Classic Italian Minestrone Soup is a hearty vegetable soup made with a flavorful soffritto, seasonal veggies, tomatoes, and pasta. Don't let anyone tell you your minestrone isn't "right" because there is no single minestrone recipe. The vegetables change with the season and what YOU have available.
Serve this soup with a delicious Gruyere Grilled Cheese!
My minestrone combines the deep flavor of caramelized tomato paste with pasta cooked directly in the soup, releasing starch into the soup, giving it a slightly glossy, thickened broth.
Looking for more classic Italian soup recipes? Try our Zuppa Toscana, Pasta Fagioli with Spinach, or Italian Wedding Soup
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What makes this Minestrone Soup different
What makes my minestrone different is that I'm not just giving you a list of ingredients. The key to understanding minestrone is learning the process, not memorizing one specific recipe.
This recipe gives you a base soffritto, seasonal vegetables, pasta, and broth, while showing you how to layer the ingredients into the soup to develop the most flavor. Once you understand that process, you can make minestrone with any vegetables you have! Flexibility is what makes minestrone so useful. The veggies change, but the method stays the same.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Broth- You can use chicken or vegetable broth in minestrone. I just don't like boxed vegetable broth. If I have enough vegetable scraps saved in my freezer, I'll make my own vegetable broth; otherwise, I'll use homemade or store-bought chicken broth.
- Vegetables- Minestrone is kind of like my Pasta Primavera with Broccoli and Asparagus in that you can use whatever vegetables are in season. I always start with carrots, celery, and onion for the soffritto, then add vegetables like green beans, spinach, and zucchini. Kale, peas, potatoes, savoy cabbage, or other seasonal vegetables can be added or substituted.
- Beans- Kidney beans add protein and make the soup more filling, but they aren't your only option. Cannellini or borlotti beans also work well in minestrone.
- Tomato Paste- Tomato paste is best used when caramelized with the vegetables. This concentrates the tomato flavor and adds another layer of richness to the soup.
- Ditalini- I like to add the pasta directly to my soup. I love the creamy, silky starchiness it adds to the soup. I would suggest cooking the ditalini separately if you plan on saving a large portion of the soup.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.
How To Make Minestrone soup
The key to a flavorful minestrone is adding the ingredients in stages. Start by building a soffritto, concentrate the tomato paste, then add the vegetables and pasta based on how long they need to cook.
Step 1: Build the soffritto. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the carrots, celery, and onion. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and ½ tablespoon of oregano. Saute the vegetables until they are soft, about 8 minutes, then add in the minced garlic and saute for an additional minute.
Step 2: Caramelize tomato paste. Add the tomato paste directly to the bottom of the pot and let it sit for 2 minutes or until it begins to darken. Stir it throughout the vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes. Cooking the tomato paste like this concentrates its flavor before any liquid is added.
Step 3: Add the crushed tomatoes. Stir in the tomatoes, scraping up the bottom of the pan to remove any brown bits from the tomato paste. Bring the tomatoes to a gentle simmer.
Step 4: Build the soup. Pour in the chicken broth and stir in the basil, bay leaves, remaining oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a boil and add green beans, zucchini, kidney beans, and a Parmigiano rind, if using. Lower the heat to a simmer and partially cover, leaving an opening for steam to escape. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 5: Cook the ditalini. Remove the cover and stir in the ditalini. Stir well and simmer for another 15 minutes until the ditalini is al dente. Stir frequently so the pasta doesn't settle and stick to the bottom of the pot.
Step 6: Wilt the spinach. Stir in the spinach and cover for the final two minutes until the spinach wilts. Uncover and remove the bay leaves and Parmigiano rind, then stir everything together and taste for seasoning.
Serve the minestrone hot with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and crusty Italian bread.
Enjoy this soup or another delicious one like One-Pot Lasagna Soup with a sandwich like Eggplant Caprese Grilled Cheese or Pepperoni Bread (Stromboli)!
Pro-Tips
- Caramelize the tomato paste. Add it directly to the bottom of the pot and let it cook for a couple of minutes before stirring it into the vegetables. This concentrates the tomato flavor and adds more depth to the soup.
- Cook the ditalini separately if you're storing the soup. If you plan on saving or freezing this soup, don't cook the ditalini in the soup. Cook it separately and add it to the bowl so that it doesn't soak up all the soup when you're saving it.
- Cut the soffritto vegetables into similar-sized pieces. Chopping the carrots, celery, and onion evenly helps them soften at the same rate and gives the soup a more consistent texture.
- Add vegetables based on how long they take to cook. If you're adding potatoes, you might want to add those at the beginning of the simmer, whereas spinach and other leafy greens can be added towards the end.
FAQs about Italian Minestrone soup
Store minestrone in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. The beans and pasta will continue to absorb broth as the soup sits, so you may need to add a splash of chicken or vegetable broth when reheating.
If you know you're making the soup specifically for leftovers or freezing, I recommend cooking the ditalini separately and adding it to each bowl when serving.
I put a Parmigiano rind in all of my soups. It adds a salty and nutty flavor. It's a way to use every part of the cheese so that you have no waste. It's the same reason I save all of my vegetable scraps.
When I say Classic Italian Minestrone, it is no joke because minestrone or minestra dates all the way back to before the Roman Empire.
Minestrone is a traditional Italian vegetable soup with no single definitive recipe. The name comes from the Italian word minestra, meaning soup, and the ingredients have always varied based on season, region, and what was available in the household.
Start with onion, carrot, and celery for the soffritto, then use seasonal vegetables based on what you have available. Green beans, zucchini, potatoes, peas, cabbage, kale, and spinach all work well. Add firmer vegetables earlier and tender vegetables later so everything finishes cooking at the right time.
More Classic Italian Vegetable Dishes
You can follow us on Instagram @vindelgiudice and Tiktok @alwaysfromscratch to see videos and tutorials of our recipes!
Save this Recipe So You Don't Forget it
I mean c'mon we all know you're gonna forget!
Classic Italian Minestrone Soup
Equipment
- 1 Large Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 10 basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup green beans, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed
- 1 cup ditalini
- 1 bag of spinach
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon oregano
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the carrots, celery, and onion. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and ½ tablespoon of oregano. Saute the vegetables until they are soft, about 8 minutes, then add in the minced garlic and saute for an additional minute.
- Add the tomato paste directly to the bottom of the pot and let it sit for 2 minutes or until it begins to darken. Stir it throughout the vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes. Cooking the tomato paste like this concentrates its flavor before any liquid is added.
- Stir in the tomatoes, scraping up the bottom of the pan to remove any brown bits from the tomato paste. Bring the tomatoes to a gentle simmer.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir in the basil, bay leaves, remaining oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a boil and add green beans, zucchini, kidney beans, and a Parmigiano rind, if using. Lower the heat to a simmer and partially cover, leaving an opening for steam to escape. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the cover and stir in the ditalini. Stir well and simmer for another 15 minutes until the ditalini is al dente. Stir frequently so the pasta doesn't settle and stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in the spinach and cover for the final two minutes until the spinach wilts. Uncover and remove the bay leaves and Parmigiano rind, then stir everything together and taste for seasoning.
- Serve the minestrone hot with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and crusty Italian bread.
barbara j paluzzi says
Can i use whole peeled plum tomatoes instead of crushed?
Vinny DelGiudice says
Yes, I would just handcrush them.
Stephanie says
Delicious! Perfect for a cozy dinner.
Vinny says
This is a classic that we make often. Usually we have it on repeat all Fall! Hope you enjoy!