Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup is one of the best-known Italian soups. It is a thick soup made with beans, a lot of fresh vegetables, and pasta. Probably, it is one of the most flavorful soups. It is served with pasta and Parmesan which makes it just wonderful.

As the cold days are here it is the perfect time to enjoy a large bowl of warming, healthy, nutritious soup.

There are many variations for this soup, as there is no definite recipe for it. I based my recipe on a country-style version that uses cabbage, one of the classic ingredients for Minestrone. You may also include meat in this soup like pancetta or bacon, but this depends on your preference.

How to make Minestrone Soup

First, place the cannellini beans in a large bowl and cover with water and leave them to soak overnight. Drain the beans and then rinse under cold water. I like to use dry beans as they bring more flavor but if you are in a hurry you can use canned beans and add them at the end of cooking. In this way, you reduce the soup cooking time to half. 

In a stock, pot cook onion, bacon, and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the carrots, celery, and salt and cook for another 5 minutes stirring from time to time. Add diced tomatoes, water and vegetable stock, white beans, and herbs, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pot and simmer gently for about an hour or until beans are tender. 

Add cabbage, potatoes, and turnip, and cook for 15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender. Add the red kidney bean and season to taste. 

Serve the soup with Parmesan cheese, pasta, and crusty bread.

We enjoyed it so much, the children loved this too and that is enough reason for me to keep doing it. You have to give this Minestrone a try. Let me know if you try this recipe, tag me on Instagram if you do and hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

5 from 1 vote
Minestrone Soup is one of the best-known Italian soups. It is a thick soup made with beans, a lot of fresh vegetables, and pasta. It is probably one of the most flavorful soups. It is served with pasta and Parmesan which makes it just wonderful.
Servings 6 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

Slightly adapted after Complete Italian Cooking cookbook by Sonja Grey

  • 1/2 cup cannellini beans
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 2 onions , chopped
  • 2 bacon slices , chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves , minced
  • 2 carrots , diced
  • 2 celery sticks or 1/2 cup diced celery root
  • 3 tomatoes (about 15 oz) skinned skinned, seeded, choppped
  • 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 2 potatoes , diced
  • 1 small turnip , diced
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup small pasta shapes (macaroni, ditalini, shells)
  • 2 quarts vegetable stock or water
  • 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained , rinsed and drained, optional
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish

  • Parmesan cheese
  • Fresh parsley

Instructions
 

  • Place the cannellini beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Leave them to soak overnight.Drain the beans and then rinse under cold water.
  • In a stock pot heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, bacon (if used) and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes until soft.
    Minestrone Soup Step 2
  • Add carrots, celery and salt and cook for another 5 minutes stirring from time to time.
  • Add diced tomatoes, water and vegetable stock, white beans and herbs and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover the pot and simmer gently for about 1 hr or until beans are tender.
  • Add cabbage, potatoes and turnip and cook for 15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender. Add the red kidney beans, season to taste and is ready to be served.
    Minestrone Soup Step5
  • Meanwhile cook pasta in a different pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside until soup is ready to serve. (You can also choose to cook the pasta directly on the pot of soup if you serve it immediatly, but if you plan to refrigerate the soup is better to keep the pasta outside so they want soak too much liquid.) Refrigerating soup improves the flavors.
  • Serve the soup sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese and garnish with fresh parsley along crusty or toasted bread.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 228kcalCarbohydrates: 34.7gProtein: 8.6gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1.4gCholesterol: 14mgSugar: 6.7g
Calories: 228kcal
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: bean soup, classic Minestrone soup, Italian soup, Italian vegetable soup, Minestrone soup, traditional Italian Soup, vegetable soup with pasta

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @homecookingadventure on Instagram and hashtag it #homecookingadventure.

Join the Conversation

  1. Marta Author says:

    Najzdrowsza zupka.

  2. Christina Author says:

    This is the Best Soup I’ve ever had!!!! Thank you so much for this recipe! Very tasty!!!

  3. marie Author says:

    It’s about time this blog offered a traditional minestrone soup recipe. Minestrone is a hearty Italian vegetable soup made with tomato-y broth and pasta or rice.

  4. 5 stars
    I made this with turkey sausage and ditalini noodles. Tastes absolutely fabulous!

    1. Ella Marincus-HomeCookingAdventure Author says:

      Glad to hear that Jean 🙂 Minestrone Soup is one of our favorites in the family.

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