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Classic Minestrone Soup Recipe – Italian Vegetable Soup
Instructions
Gather all the prepared vegetables for the Italian vegetable soup minestrone on a clean work surface ready for the cooking step.
If using fresh beans rather than canned, boil them properly in advance. Prepare the chicken broth in advance too if you intend to add it to the soup. The main core ingredients are the potatoes, the carrots, the celery and the onion.
Cut the peeled onion into medium-sized cubes. Even-sized dice produces the most uniform finished texture in the soup at the table.
Cut the carrots and celery into similarly sized cubes as well. Matching sizes across the various vegetables ensures even cooking time throughout the soup pot.
Cut the peeled potatoes into cubes slightly larger than the other vegetables. The slightly larger potato pieces hold their shape better during the longer simmering time and produce a more substantial finished soup texture.
In a frying pan or a thick-bottomed cooking pot, pour in a little vegetable or olive oil and heat. Add the chopped vegetables to the pot to brown briefly and cook until al dente.
While the base vegetables are frying, blanch the tomatoes for easier peeling. Make a cross-shaped cut on the bottom of each tomato and pour boiling water over them. Leave in this state for five to seven minutes total.
Divide the cauliflower and broccoli into florets. Do not throw away the stalks: cut them into medium-sized pieces too for added body and nutrition in the finished soup.
Slice the bell pepper into medium-sized cubes that match the other vegetables in size for the most uniform finished appearance in the soup bowl.
Add the celery stalks to the soup. If celery stalks are not available, you can use celery bulbs and the leafy greens as an acceptable substitute that produces broadly similar results.
Chop the celery stalks and the leaves finely with a sharp knife. Smaller pieces release more flavour into the surrounding broth during cooking.
Take the blanched tomatoes out of the boiling water (the skins should now slip off easily) and peel them. Cut the peeled tomatoes into cubes according to your preference, either large or small to match the other vegetables.
Transfer the prepared diced tomatoes to the pot with the other vegetables and sauté everything together for about 5-7 minutes total to develop the flavour foundation.
After seven minutes of combined cooking, add the bell pepper, the broccoli, the cauliflower and the chopped celery to the pot. Add water or chicken broth to the desired final thickness. Cook for about fifteen minutes until all the vegetables are properly tender.
A couple of minutes before the cooking finishes, add the boiled beans and the chopped celery leaves to the soup. The brief final cooking warms the beans through without overcooking them.
Add the spices from the recipe list and salt to taste. Adjust the seasoning gradually rather than adding everything at once for the most balanced finished flavour profile.
According to the classic recipe, the minestrone soup is now properly ready to serve. Ladle into deep bowls or dishes. If desired, add pieces of boiled chicken to each portion for extra protein. The vegetable soup turns out beautifully tasty, properly filling and at the same time refreshingly light. The dish fits perfectly into any sensible diet plan. Bon appetit!
Tips
- 1
Cut all the vegetables to similar sizes for the most uniform cooking time and the most attractive finished appearance in the soup bowl. Even-sized dice ensures that nothing is overcooked or undercooked when the soup is properly ready to serve. The brief extra time spent cutting carefully genuinely pays off in the visual quality of the finished dish, which earns appreciative comments from everyone at the dinner table.
- 2
Sauté the vegetables briefly before adding the liquid for a noticeably deeper richer finished flavour. To pair this beautifully classic Italian soup with another properly authentic Italian preparation for variety in your menu, try our beautifully fresh classic Caprese salad recipe as a perfect light starter to serve before the main soup course.
- 3
Add fresh herbs only at the end of cooking rather than at the start, since prolonged heating destroys much of the delicate aromatic character of fresh basil and parsley. Stir in chopped fresh herbs just before serving for the brightest most flavourful finished result. Dried herbs can go in earlier during cooking, since they are more heat-stable than the fresh equivalents.
- 4
Top the finished soup with a generous shaving of fresh Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil for the most authentic Italian finishing touch. For another classic Italian-cuisine recipe to add variety to your weekly menu, try our beautifully indulgent classic Bolognese pasta as a heartier meat-based main course alternative.
FAQ
Can I add pasta to minestrone? +
Absolutely. Traditional Italian minestrone often includes small pasta shapes such as ditalini, small shells, broken spaghetti or even rice for extra body and substance. Add the pasta about 10 minutes before the end of cooking time so it cooks through to al dente. Note that pasta absorbs significant amounts of liquid as it cooks, so you may need to add extra broth or water to maintain the proper soup consistency. Stir frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
What can I substitute for the various vegetables? +
Minestrone is genuinely flexible in its vegetable composition, since the soup originated as a way to use up whatever fresh vegetables were available in the kitchen. Try zucchini, leeks, fennel, sweet potato, butternut squash, kale, Swiss chard, spinach or even savoy cabbage as substitutes or additions to the basic recipe. Each vegetable brings its own slightly different character to the finished soup, so feel free to experiment based on what is in your fridge.
How long does this soup keep? +
Store leftover minestrone covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to four full days for best results. The flavours actually improve significantly on the second day as all the various vegetables and spices continue to merge into a beautifully harmonious whole. The soup also freezes brilliantly for up to three months in airtight portion-sized containers, which makes it ideal for batch cooking on a quiet weekend afternoon for use during a busier week ahead at home.
Can I make minestrone vegan? +
Absolutely. Skip the chicken broth (use vegetable broth instead) and omit the boiled chicken pieces. The result tastes wonderfully satisfying as a fully vegan main course soup. Add a tin of cooked chickpeas or cannellini beans alongside the green beans for extra plant-based protein and substance in the finished dish. Top each bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan substitute, and plenty of fresh herbs for the proper authentic Italian flavour profile.
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