This Vegetarian Minestrone Soup is an easy, healthy, and flavorful recipe made with vegetables, beans, and pasta. This easy one-pot soup can be prepared in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop in under 30 minutes and is an Olive Garden Copycat. Plus, it can be effortlessly customized to be vegan and gluten-free!
During the fall and winter months, when the weather turns cool, soup is one of my go-to comfort foods. One of my favorites is Minestrone Soup—a hearty Italian-inspired dish packed with vegetables, beans, and pasta.
The best part? It is versatile; you can customize it with whatever ingredients you have on hand! It's warm, wholesome, and bursting with flavors. Trust me, it's SO delicious! You may also like my creamy tortellini soup and green lentil soup.
I have made this both on the stovetop and Instant Pot, and I prefer the Instant Pot version. I feel like the flavors infuse well together more quickly when pressure cooked, and it saves the same.
Ingredients
- Fresh Veggies: You can also use seasonal veggies or whatever you have on hand, like celery, carrots, zucchini, yellow onion, spinach, garlic, and parsley. Other veggies that go well are green beans, potatoes, squash, yellow zucchini, and kale.
- Beans: You can use any canned beans you have on hand – red kidney beans, white kidney beans(cannellini), and northern beans. Chickpeas will also work. In this recipe, I pre-cooked the kidney beans in the instant pot. Soak the beans in insufficient hot water for 2 hours and cook them for 25 minutes at high pressure in the instant pot. Then, use 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 one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, which is about 2 cups.
- Tomato Sauce: To make the soup thicker and tomato-based, I have used a store-bought one 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-bought vegetable broth or 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 (skip if vegan) and use nutritional yeast instead.
How to make Minestrone Soup in Instant Pot
Firstly, press SAUTE on the Instant Pot. Add 2 tablespoons oil, and once it’s hot, add 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 medium onion (finely chopped). Saute for 2-3 minutes till onions soften.
Add 1 medium diced carrot, 2 stalks of diced celery, 1 medium zucchini (halved and diced), 4 medium diced tomatoes, and one 8 oz can of tomato sauce (about 1 cup) into the pot. Then add in 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon paprika, salt, and pepper.
Next, add ½ cup of shell pasta (or elbow macaroni), one 15 oz canned (or cooked) red kidney beans (about 1.5 cups), and 4 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (or water). Stir it all up.
Furthermore, close the lid on the pot, 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 2 cups baby spinach, Stir for 2 minutes until the leaves wilt.
You can adjust the consistency by adding more vegetable broth at this stage.
Lastly, sprinkle 2Â tablespoons of fresh parsley (optional) and 2 teaspoons of grated parmesan cheese (skip if vegan) into the soup. If you are a vegan, you can sprinkle nutritional yeast on top.
Serve Instant Pot pressure cooker minestrone soup hot with garlic bread.
Stovetop Pot 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 minutes until the pasta is al dente.
- Sprinkle some fresh parsley, and grated parmesan cheese, and serve hot with garlic bread.
Serving Suggestions
Serve olive garden minestrone soup with rustic stuffed garlic bread or avocado cucumber salad.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. This Italian minestrone soup recipe is vegan; just serve it with vegan parmesan or skip it. You can also replace cheese with nutritional yeast. Use gluten-free pasta or skip the pasta.
It can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Yes, This homemade minestrone soup freezes well and can be frozen for up to three months. My suggestion is to freeze it 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 for at least 24 hours.
More Vegetarian Instant Pot Soup Recipes
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic 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 1.5 cups)
- ½ cup shell pasta or elbow macaroni
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or 32 ounce vegetable broth, or water)
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 teaspoons parmesan cheese freshly grated, optional
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped, optional
Seasoning:
- 2 teaspoons italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika red chilli powder, optional
- black pepper powder to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Firstly, press SAUTE 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. Then add in the Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Next, add in the pasta, canned or cooked red kidney beans, vegetable broth, or water. Stir it all up.
- Furthermore, close the lid on the pot, 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 baby spinach, Stir for 2 minutes until the leaves wilt.You can adjust the consistency by adding more vegetable stock at this stage.
- Lastly, sprinkle some fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese (skip if vegan) into the soup. If you are a vegan you can sprinkle nutritional yeast on top.
- Serve Minestrone Soup hot with garlic bread.
Stovetop Pot 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
Video
Notes
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 for at least 24 hours.  Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
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Orville Raposo
Serve it hot with a generous dollop of olive oil. Along with the herbs it tastes classy. I also added tomato paste to give it a rich color.
Bhavana Patil
Nice Orville. Thanks for trying and letting me know the variations you made to the recipe. Glad you liked it.