Authentic Italian Minestrone Soup Recipe

Authentic Italian Minestrone Soup is a hearty vegetable soup made with a tomato base, small-cut pasta, beans, and seasonal veggies.

One of the best parts about minestrone is that there are no real rules. It’s traditionally made with literally whatever you have left over at the end of the week: so think veggies, rice, pasta, and potatoes.

In the fall you can toss in some butternut squash, while in the summer zucchini is a perfect addition. This soup is so customizable that you’re going to love being able to play with it.

Authentic Italian Minestrone Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:

Veggies: I’ll be using carrots, onions, celery, spinach and garlic

Potatoes: Peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

Small-cut pasta: I’m using Ditalini

Tomato products: I’ll be using crushed tomatoes and tomato paste

Vegetable stock: For the broth

Beans: I’m using kidney beans

Herbs: Basil, dried oregano, and bay leaves

Parmigiano-Reggiano rind: For flavor

How to Make Minestrone Soup

Here’s how to make this recipe.

Step 1: Prep your ingredients

Start by chopping up your veggies and measuring everything out.

Step 2: Cook your soffritto

Add some olive oil to your pot and add your soffritto (aka the base of most Italian soups and sauces), which simply consists of carrots, onions, and celery. Cook until your soffritto begins to soften a bit, about 5 minutes. Then, add the garlic and cook until fragrant — about 1 minute.

Step 3: Make your broth

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, potatoes, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and Parm rind. Bring the soup up to a boil, then lower a bit and partially cover. Cook for ~20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Step 4: Add the beans and pasta

Now add the beans and pasta and cook for ~10 minutes.

Step 5: Add the spinach

When your soup is just about done, add two large handfuls of spinach, cover, and let wilt (this will only take ~3 minutes).