A bowlful of minestrone, a warm and hearty soup, with a side of crusty bread is all I need for dinner on many days. Flavourful and nutritious, Minestrone is a chunky vegetable soup with added beans and sometimes meat (though our minestrone soup recipe is vegetarian) and has a history that goes back hundreds of years to the time when Rome conquered Italy. This traditional minestrone soup recipe with a twist is for days when you want to have a one-pot meal and call it dinner.
Having eaten many versions of minestrone, I have to say that this is the best minestrone soup recipe I’ve tried. It has been a huge hit with the kids (always important). Do note that I add some pasta to the soup to raise the excitement quotient with children and adults.
▲ Serve your minestrone soup rustic style straight from the pan
Minestrone is a chunky vegetable soup with added beans and occasionally pasta or rice or both. It is full of myriad textures and flavour. While it varies from region to region in Italy as well seasonally, based on the availability of vegetables, the common point running through all these versions is that it is a substantial vegetable soup.
Minestrone soup dates back to before the time of the Roman Kingdom when a vegetarian diet was followed. The meals would consist of savoury spelt flour porridge to which vegetables were added. In the 2nd Century B.C., Italy was introduced to a range of products when it was conquered by Rome. The ancient cookbook De Re Coquinaria by Marcus Apicius has a soup called polus, dating back to 30 AD. It was prepared with farro, chickpeas, fava beans, onions, garlic, lard, and greens thrown in. Since then, minestrone has changed time and again, and acquired its current definition.
▲ Sauté onions and garlic till soft then add tomato and zucchini
Many ask if minestrone is just the same as vegetable soup. Yes, minestrone can be called a vegetable soup, but it is more hearty and wholesome than most vegetables soups with the added goodness of beans, and often even rice and pasta. Minestrone is prepared differently in parts of Italy and the world over. In the Ligurian region in Italy one can find a preparation called Minestrone alla Genovese which has many more herbs and even pesto. This soup tastes flavourful and herby, and is a delight to eat. Minestrone soup may be thick and dense at times or a broth-like preparation full of lots of diced vegetables at other times.
The word minestrone indicates a thick vegetable soup in English. In Italian, minestrone is the augmentative form of the word 'minestra' which means "soup". The literal meaning of the word is "to serve" and comes from the word ‘minestrare’.
▲ Sauté the vegetables for 15 minutes
To make our minestrone soup recipe, the ingredients you will need are olive oil, diced onion, minced spring onion, garlic cloves cut into flakes, diced tomato and zucchini. The herbs and spices required are bay leaf, chopped thyme, rosemary, and basil leaves. You will also need vegetable stock, water, black-eyed beans (soaked overnight and pressure-cooked), tomato paste, and macaroni (if using). Additionally, you will need black pepper powder and sea salt to season the soup. However, and this is a big however, note that you can change the ingredients to suit what is in season or what you have available in your refrigerator – this is a forgiving soup and works well with all kinds of vegetables. Have fun, use our recipe as a base and try vegetables variations – it will still be an authentic minestrone soup recipe.
▲ Pour vegetable stock, water, beans, pepper, salt, and tomato paste into the pan
You can make vegetable stock ahead of time for this recipe. Follow our delicious vegetable stock recipe to use for this minestrone soup recipe veg style. Alternately, you can use stock cubes if you prefer to take a shortcut, but I don’t suggest that at all.
If you don’t have fresh rosemary, thyme and basil you can use the dried versions of these herbs. Alternately use herbs of your choice such as marjoram and oregano.
▲ Add small macaroni, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes
Instead of black-eyed beans you can use beans of your choice such as cannellini, kidney beans, borlotti beans, or even chickpeas and lentils if you like.
In our minestrone soup recipe, I have used small macaroni elbows as our choice of pasta but you could use just about any pasta you like such as farfalle, penne, rigatoni, fusilli, cappelletti, etc.
I prefer using store-bought tomato paste as it is packed with umami flavour which adds a great depth to this soup. I strongly suggest you use it in your minestrone soup too.
You can make a large batch of minestrone, store it in the freezer, and use it within 15 days.
▲ Taste soup for seasoning. Add salt if needed. Remove bay leaf before serving.
I am often asked ‘How do you make Jamie Oliver minestrone soup?’ We do you one better by sharing our favourite tried and tested minestrone recipe below.
Or see all our Soup Recipes right here!
▲ Spoon minestrone soup into individual bowls and serve hot
Serve the minestrone soup hot on its own or with a side of crusty sourdough, ciabatta or any other rustic loaf that you enjoy. If you don’t like pasta in your soup, omit the pasta and serve it with a side of simple pasta dishes such as aglio e olio or cacio e pepe, so that the flavours of the soup shine through.
▲ Your guests and family will enjoy this hearty soup
This traditional minestrone soup recipe is all about innovation and using whatever you have in the fridge or is in season. You can replace the vegetables with your favourites or what you have at hand. The same goes for the beans.
Another option is to omit the pasta in the minestrone soup and add rice instead. Or add both – that works well too.
▲ Grab a spoon and dig in!
Add diced cooked pancetta, bacon, or strips of chicken if you want to make this a non-vegetarian soup.
Learn how to make delicious bowlfuls of the best minestrone soup by following our step by step photos and detailed video recipe. Find the easiest way to make minestrone soup, its ingredients, and top tricks to make it right here.