This easy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is a delicious spin on the Italian classic that comes together in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or any other neutral flavour of cooking oil.
- Onions – the variety doesn't matter, but I prefer using white or yellow.
- Garlic – I prefer using fresh garlic cloves, but the jarred variety will work in a pinch.
- Carrot – parsnips would also work.
- Celery – double up on the carrots or leave this out altogether.
- Green beans – these are classic in minestrone, but feel free to use sugar snap peas instead.
- Kidney beans – you could also use lentils, chickpeas or black beans.
- Italian seasoning – make your own using a blend of oregano, basil, thyme, sage and rosemary.
- Bay leaves – try using dried oregano or thyme instead.
- Chicken broth – chicken stock and vegetable both are both great substitutes.
- Crushed tomatoes – I'll occasionally use passata (jarred strained tomatoes) and they work perfectly.
- Macaroni – use any small pasta variety that you have on hand.
- Fresh basil – to garnish.
- Parmesan – if you want a dairy-free or vegan minestrone, feel free to use nutritional yeast or cashew meal as a substitute.
Skip the Ads and Get Right to the Recipes!
- ZERO ADS on over 600 recipes!
- Weekly Meal Plans, Grocery & Prep Lists
- Bonus eBooks
How to make minestrone soup in the Instant Pot
- Dump everything but the macaroni, basil and parmesan in the Instant Pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure.
- Add in the macaroni.
- Let the soup sit.
- Garnish and serve!
What to serve with minestrone soup
This Instant Pot minestrone soup is a full meal on its own, but if you’re looking for ideas on what to serve on the side, here are some ideas:
- Fresh crusty bread or garlic bread
- Side salad like Caesar salad
- Grilled cheese
- Wrap or sandwich
- Grilled chicken or steak
- Roasted vegetables
Frequently Asked Questions
If you find that your Instant Pot minestrone soup is bland, there are plenty of ways you can add some extra flavour. Fresh herbs and extra spices always do the trick – to make things easy, use an all-purpose Italian spice blend. You can also add in some protein like ground beef or chicken, or extra veggies like zucchini, bell peppers, potatoes, spinach, broccoli, peas, squash and more.
This Instant Pot minestrone is made of onions, garlic, carrot, celery, green beans, kidney beans, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes and dry macaroni. Top it off with some fresh basil and parmesan and dig in!
Essentially, these two soups are the same thing. The primary difference is that generally, classic minestrone is a heartier soup. This is because it includes legumes and pasta, whereas vegetable soup is strictly veggies and broth.
This minestrone soup Instant Pot recipe is definitely healthy! It's full of veggies and high in fibre, in addition to being low on calories at just 261 calories per serving.
This homemade Instant Pot minestrone soup will last in the fridge for up to 5 days in glass bowls or mason jars. If you want it to last even longer, you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Storing and reheating
Store any leftovers of this Instant Pot minestrone soup in the fridge for up to 5 days in a glass bowl or mason jar. When you’re ready to enjoy, you can reheat the soup in a pot on the stovetop or in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.
Can you freeze minestrone soup?
You can definitely freeze this minestrone soup Instant Pot recipe. After you allow it to cool to room temperature, freeze a batch in meal prep containers, mason jars or glass bowls for up to 3 months. This way, you can then pull them out whenever you want a meal in a hurry!
If you plan to reheat the minestrone soup from frozen, be sure that the container is rated safe for freezer to oven use. Microwave it for 6 to 7 minutes on high, stirring halfway through. You can also allow the soup to defrost in the fridge overnight and then microwave it for 2 to 3 minutes.
Wanna Learn How To Meal Prep?
My meal planning service, Dinner Prep Pro, removes the guesswork and helps you get dinner on the table in 15-20 minutes each night. My meal prep checklists only take 1 hour each week!
More Instant Pot soup recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Here’s the Instant Pot I use.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into leftovers.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup {Super Easy}
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 onions, diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups green beans, trimmed
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (796mL) jar crushed tomatoes (sometimes passata)
- 3/4 cup dry macaroni
- Chopped fresh basil, for topping
- Grated fresh parmesan, for topping
Instructions
- Dump all ingredients except for macaroni, basil and parmesan in Instant Pot. Set to manual and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to pre-heat and then the 4 minutes to cook. When complete, press cancel and do a quick release of the steam, waiting until the pressure gauge drops back down and the lid is safe to open.
- Remove lid, stir soup and add macaroni, then replace lid. Let macaroni soak about 5 minutes (maybe more like 10 depending on the type of pasta you use; mine needed only 5 minutes).
- Remove lid again and stir. Serve in large bowls and top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Join The Girl on Bloor Premium!
- ZERO ADS!
- Weekly Meal Prep Checklists
- Bonus eBooks
Comments & Reviews
Robin says
Hi. This sounds really good. If I wanted to add a pound of linked sausage, how much should I change the recipe cooking time please? I’ve only cooked three things so far in my instant pot…
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Robin – I haven’t tried this myself so I can’t guarantee a cooking time, but if you saute the sausage ahead of time until lightly browned but not fully cooked, the cook time shouldn’t change. Let me know if you try it!
Amanda says
This came out so good and was super easy. Mine looked just like the pictures (for once in my life). Family enjoyed & toddler got his dose of veggies! A repeat recipe for sure.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you guys enjoyed 🙂
Lisa says
Do you really use 3 onions? Sounds like a lot in comparison to the carrot and celery.
Taylor Stinson says
I believe they were smaller cooking onions. One medium onion will work fine.
Jaclyn says
How would you recommend cooking this stove top or crockpot if you don’t have an Instapot?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Jaclyn – you can just throw everything in the slow cooker except for the pasta and cook on high for 3 1/2 hours, then throw the pasta in and cook another 30 minutes. If making on the stovetop, saute the veggies then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 min.
Kate says
Such a fantastic and easy recipe! I added zucchini in with my macaroni and it cooked just right. I prefer making things from scratch so I know just what is in them, and I feel like this stood up to my favorite Olive Garden soup easily. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Megan says
I REALLY wish you had a “print this recipe” button on your page.
Taylor Stinson says
I do normally have one – this is an issue I’m working on getting fixed!
Carmen says
This turned out great, thank you! The veggies and pasta were perfectly cooked.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy to hear that Carmen!!! So glad you liked it 🙂