This Olive Garden minestrone soup is loaded with vegetables, beans and pasta in a tomato broth. It’s a copycat of the restaurant version that tastes even better than the original recipe!
Every time I go to Olive Garden I order the soup, salad and breadsticks. I just can’t get enough of their minestrone soup, it’s my favorite! This homemade version is easy to whip up and is a great way to get the family to eat their veggies. Serve your soup with garlic knots for a complete meal.
Every time I go to Olive Garden, I have to get the minestrone soup. It’s filled with tons of great flavors and textures, yet is light enough not to fill me up before the main course arrives. This recipe is an Olive Garden minestrone soup copycat, and I have to say, it’s as good (or better!) than the original.
How do you make Olive Garden Minestrone group?
This recipe calls for a variety of vegetables cooked in a savory broth. Onions, carrots, celery and zucchini are sauteed, then tomatoes, vegetable broth, pasta and beans go into the mix. Let everything simmer and dinner is served!
What vegetables go into minestrone soup?
This soup is loaded with veggies, it contains onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, tomatoes, green beans and spinach. This is the same blend of vegetables that Olive Garden uses, but you can absolutely change up the veggies depending on what’s in season and what you have on hand. Other great vegetable choices are
- Russet potatoes
- Butternut squash
- Sweet potatoes
- Leeks
- Kale
Slow cooker Minestrone Soup
This soup can easily be made in the slow cooker if you’d prefer to go that route. You can add all the ingredients to the slow cooker minus the pasta, spinach and parsley, then let everything simmer for 4-6 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high. Stir in the pasta and spinach and let everything cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Tips for Minestrone Soup
- You can use fresh or frozen green beans, whatever you prefer.
- Try to cut all the vegetables the same size so that they cook at the same rate.
- This soup freezes well, although the pasta and vegetables may be a little softer upon thawing and reheating.
- Be sure to drain and rinse your beans before adding them to the soup, you want to get rid of all that extra sodium!
- This soup is hearty enough to serve as a main course, but if you’d like an extra dose of protein, try adding some cooked Italian sausage.
This Olive Garden minestrone soup hits the spot on a cold day, and it’s so easy to make too! Add a sprinkle of parmesan and some warm bread and you’ve for a quick dinner that everyone is sure to love.
More great soup recipes
Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Video
Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery sliced
- 1/2 cup carrots peeled, quartered and sliced
- 1 zucchini quartered and sliced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 15 ounce can small white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup frozen cut green beans
- 1/2 cup small shell pasta
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and zucchini to the pot.
- Cook until the vegetables are tender, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste and Italian seasoning to the pot. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the white beans, kidney beans, green beans and pasta to the pot. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the spinach leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
- Sprinkle the parsley over the soup and serve.
Which vegetable broth did you use? If made at home, can you help share the recipe?
I didn’t make the broth at home. I’ve made this soup with multiple vegetable broths and it has come out great every time. Feel free to use Pacific brand, Swanson brand or a similar vegetable broth.
This soup is so simple to make that when everyone finally let me be to stay alone after my heart attack, this easy soup is what I made and it was perfect to fill me up, great nutrition, and easy cleanup. It’s delicious and so easy to prepare.
made exactly as written. Yum!! Kids love it.
The minestrone soup is delicious. It’s my family’s favorite.
This was delicious! But how do you keep it from turning to mush. The noodles and zucchini turned to mush.
I also added meatballs.
You could add the zucchini later and cook the noodles for one minute less!
Cook the pasta separately and stir in just before serving.
This is a wonderful recipe. Full of good for you ingredients. I added some V-8 juice in place of some of the water. I make a pot of soup just about weekly and this is one of my favorites.
How much is a serving?
1 1/2 cups is a serving.
When you say “small white bean”, would great northern fit that category? Cannellini?
I just made this today with northern beans and it was perfect.
Thanks!
Tonight I made this for the second time…this time for 2 men – big and little… (7-years-old)… it went VERY well! Thank you!!
A family favorite that tastes just like OG’s. Make this on repeat throughout the fall and winter and we almost fight over the last bowl. I do add parm/reggiano rind when I have it to make it extra special. Thanks for the great recipe!
This recipe was spot on! Only thing I added was a 1/4 cup dry red wine, very tasty!