of those soups that is super easy to customize. Literally any firm veggies, spices and tomates work.
We make soups year round. Especially in summer. And especially in Instant Pot – keeps kitchen cool. It’s how I grew up in Ukraine and it makes total sense to me. I still remember eating a bowl of grandma’s piping hot chicken noodle soup or borsch and sweating. It was the best with fresh herbs and homemade noodles.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Minestrone
- Firm veggies: Carrots, celery, onion and garlic. I like to add potatoes because they make soup thicker and hearty.
- Soft veggies: Zucchini can be added before and after cooking with pasta if you like firm squash. Bell pepper comes out bright red and pretty in minestrone.
- White beans: You can use dried white beans or 2 x 14 oz cans of beans. I prefer cannellini beans but Great Northern or white navy beans work.
- Pasta: You can use any short pasta. Healthy choice would be whole grain, brown rice, quinoa, chickpea or any whole food pasta. But white regular pasta works too.
- Diced tomatoes: They add chunks of veggies and flavor keeping soup more on a broth side. I use no salt added.
- Seasonings and garnish: Dried rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Fresh parsley and Parmesan for garnish.
How to Make Instant Pot Minestrone
- Prep: In 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, add onion, carrots, other veggies, garlic, dried beans (see below for canned beans), diced tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and water. It is important to have tomatoes on top and not to stir to avoid Burn. Close the lid and set valve to Sealing.
- Cook for 30 mins with dried beans: Press Pressure Cook on High or Manual button for 30 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 30 minutes to come to pressure and then cook for another 30 mins.
- Cook for 10 mins with canned beans: Do not add canned white beans in the beginning so they don’t become a mush. Reduce broth to 5 cups, pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. We will add beans at the end with pasta.
- Allow pressure to come down naturally for 15 minutes: After cooking is finished, wait 15 minutes and only then turn vent to Venting. Don’t do it right away because soup will splatter from the pressure release valve all over your counters.
- Add pasta: Add pasta to cooked soup, close the lid and let it sit in a pot turned off (or on Keep Warm) for 10-15 minutes. You don’t need to turn any cooking cycle on. If you add pasta with all other ingredients in the beginning, it will become a mush. If using canned beans, they can go in now too.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
More Tips
- Ingredients of similar size: The key with minestrone soup is to have all ingredients cut into same size.
- Other beans: If out of white beans, you could also use black eyed peas or red kidney beans, just like chili, it’s flexible. Color of the soup will change slightly.
- Long pasta: If all you have on hand is spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine, break them into small pieces.
- Tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes: You can add tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. I would use only one 14 oz can then. Minestrone would be more red colour and a bit thicker broth, similar to tomato soup.
- To cut back on sodium: If your broth or tomatoes are not low sodium or no salt added, then cut back to 1/2 tsp salt and adjust more to taste after cooking, if necessary.
- 3 quart Instant Pot: Cut ingredients in half and cook for same time.
- Can I double the recipe? Original Instant Pot minestrone recipe fits 6 quart Instant Pot. You can make 1.5 times the recipe in 8 quart and possibly double in 10 quart Instant Pot. Keep same cook time though. It is important not to go over 2/3 max fill line, otherwise pot will not pressurize.
- More help: Not familiar with Instant Pot? Check out my Instant Pot guide and which Instant Pot I own and recommend to buy.
How to Serve, Store and Freeze
Serving: Instant Pot minestrone soup is truly a one pot meal. A generous amount of fresh Italian parsley, a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan and toasted whole grain bread complete the meal nicely.
Storing and reheating: Minestrone will be fine in the fridge for maximum 2 days. Only because pasta soaks up liquid as it sits and becomes a mush. Store in inner pot of Instant Pot with silicone or glass lid and reheat on the stove right in it. Or pour desired amount in a pot. Always reheat only what you are going to eat at a time.
Freezing: You are better off freezing leftovers same day soup is cooked. When freezing and thawing the soup, pasta does get a bit mushy. If you freeze next day minestrone, it will be more mushy because pasta will soak up more broth overnight in the fridge.
