Hearty and healthy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup has everything you want in a one-pot meal. Colorful veggies, tender beans, and mini pasta shells are cooked to perfection in a well-seasoned tomato-y broth. The flavors and aromas are so robust and savory that it’s hard to believe how quickly this soup comes together in the Instant Pot. A steaming bowl of minestrone topped with a shower of parmesan will have the whole family running to the dinner table.
Minestrone Soup is the answer to mid-week slumps, boring lunches, and how to get the most nutritious meals on the table in the least amount of time. The combination of fresh veggies, canned beans, and dried pasta makes this soup the ultimate one-pot vegetarian meal. Canned beans are an excellent source of fiber-rich, plant-based protein. And they are something we always keep in the pantry. Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is nutritious, filling, super delicious, and on repeat in our house.
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Make it Your Own
The best part of Minestrone Soup is that you can change it up and make it your own. This recipe encourages substitutions based on taste preference, availability, and seasonality. If you have odds and ends of veggies in your fridge this is the best way to use them up so they don’t go to waste. Any type of canned bean and small pasta shape will work beautifully in this soup so choose what you like best or have on hand. It can easily also be made vegan and/or gluten-free!
Pantry-Friendly Minestrone Soup
Canned beans, dried pasta, canned tomatoes, dried spices, and vegetable broth are pantry items we always have stocked and they make up the base of this Minestrone Soup. Keeping these items on hand means you don’t have to feel overwhelmed with a grocery list every time you want to serve this dish. Carrots, onions, celery, and garlic are typical kitchen staples for us and we’ll just change up the 2 cups of veggies based on what we have and what is in season.
Ingredients
- Canned Beans - I have used red kidney beans in this recipe you can also use dark kidney beans, Cannellini beans, or a mix of both.
- Dried Pasta - I love using small shell pasta or ditalini pasta as it has a nice bite after cooking and the shape goes perfectly with the other veggies and beans.
- Tomatoes - canned diced tomatoes are convenient and a time saver in this recipe. You can also use freshly diced tomatoes instead.
- Dried Spices - oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Skip teh red chili flakes if you do not like the heat it adds to the soup.
- Broth - low sodium vegetable broth from better than bouillon is my go-to for soups. You can use any broth you have on hand just be mindful of the salt content and adjust the additional salt accordingly.
- Veggies - Start with typical kitchen staples such as carrots, onions, celery, and garlic, and then add more seasonal veggies you have in hand.
How to Make Minestrone Soup
- Set the instant pot to saute mode and add olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables, oregano, thyme, and pepper flakes.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, beans, pasta, tomato paste, broth, salt, and pepper. Give a quick stir.
- Close the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 4 minutes. Quick release.
- Open the Instant Pot and stir in baby spinach. Taste and season with more salt and pepper. Ladle in serving bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.
Variations and Substitutions
- To make the soup vegan, skip the parmesan cheese
- For the Gluten-free variation, skip pasta or use gluten-free pasta
- Traditionally Minestrone soup was made with leftover veggies, so feel free to switch up the veggies you use in this recipe.
Storing
Leftover Minestrone soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. The pasta will continue to absorb the liquids and the soup will get thicker. To reheat add a few spoonfuls of water or broth.
Can I Freeze Minestrone Soup
To freeze Minestrone soup, simply leave out the pasta when pressure cooking. Defrost the pasta overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat it in the microwave or stovetop. Add cooked pasta to the soup just before serving.
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Recipe
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced (make discs and then quartered)
- 2 medium celery sticks chopped (cut each slice in half)
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 cups chopped seasonal vegetables potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, green beans, or peas all work (zucchini make discs and then quartered)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can 15 ounces Great Northern beans or cannellini beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- ¾ cup ditalini elbow, or small shell pasta
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups baby spinach chopped kale, or chopped collard greens
For serving (optional)
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Set the instant pot to saute mode and add olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables, oregano, thyme, and pepper flakes.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, beans, pasta, tomato paste, broth, salt, and pepper. Give a quick stir.
- Close the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 4 minutes. Quick release.
- Open the Instant Pot and stir in baby spinach. Taste and season with more salt and pepper. Ladle in serving bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- For Vegan option skip the parmesan cheese
- To make this soup Gluten-free, skip pasta or use gluten-free pasta
Gunjan Pradhan says
This turned out simply delicious! Thank you very much for the recipe, Archana!
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback!