Italian Minestrone Soup Recipe

This delicious authentic Italian minestrone soup recipe is loaded with vegetables, beans, kale, and ditalini pasta for the perfect recipe. We make this soup at least once a month during the winter months. You will love how easy this is to make.

We are a soup family and make and eat it at least 2 times a week during the winter. If you or your family are similar, you must try my  Lentil Soup or Avgolemono.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone is a soup that originated in Italy and is made up of vegetables and pasta or rice. It’s an incredibly simple soup. In traditional original fashion, it came from what was available.

I would argue that this soup is one of the first real soups in the world, as it dates back to 30 A.D. The broth in Minestrone was classically just a bean broth but has now transformed into chicken, vegetable, or a meat base, like Brodo.

This soup is subject to change based on what you have and what’s in season. This recipe may look completely different in the summer since things like zucchini and squash peak in that season.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Fat – You can plainly use olive or avocado oil to start the Italian bacon. I then used the rendered fat from the pancetta to caramelize the onions. You do not need to use pancetta in this recipe.
• Vegetables – I used onions, garlic, leeks, celery, carrots, turnips, parsnips, fennel, potatoes, peas, and tomatoes (fruit).
• Beans – Cannellini beans or kidney beans can be used in this recipe, but any white beans will work. You can also use dry beans that are submerged in water overnight.
• Pasta – I prefer ditalini pasta, but any pasta will work.
• Stock – A good chicken stock or vegetable stock is best for this.
• Herbs – I only used fresh herbs to garnish with at the end, which are oregano and rosemary. you can substitute and use dry.
• Lemon – Some freshly squeezed lemon juice will help add some much-needed acid to the soup to help bring out more flavors.
• Cheese – I used some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rinds to add more umami flavors to the soup. You do not need to add these.

How to Make Minestrone

1. Add olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat and cook some pancetta, which takes about 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Once the pancetta is cooked, set it to the side, add the onions and leeks to the pot, and cook over medium heat. Season with a small amount of salt to draw out moisture and saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. Turn the heat down to low-medium and cook the onions for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, sweet, and tender.
4. Stir in the garlic and cook just until it is fragrant, which takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
5. Next, add the celery, carrots, turnips, parsnips, and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat or until they are very lightly browned.
6. Add in the potatoes, beans, tomatoes, parmesan cheese rinds, and stock. 
7. Simmer the vegetables on low to medium heat for 30 minutes or until tender.
8. Finish the soup with peas, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
9. Boil your ditalini pasta. Strain and rinse under cold water. Add them to a container or plastic bag and coat in 3 tablespoons of avocado or olive oil to ensure they do not stick.
10. When serving the minestrone in a bowl, add in several tablespoons of the cooked pasta and then garnish with the crips cooked pancetta lardons and optional grated Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh oregano, and rosemary.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this soup up to 1 day ahead of time.

How to Store: Minestrone will hold well in the refrigerator and be covered for up to 5 days separate from the cooked pasta. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months, separate from the cooked pasta. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: To reheat the soup, add your desired portion to a small saucepot and heat over low heat until hot. You can add your desired portion to a microwave-safe bowl and heat until hot.

chef notes + tips

• This recipe makes quite a bit, so cut it down by sliding the serving scale left or right to scale the ingredients. It’s ok to round up the ingredients if they become a fraction after scaling.
• Minestrone usually has a few garnishes on the top, such as croutons. I like serving minestrone with lots of parmesan cheese, sliced kale, and fresh herbs. If you just saw kale and think there is no way, you can swap it out for spinach.
• The vegetables to use are subjective and should emphasize the season you are cooking them in. Always start with a mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots), then add leeks, turnips, parsnips, zucchini, diced tomatoes, potatoes, fennel, green beans, etc.
• The pasta will heat up when added to the soup.

More Soup Recipes

• Ribollita
• French Onion Soup
• Verde Pork Posole
• Chicken Dumpling Soup
• Mulligatawny

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Minestrone Soup Recipe

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4.96 from 21 votes

This delicious authentic Italian minestrone soup recipe is loaded with vegetables, beans, kale, and ditalini pasta for the perfect recipe.

Servings: 16

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup small diced pancetta bacon
• 1 peeled small diced yellow onions
• 2 thinly sliced leeks, root end, and dark green parts removed
• 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
• 4 medium diced stalks of celery
• 4 peeled and sliced carrots
• 1 peeled and medium diced turnip
• 1 peeled and medium diced parsnip
• ½ small diced bulb of fennel, core removed
• 3 peeled and large diced russet potatoes
• 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed by hand
• 3 15- ounce cans of drained cannellini beans
• 1 gallon chicken stock
• 3 parmesan cheese rinds
• 2 cups peas
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 pound cooked and cooled ditalini pasta
• coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• optional garnish of grated Parmigiano Reggiano,, oregano, and rosemary

Instructions

• Add olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat and cook some pancetta, which takes about 4 to 6 minutes.
• Once the pancetta is cooked, set it to the side, add the onions and leeks to the pot, and cook over medium heat. Season with a small amount of salt to draw out moisture and saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Turn the heat down to low-medium and cook the onions for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, sweet, and tender.
• Stir in the garlic and cook just until it is fragrant, which takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
• Next, add the celery, carrots, turnips, parsnips, and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat or until they are very lightly browned.
• Add in the potatoes, beans, tomatoes, parmesan cheese rinds, and stock.
• Simmer the vegetables on low to medium heat for 30 minutes or until tender.
• Finish the soup with peas, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
• Boil your ditalini pasta. Strain and rinse under cold water. Add them to a container or plastic bag and coat in 3 tablespoons of avocado or olive oil to ensure they do not stick.
• When serving the minestrone in a bowl, add in several tablespoons of the cooked pasta and then garnish with the crips cooked pancetta lardons and optional grated Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh oregano, and rosemary.

Notes

Make-Ahead: You can make this soup up to 1 day ahead of time.

How to Store: Minestrone will hold well in the refrigerator and be covered for up to 5 days separate from the cooked pasta. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months, separate from the cooked pasta. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: To reheat the soup, add your desired portion to a small saucepot and heat over low heat until hot. You can add your desired portion to a microwave-safe bowl and heat until hot.

This recipe makes quite a bit, so cut it down by sliding the serving scale left or right to scale the ingredients. It’s ok to round up the ingredients if they become a fraction after scaling.

Minestrone usually has a few garnishes on the top, such as croutons. I like serving minestrone with lots of parmesan cheese, sliced kale, and fresh herbs. If you just saw kale and think there is no way, you can swap it out for spinach.

The vegetables to use are subjective and should emphasize the season you are cooking them in. Always start with a mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots), then add leeks, turnips, parsnips, zucchini, diced tomatoes, potatoes, fennel, green beans, etc.

The pasta will heat up when added to the soup.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cupsCalories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 12gFat: 3gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 324mgPotassium: 613mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 2025IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 2.3mg

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Chef Billy Parisi