This easy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is a quick and delicious spin on the classic, and it comes together in less than 20 minutes!
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Ingredients in this soup
Full ingredient amounts and instructions are available at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
- 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
- 3/4 cup dry macaroni
- Chopped fresh basil, for topping
- Grated fresh parmesan, for topping
How to make minestrone
- Dump all ingredients except for macaroni, basil and parmesan in Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes, then do a quick release of the steam.
- Remove lid, stir soup and add macaroni, then replace lid. Let macaroni soak about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove lid again and stir. Serve in large bowls and top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Ingredient substitutions
- olive oil – any other neutral flavor of cooking oil will be fine too
- diced onions – the variety really doesn't matter much, but I prefer white or yellow
- minced garlic – I like to mince fresh cloves, but the jarred variety has good flavor too
- diced carrots – feel free to use parsnips if you'd like
- green beans – these are a classic in minestrone, but feel free to use sugar snap peas instead
- canned kidney beans – swap the kidney beans for lentils, chickpeas or black beans
- chicken broth – Both chicken stock and vegetable broth are great substitutes
- canned crushed tomatoes – I occasionally use passata (jarred strained tomatoes) instead, and it works perfectly
- elbow macaroni – use any small pasta variety that you have on hand
- freshly grated parmesan – if you want a dairy free or vegan minestrone, feel free to use nutritional yeast or cashew meal as a substitute
How do you add flavour to minestrone soup?
You can add flavour to soup in a number of ways. Of course fresh herbs and extra spices will do the trick. To make things easy, use an all-purpose Italian spice blend.
Another way to boost the flavour is to add a protein, such as ground beef, chicken, or turkey.
Here are some other veggies you can add in for a flavor boost as well:
- Zucchini
- Bell peppers
- Potatoes
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Peas
- Squash (butternut, acorn, etc.)
What is the difference between vegetable soup and minestrone?
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.
What to serve on the side
Instant Pot minestrone is great on its own, but it’s perfect for pairing with any type of sandwich. Or, serve it alongside grilled chicken or pork chops.
It’s a broth-based soup, so be sure to serve some French bread or Italian bread sticks to sop up the extra broth with!
Storing and reheating
Store any leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave on high for about 2-3 minutes, taking the bowl out mid-way to stir.
Freezing the soup
After you allow it to cool to room temperature, freeze a batch in meal prep containers or glass bowls that have lids. 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, being sure to stir it half way through the cook time.
You can also allow the soup to defrost in the fridge overnight and then microwave for 2-3 minutes.
More minestrone recipes
Who doesn't love Minestrone soup? I feel like it's everyone's favourite. If you don't have an Instant Pot, I've got a Tortellini Minestrone and Meal Prep Minestrone Soup Jars on the blog too!
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- 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
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Super Easy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
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!
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Nutrition
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 🙂
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!
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!
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.
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.