Enjoy this Instant Pot minestrone!
More Favorite Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot split pea soup
- Instant Pot butternut squash soup
- Instant Pot goulash
- Instant Pot chicken and rice soup
- Instant Pot stuffed pepper soup
- Browse all Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup {Dried or Canned Beans}
Ingredients
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 4 cups chopped veggies like potato zucchini, pepper, celery etc.
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 cups cannellini navy or white beans, dried
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes no salt added or low sodium
- 1 tbsp rosemary dried or fresh
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 8 cups water+bouillon cube or low sodium stock
- 1 cup uncooked small shape pasta macaroni, sea shells
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley finely chopped
- Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- In 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, add onion, carrots, other veggies, garlic, beans, diced tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and water. Do not stir.
- Close the lid, turn pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 30 minutes. Please see notes for cooking with canned beans.
- After Instant Pot has finished cooking, let pressure come down on its own for 15 minutes (otherwise soup will splatter too much). Then release remaining pressure using Quick Release method by turning valve to Venting and open the lid.
- Add uncooked pasta, stir, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Pasta will cook.
- Add parsley and stir.
- Serve hot garnished with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
- Serving: Minestrone is truly a one pot meal. A generous amount of fresh Italian parsley and toasted whole grain bread complete the meal nicely.
Notes
- Storing and reheating: Minestrone will be fine in the fridge for maximum 2 days. Only because pasta soaks up liquid as it sits and becomes a mush. Store in inner pot of Instant Pot with silicone or glass lid and reheat on the stove right in it. Or pour desired amount in a pot. Always reheat only what you are going to eat at a time.
- Freezing: You are better off freezing leftovers same day soup is cooked. When freezing and thawing the soup, pasta does get a bit mushy. If you freeze next day minestrone, it will be more mushy because pasta will soak up more broth overnight in the fridge.
- Ingredients of similar size: The key with minestrone soup is to have all ingredients cut into same size.
- Other beans: If out of white beans, you could also use black eyed peas. Color of the soup will change slightly.
- Long pasta: If all you have on hand is spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine, break it into small pieces.
- Tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes: You can add tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. I would use only one 14 oz can then. Minestrone would be more red colour and a bit thicker broth.
- To cut back on sodium: If your broth or tomatoes are not low sodium or no salt added, then cut back to 1/2 tsp salt and adjust more to taste after cooking, if necessary.
- 3 quart Instant Pot: Cut ingredients in half and cook for same time.
- Can I double the recipe? Original recipe fits 6 quart Instant Pot. You can make 1.5 times the recipe in 8 quart and possibly double in 10 quart Instant Pot. Keep same cook time though. It is important not to go over 2/3 max fill line, otherwise pot will not pressurize.
Nutrition
Recipes and images are a copyright of ifoodreal.com. It is against the law to republish recipes anywhere including social media, print and all world wide web. Nutritional info is provided for informational purposes only and to the best knowledge.
Chicken or beef bouillon cubes? Also how many should I toss in there? Really excited to try this!
Chicken #1, beef #2. Usually it is 1 cube per 3 cups water. Enjoy!
Hello,
Just wanted to double check the bouillon cubes, are you saying, 1 chicken and 2 beef, for a total of 3 cubes? Is that correct?
Please let me know, so excited to try this recipe.
No, I am saying choice #1 would be chicken. Choice #2 would be beef. But either work. Usually it’s 1 cube per 3 cups water. Enjoy!
Guess what?? My husband just told me that this is the best soup that I’ve ever made!!! And he was right. Also, my picky 13 year old daughter ate it all (except the potatoes, which she doesn’t like for some very strange reason). I love your recipes because they are not intimidating. They have simple ingredients and are very straightforward. They are healthy and taste delicious! This is why I LOVE your website. It is hands down my favorite! I made this exactly as written, except I added a lot more garlic (several heaping teaspoons for the jarred minced garlic). I used dried black eyed peas for the beans. I used 2 medium zucchini and red pepper and one potato for the 4 cups of veggies (in addition to the onion and carrots). Thank you Olena!!!! I love your recipes:)
Thank you for taking the time to share such awesome feedback. I really appreciate it Julie 🙂
So yummy!! The rosemary flavor combined with fresh parsley flavor is sooo good. The cannellini beans were perfectly done (slightly al dente, but my husband said perfect and not al dente). I used zucchini, potato, carrot, celery as my 4cups of veggies. The pasta was perfect. My 18 month old loved it as well as my husband and my 10 yo. My 7yo and 6yo picky eaters missed out. So good.
