This Italian Minestrone Soup is a healthy, hearty, and full of flavor soup combining vegetables, beans, and pasta made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker or stove top and is an Olive Garden Copycat.
Gets done under 30 minutes! Can be easily made vegan and gluten-free!
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED FOR MINESTRONE?
Fresh Veggies- You can use seasonal veggies or whatever you have on hand like celery, carrots, zucchini, yellow onion, spinach, garlic, parsley.Other veggies that go well are green beans ,potatoes, squash, yellow zucchini ,kale.
Beans- You can use any canned beans you have on hand – red kidney beans, white kidney beans(cannelini), northern beans. Chickpeas will also work.In this recipe i pre-cooked the kidney beans in the instant pot.
Soak the beans in sufficient hot water for 2 hours and cook them for 20 minutes at high pressure in the instant pot. Then used them in this recipe.
Pasta- I have used shell pasta here but you may use elbow macaroni or any small pasta.You can use gluten free if you’d like.
Diced tomatoes – I have used fresh diced tomatoes in this recipe.But you can also use 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes which is about 2 cups.
Tomato Sauce – To make the soup thicker and tomato based i ahve used store brought 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce which is about 1 cup.But you can either skip it or just blanch & puree 2 tomatoes and then add.
Vegetable Broth – Try using low sodium store brought vegetable broth or simple use water.
Dried herbs – I have used dried italian seasoning or you can also use a mix of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme
Parmesan, for serving
Best part about this minestrone soup,is its so versatile! Traditionally minestrone is little on the thicker side but again you adjust as per your preference and taste.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH ITALIAN MINESTRONE SOUP?
Serve olive garden minestrone soup with the rustic garlic bread or pizza
IS MINESTRONE VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE?
Yes. This Italian minestrone soup is vegan just serve with vegan parmesan or skip.You can also replace cheese with nutritional yeast.Use a gluten-free pasta or skip pasta.
HOW LONG CAN YOU STORE MINESTRONE SOUP IN THE REFRIGERATOR?
Can be stored in airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
CAN MINESTRONE BE FROZEN?
Yes, minestrone soup freezes well and can be frozen up to three months.My suggestion is to freeze without the spinach then add it at the last minute when you warm it back up.
Before freezing, allow the soup to cool completely and then portion the soup into zip lock freezer bags or freezer safe containers.To thaw, transfer the containers to the refrigerator and thaw at least 24 hours.
HOW DO I MAKE MINESTRONE SOUP ON STOVE TOP POT?
- Heat olive oil in a large pot. Saute garlic and onion till onions turn soft.Then add carrots and celery.saute for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce ,vegetable broth, canned kidney beans and seasonings, cover and cook for about 15 minutes on medium low flame.
- Stir in the zucchini, spinach and pasta, and cook for another 8 or so minutes until the pasta is al dente.
HOW TO MAKE MINESTRONE SOUP IN INSTANT POT STEP BY STEP
Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it’s hot add minced garlic and onion.Saute for 2-3 minutes till onions soften.
Add the diced carrot, celery, zucchini and diced tomatoes, tomato sauce into the pot.Add in the italian seasoning, paprika ,salt and pepper.
Next add in the pasta, canned or cooked red kidney beans and vegetable broth or water. Stir it all up.
Close the lid on the pot, and turn pressure valve to SEALING position.Set the instant pot to “MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK” (High Pressure) for 6 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, Quick Release(QR). Open the lid.
Add in the spinach ,Stir for 2 minutes until the leaves wilt.You can adjust the consistency by adding more vegetable stock at this stage.
Sprinkle some fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese (make sure it’s vegetarian) to the soup to enhance the taste of the soup. If you are a vegan you can add nutritional yeast on top.
Serve Olive garden pressure cooker minestrone soup hot with garlic bread.
LOOKING FOR MORE SOUP RECIPES?
