This is the best minestrone soup!
Minestrone is an easy, hearty Italian soup full of vegetables. This classic soup recipe can be made on the stove or slow cooker. If the Instant Pot is calling your name, you can even make Instant Pot Minestrone Soup.
Either way, it tastes incredible!
And there are a variety of reasons this soup needs to be in your rotation. Let's talk about them, shall we??
This minestrone soup recipe is perfect for the slow cooker
It's only fitting that the best minestrone soup is a "dump recipe". What the heck does this mean? This means you add everything to the crock pot at once, set it to cook and walk away until it's done.
These meals are my love language, you know???
Cook it in your Instant Pot
Not feeling the slow cooker vibes? Make it in your Instant Pot. One slight modification and you'll still be dancing your way to the dinner table.
Like I said, it takes only minutes to prep. Basically, cut your onion and open some jars and cans.
Minestrone Soup is also an awesome freezer meal
Another one of my favorites - you can make a batch - or two - and freeze it for later before cooking!
On a busy night all the prep work is already done.
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I like to freeze the soup ingredients in a gallon sized plastic ziplock bag and lay it on a sheet pan in the freezer until it's frozen solid.
But here's where the recipe differs just a bit when made as a freezer meal. Don't add your chicken broth. It's not worth the possible mess it will make if it leaks and it takes up valuable real estate in your freezer.
I recommend you label the broth so you know what meal it's for later. Trust me, you may forget.
Or you can use a chicken base like I did and add water when you cooked it. (see that streak of gold near the beans? That's chicken base - basically concentrated chicken stock. So the flavor is in the bag, without all the liquid.
It's a meal in itself. Fiber from the beans and a hearty dose of vegetables mean your tummy will be happy!
That's my kind of meal!
- Chili Lime Pork Medallions
- Stuffed Pepper Soup Instant Pot
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
- Turkey, Kale and White Bean Soup
Give my minestrone soup a try and tag me at #thisfarmgirlcooks when you share on social media!
For more meatless recipes, check out my Lenten Dinner Recipes!
Best Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 cup zucchini quartered and chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 42 ounces chicken broth
- 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for stovetop and Instant Pot versions
- 1 15 ounce can green beans drained
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Instructions
TO MAKE ON THE STOVETOP
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, and zucchini. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften and develop some color.
- Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
TO MAKE IN THE SLOW COOKER/CROCKPOT
- Add all ingredients into a slow cooker. Cook for 7 hours on low, or for 4 hours on high.
TO MAKE IN THE INSTANT POT
- Set pot to saute. When heated, add carrots, celery, and zucchini. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften and develop some color.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook for 15 minutes. Allow to NPR for 5-10 minutes or longer.
TO MAKE AS A FREEZER MEAL
- Add all ingredients, uncooked, EXCEPT chicken broth into a gallon sized freezer bag. Freeze. Add chicken broth at cooking time.
Notes
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