Glad this recipe was enjoyed by most of your family Anna!
All good love theses recipes..I’ll try while indoors 95%of my time
Hope you enjoy, Freeda.
I made this in a 6 quart pot, and there was no room to add 16 cups of broth or boullion & water. I was only able to add 6 cups.
Nancy, recipe says 8 cups. I make it all the time in my 6 quart. 6 cups liquid will work just as fine, this is minor adjustment. In Ukraine, we even eyballed all ingredients. 🙂 Enjoy!
Made it with kale, potatoes, celery, carrots, great northern beans..***next time fresh rosemary……definately my new go to!! Good stuff!!
Thanks for sharing your positive feedback Joan!
One of my go to recipes. This was one of this first things I made in my Instant Pot. Loved it then, love it now!
awe, this makes me so happy Julie!
Delicious!
Bay leaves are listed in the directions but not the ingredients , 3?
Yes, 3 works.
I made the recipe a few times,it is excellent
A new family favourite! Thankyou for sharing!
Thank you for wonderful review, Tasha!
New to the instant pot. This was amazing. I couldn’t believe the amount of flavor in the soup. I was worried that due to shorter cooking times, soups wouldn’t be as flavorful. Not true here at all. Thank you!
I had exactly same fears when I first started using Instant Pot. That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Betsy!
Made it with Great Northern Beans and fresh rosemary. Wishing I had made a double batch. So much flavor.
Yes! I love those beans too! Awesome to hear.
I am hooked on Olena and her instant pot recipes ❤️ And of course all her how to use the instant pot ?
Thank you ?
Haha, a great addiction to have. Glad you are enjoying. 🙂
Going to try this tonight, and I have a question: Why does the recipe say “do not stir the ingredients” before pressure cooking? I would think the spices, beans, etc. should be well mixed before cooking?
Not with instant pot. Tomatoes might cause burn that’s why no stir. Under pressure flavours get extracted no matter what and then you stir anyways. Read about Burn more here https://ifoodreal.com/why-does-my-instant-pot-say-burn/
Great soup!. Tastes as good as it looks.
Awesome!!! Happy to hear, Maria.
I love soup, any time of the year and this one is a keeper!!
Yay! So happy to hear, Jacquie!
Any tips on the ratios for the 6 quart version? I’ve tried this twice now, and I can’t fit all of the ingredients in the pot, and when the cook time is up the beans are nowhere near done. I end up heating it longer, and when it is eventually done, it’s delicious but way past dinner time 🙁
The actual picture is taken of 6 quart Cosori pressure cooker. I’m not sure why it doesn’t fit in yours because it fits in mine no problem… It is only 8 cups of liquid… As for beans, it must be the type of beans. Try a different brand of beans, it does happen. Or set cooking time +10 mins to the one listed in the recipe. It will be fine. Heating after will take forever to cook beans, it’s not efficient.
I managed to get things to work–the main trick was that I had to soak the great northern beans overnight. Such a great recipe!
Really good! First recipe I tried from this site and def going to find some more to try. Really enjoyed this (and guess what? Kids ate it up too!)
Yay. So happy to hear. Check out my whole Instant Pot section. Would love to hear what else you try.
I’m sure this will be a 5. I love soup 12 months a year, too! Olena, you’re fabulous!!
Haha thanks. Soup is every poor mans best friend. That’s how it was instilled in me. Can always make it with anything and fill up the belly.
I’m saving the recipe and love the ease of the IP. Are you able to share the nutritional information?
Yes, it’s inside the recipe.