Minestrone Soup is a classic Italian vegetable pasta soup that is guaranteed to warm your soul and get your taste buds dancing. My easy to follow effortless tips take this vegetarian pasta soup up a notch and get it ready in just 30 minutes. You can make this pasta soup on the stovetop and instant pot.
There is something utterly comforting about the minestrone soup. When it is made right, you’ll go back for seconds and thirds, and then you’ll be slurping big bowls of it for dinner and happily have it for lunch the next day.
This is a classic pasta soup recipe that will work with pretty much any combination of pasta, vegetables, beans, or meat.
I like to keep mine vegetarian with the addition of lots of seasonal vegetables and, of course, my favorite cute little elbow pasta or macaroni.
Reasons To LOVE Minestrone Soup
- It freezes and defrosts well.
- It takes only 30 minutes to get ready
- It is wholesome, fulfilling and nutritious.
- It is so easy to customize and adapt as per the local produce.
- It can be done in a stovetop, pressure cooker, or an instant pot.
- Skip the grated cheese on top and you end up with a 100% vegan soup.
Ingredients Required
Here are the ingredients I have used to make this delicious pasta soup.
Feel free to add your favorite vegetables like carrot, spinach, snow peas, fresh peas, kale, spinach, basil, and so on to create a hearty bowl of minestrone.
Tomato Pasta Sauce Sauce, pizza sauce, or tomato paste, either of these works miraculously in this soup recipe. So I highly recommend adding them to build layers of flavors in the soup.
Stovetop Cooking Method
And here’s how to make a delicious pasta soup in 30 minutes on a stovetop:
My Tried & True Tips
Tip number one is to use boiled pasta water as the base for this soup. If you have vegetable stock well and good, if not, don’t worry, use freshly boiled pasta water seasoned with salt. Starchy, salty pasta water makes soup luscious, thick, and tasty. It is a tried and tested trick I often follow in my kitchen.
The second magical tip is to use tomato pasta sauce to flavor the soup. Don’t bother about the tomato puree or any other fancy sauce, add the best pasta/pizza sauce you have on hand to the soup. Trust me; you will end up with the finger-licking good pasta soup.
Use the leftover tomato sauce to make this 20 Minute Red Sauce Spaghetti. It is a perfect weeknight dinner for lazy souls like me.
Instant Pot Method
Add oil and set the SAUTE button for 5 minutes. Start with sauteing bay leaf, garlic, celery, onion, and vegetables for a minute.
Next add the tomato sauce, seasoning, salt, and vegetable stock or pasta water. Stir to combine.
Add the canned or pre-cooked red beans and the uncooked dry pasta. Cancel SAUTE mode. Seal the lid. PRESSURE COOK Soup for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, do a quick pressure release as per the manufacture’s instruction.
Once the pressure is released, stir in the fresh herbs or the green leafy vegetables. Add more stock or water if required to get the desired consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve Instant Pot Pasta Soup warm with toasted garlic bread.
FAQ’s Related To Minestrone Soup
What is good pasta for soup?
Tiny shape pasta like macaroni, elbow, or shells are the best in a soup and compliments small diced vegetables. You can also use spaghetti or angel hair pasta if you enjoy slurping noodles in soup.
How do you keep the pasta from getting mushy in soup?
Pasta, when overcooked, always turns mushy. To prevent this, cook the pasta al dente and run it under cold water before adding to the soup. Always stir in the pasta at the end and simmer the soup only for 3 – 5 minutes after adding pasta.
Since pasta absorbs a lot of water, it is always best to serve soup hot and fresh and not letting it rest after adding pasta.
Do you cook the pasta separately?
When I am cooking this soup on a stovetop, I prefer cooking the pasta separately before adding it to the soup. In an instant pot, you can add and cook all the ingredients together.
More Pasta Recipes For You
Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli Pasta
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Classic Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 Cup dry elbow pasta
- 4 Tablespoon olive oil or butter
- 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
- 2 Tablespoon chopped celery stalk
- 1 Whole bay leaf
- ¼ Cup chopped onion
- ¼ Cup chopped zucchini
- ¼ Cup chopped carrot
- ¼ Cup canned or pre-cooked red beans
- 6 – 8 cherry tomato
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoon tomato pasta/pizza sauce (get recipe)
- 6 Cup vegetable stock or pasta water boiled
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Ingredients to Garnish
- 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil or parsley
- 2 Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Boil Pasta:
- Boil pasta al-dente in a large pot of water seasoned with salt. Transfer the cooked pasta to a colander or sieve and reserve the boiled pasta water.
Prepare Soup:
- Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add bay leaf, garlic, celery, and onion. Saute for a minute to release the aroma of the ingredients. No need to brown the onion or garlic.
- Next add the red wine vinegar and stir nicely to glaze the pan.
- Add tomato sauce and stir to combine. Cook for 10 – 20 seconds.
- Add all the vegetables, beans, salt and saute for a minute. Add the warm pasta water or the vegetable stock. Stir to mix. Cover and cook the soup for 5 – 10 minutes over low heat or until vegetables are tender.
- After 10 minutes, add the boiled pasta and mix nicely. Simmer the soup for the next 2 – 3 minutes for the pasta to absorb the flavorsome liquid. Turn off the heat
- Add fresh herbs, and grated cheese. Ladle the soup into the serving bowls.
- Serve Minestrone Soup warm with the slices of toasted bread.
Recipe Notes:
- For soup, always cook the pasta al-dente.
- Try to use pre-cooked or canned beans to make this soup. Uncooked beans will increase the cooking time of the soup. And by the time beans are cooked, other vegetables in the soup will turn mushy. Hence, best to use softer beans or pre-cooked ones.
- Feel free to use red beans, white beans, cannellini beans or any other kind of beans.
- You can use cherry tomato or 1 Cup chopped tomato.
- After adding the pasta do not simmer the soup for too long. Else, pasta might turn mushy.
- Pasta has tendency to absorb liquid. Hence, after adding pasta if required add more stock to get the desired consistency of the soup.
- If you skip adding cheese in the last, this is a 100% vegan soup. Or if we use gluten-free pasta, this soup turns into a gluten-free dish.
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