INSTANT POT OLIVE GARDEN MINESTRONE SOUP RECIPE CARD
Minestrone Soup (Instant Pot & Stove Top)
Ingredients
Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 medium carrot ,diced
- 1 medium zucchini ,halved and diced
- 2 stalks celery ,diced
- 4 medium tomatoes ,diced OR 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes, do not drain (about 2 cups)
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce (about 1 cup)
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans drained & rinsed (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 cup shell pasta or elbow macaroni
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth OR 32 ounce Vegetable Broth Low sodium OR water
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 teaspoons parmesan cheese freshly grated (optional)
- 2 tablespoon parsley ,chopped (optional)
Seasoning:
- 2 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika or red chilli powder (optional)
- black pepper powder to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
INSTANT POT METHOD:
- Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it’s hot add minced garlic and onion.Saute for 2-3 minutes till onions soften.
- Add the diced carrot, celery, zucchini and diced tomatoes, tomato sauce into the pot.Add in the italian seasoning, paprika ,salt and pepper.
- Add in the pasta, canned or cooked red kidney beans and vegetable broth or water. Stir it all up.
- Press CANCEL button on Instant Pot.Close the lid on the pot, and turn valve from VENTING to SEALING position.Set the instant pot to “MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK” (High Pressure) for 6 minutes.When the instant pot beeps, Quick Release(QR). Open the lid.
- Add in the spinach ,Stir for 2 minutes until the leaves wilt.You can adjust the consistency by adding more vegetable stock at this stage.
- Sprinkle some fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese (make sure it’s vegetarian) to the soup to enhance the taste of the soup. If you are a vegan you can add nutritional yeast on top.
- Serve Minestrone Soup hot with garlic bread.
STOVE TOP METHOD:
- Heat olive oil in a large pot. Saute garlic and onion till onions turn soft.Then add carrots and celery.saute for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the diced tomatoes,tomato sauce ,vegetable broth, canned kidney beans and seasonings, cover and cook for about 15 minutes on medium low flame.
- Stir in the zucchini, spinach and pasta, and cook for another 8 or so minutes until the pasta is al dente.
- Sprinkle some fresh parsley ,grated parmesan cheese and serve hot with garlic bread
Notes
TIPS & VARIATIONS FOR SOUP INGREDIENTS:
Fresh Veggies- You can use seasonal veggies or whatever you have on hand like celery, carrots, zucchini, yellow onion, spinach, garlic, parsley.Other veggies that go well are green beans ,potatoes, squash, yellow zucchini ,kale. Beans- You can use any canned beans you have on hand – red kidney beans, white kidney beans(cannelini), northern beans. Chickpeas will also work.In this recipe i pre-cooked the kidney beans in the instant pot. Soak the beans in sufficient hot water for 2 hours and cook them for 20 minutes at high pressure in the instant pot. Then used them in this recipe. Pasta- I have used shell pasta here but you may use elbow macaroni or any small pasta.You can use gluten free if you’d like. Diced tomatoes – I have used fresh diced tomatoes in this recipe.But you can also use 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes which is about 2 cups. Tomato Sauce – To make the soup thicker and tomato based i ahve used store brought 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce which is about 1 cup.But you can either skip it or just blanch & puree 2 tomatoes and then add. Vegetable Broth – Try using low sodium store brought vegetable broth or simple use water. Dried herbs – I have used dried italian seasoning or you can also use a mix of basil, oregano, rosemary, thymeWHAT TO SERVE WITH MINESTRONE?
Serve it with the rustic garlic bread or pizza.IS MINESTRONE VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE?
Yes. This minestrone soup is vegan just serve with vegan parmesan or skip.You can also replace cheese with nutritional yeast.Use a gluten-free pasta or skip pasta.HOW LONG CAN YOU STORE MINESTRONE SOUP IN THE REFRIGERATOR?
Can be stored in airtight container for up to 3-4 days.CAN MINESTRONE BE FROZEN?
Yes, minestrone soup freezes well and can be frozen up to three months.My suggestion is to freeze without the spinach then add it at the last minute when you warm it back up. Before freezing, allow the soup to cool completely and then portion the soup into zip lock freezer bags or freezer safe containers.To thaw, transfer the containers to the refrigerator and thaw at least 24 hours. Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for healthy & tasty video recipes. Looking for Instant Pot recipes, check out my Instant Pot Recipes board on Pinterest.
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