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Italian · Mediterranean

Minestrone

Vegetarian

A thick Italian vegetable soup of beans, seasonal vegetables and small pasta in a tomato-tinged broth — endlessly adaptable to what's in the garden.

Minestrone is an Italian soup from Italy, ready in about 1 hour 5 minutes and made with white beans (canned) and dried pasta. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

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Minestrone soup
Photo: Daniel Ziegener / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
45 min
Total
1 h 5 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
245

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the oil in a large pot and gently cook the onion (opens in a new tab), carrot (opens in a new tab) and celery (opens in a new tab) until soft and sweet, then add the garlic (opens in a new tab) for a minute.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the potato (opens in a new tab), courgette (opens in a new tab), green beans (opens in a new tab), tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper (opens in a new tab). Bring to the boil and simmer, partly covered.

    • 20 min
    • medium-low heat

  3. Step 3

    Add the beans and cabbage (opens in a new tab) and simmer for 10 minutes more, until the cabbage is wilted and tender.

    • 10 min
    • medium-low heat

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the pasta (opens in a new tab) and cook until tender, adding a little water if the soup gets too thick. Taste for salt and serve with parmesan (opens in a new tab), basil (opens in a new tab) and a drizzle of olive oil (opens in a new tab).

    • 10 min
    • medium-low heat

About this dish

Origin
Italy · Well documentedMade all over Italy with strong regional and seasonal variation.More food from Italy
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered, Sautéed
Taste
savoury, herby, earthy, mild
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Low-fat
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Budget-friendly · Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Batch cooking
Cook more with
White beans (canned) · Dried pasta · Onion · Carrot · Celery · Garlic
Techniques
Sautéing · Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom parmesan
  • May contain: Eggsfrom dried pasta
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom dried pasta
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom vegetable stock, dried pasta
  • Contains: Celeryfrom celery, vegetable stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

245 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 459 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 13%
  • Carbohydrate 60%
  • Fat 27%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy245 kcal53 kcal
Protein8.1 g1.8 g
Carbohydrate38 g8.3 g
Net carbohydrate31.7 g6.9 g
Sugars6.9 g1.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre6.4 g1.4 g
Fat7.6 g1.7 g
Saturated fat1.1 g0.3 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium1192 mg259 mg
Salt equivalent3 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
760 mg
Calcium
95 mg
Iron
2.9 mg
Magnesium
62 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
211 µg
Vitamin C
32 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
135 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: parmesan, basil.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • A parmesan rind simmered in the broth adds lots of savouriness — remove it before serving.

Common mistakes

  • Cooking the pasta in the soup long before serving: it swells and turns soft. For leftovers, cook pasta separately.

Serve with

  • Serve with crusty bread, or a spoonful of pesto stirred into each bowl (Genoese style).

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days in the fridge; freeze without the pasta for up to 3 months.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently, adding water as it thickens on standing.

Variations

  • Minestrone alla genovese (Italy): Finished with a spoonful of basil pesto.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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