Instant Pot Minestrone

Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is hearty and healthy one pot meal. Uncooked pasta and dried beans all cook in a pressure cooker with other ingredients. Perfect any time of the year as Instant Pot keeps your kitchen cool.

Instant Pot chicken noodle soup and Instant Pot split pea soup are soup recipes I make year round. Budget friendly, delicious and last for days. Helps a busy mom like you and me any time of the year.

Pressure Cooker Minestrone Soup

This Instant Pot minestrone soup is a living proof that soup is not only for fall. And neither is Instant Pot.

We make soups year round. Especially in summer. And especially in Instant Pot – keeps kitchen cool. Not familiar with Instant Pot? Check out my Instant Pot guide and which Instant Pot I own and recommend to buy.

It’s how I grew up in Ukraine and it makes total sense to me. I still remember eating a bowl of piping hot grandma’s chicken noodle soup and sweating. But it was the best with fresh herbs and sometimes even homemade egg noodles. Take me back…

This 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. I’m not just a pretty face…I tell my husband all the time. And he knows.

Ingredients for Minestrone

Minestrone is one of those soups that is super easy to customize. Literally any firm veggies, spices and tomates work.

• Many firm veggies
• White beans
• Pasta
• Diced tomatoes
• Spices

What Veggies Are the Best for Minestrone?

I have a rule of thumb for making hearty soups – starchy firm veggies + onion and garlic + soft veggies.

I always use potatoes because they make soup thicker and hearty. Especially pressure cooker minestrone since potatoes cooked under pressure break down more than when cooked on a stove.

Carrots, celery, onion and garlic seem to be a staple in any soup.

Then I use soft veggies I have on hand. This time it was zucchini and garlic scapes. I also tried bell pepper and it comes out bright red and so pretty in Instant Pot minestrone.

As for canned tomatoes, I like to use diced tomatoes. They add chunks of veggies and flavor keeping soup more on a broth side. You can add tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. I would use one 14 oz can then. Minestrone soup would be more red colour and a bit thicker broth.

What Pasta to Use for Instant Pot Minestrone?

All right. Minestrone cooked in Instant Pot is a one pot meal. Only one difference from traditional minestrone cooked on a stove – we add pasta after the soup is cooked.

Pasta cooks fast. If you add it with all other ingredients and cook under pressure for 30 minutes, pasta will become a mush. Instead after soup is cooked, we add pasta, close the lid and let it sit in a pot turned off (or on Keep Warm) for 10-15 minutes.

Soup will be piping hot. Which is enough to “cook” pasta. You don’t need to turn the pressure cooker on on any program.

You can use any short pasta. Of course healthy would be whole grain, brown rice, quinoa, chickpea or any whole food pasta. But white regular pasta works too. I won’t judge. I do it myself sometimes.

If you only have long pasta, break it into small pieces. The key with minestrone soup is to have all ingredients same size more or less.

What Are the Best Beans for Pressure Cooker Minestrone?

With pressure cooker minestrone, we cook beans from dried. That’s one of the best features of Instant Pot. That’s why I love it so much!!!

Anyways…I prefer white or navy or cannellini beans for this recipe. Why? Because red kidney beans or pinto beans will produce this a bit bitter starch that you can taste in more broth based soup like minestrone. I do not mind red kidney beans in Instant Pot chili but not in minestrone.

You could also use black eyed peas.

If you want to use canned red kidney or pinto beans, add them at the end with pasta. Then you will have great tasting soup and use beans you have on hand.

Can I Freeze Minestrone?

You can. You can freeze minestrone leftovers. One thing because of pasta. 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 Instant Pot Soup Recipes

• Instant Pot Thai chicken soup
• Instant Pot black bean soup
• Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup
• Instant Pot lentil soup
• Browse all Instant Pot recipes.

Instant Pot Minestrone

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is hearty and healthy one pot meal. Uncooked pasta and dried beans all cook in a pressure cooker with other ingredients. Perfect any time of the year as Instant Pot keeps your kitchen cool.

• Author: Olena of ifoodreal.com
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Soup and Stew
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: Italian

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 4 cups chopped firm 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, low sodium
• 1 tbsp rosemary, dried or fresh
• 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 like elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions

1. 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.
2. Close the lid, turn pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cooking on High for 30 minutes.
3. After Instant Pot has finished cooking, let pressure come down on its own for at least 20 minutes (otherwise soup will splatter too much). Then release remaining pressure using Quick Release method by turning valve to Venting and open the lid.
4. Add uncooked pasta, stir, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Pasta will cook.
5. Add parsley and stir.
6. Serve hot garnished with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Notes

I prefer white or navy or cannellini beans for this recipe. Why? Because red kidney beans or pinto beans will produce this a bit bitter starch that you can taste in more broth based soup like minestrone. I do not mind red kidney beans in Instant Pot chili but not in minestrone.

You could also use black eyed peas.

If you want to use canned red kidney or pinto beans, add them at the end with pasta. Then you will have great tasting soup and use beans you have on hand.

Use larger pasta broken into pieces.

★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.

2576.4 g351.5 mg1 g0.2 g0 g51 g10.6 g12.6 g0 mg

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