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.
This soup is a winner! The whole family loved it. Even my picky 4 year old ate two bowls!
Love this soup!!
Wonder if you can add cooked Italian sausage or even ground beef? Anyone ever tried that?
Yes you can add meat!
Thanks! Going to try tomorrow for dinner! Kick it up a notch ! Hope the already amazing flavor improves.
I love this recipe as is but hubby wants meat in it
This recipe was absolutely delicious! I didn’t change a thing. It was hearty enough for dinner, served with bread. Thank you!
I made this today and it is so delicious! I used chicken broth, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. This will be my go-to soup this winter.
Tasty and so easy to put together. Thanks!
I have made this recipe several times. It is delicious. I have served it for lunch long with a salad to friends and everyone has raved about it,
Delicious! Can I also make this in a crock pot? If so, do I still need to sauté the veggies? How long will it need to cook?
About halfway through the post there are instructions for a slow cooker version!
Love this recipe. I made it last winter for all our volunteers at Winterfest, everyone loved it! Making it tonight as autumn is upon us now 😉 Thank You!
Sooo delicious. While it was so amazing, there wasn’t enough broth for my preference so I added an extra cup, and added some salt, pepper a tablespoon of tomato paste, some garlic powder & Italian seasoning. It was perfect both ways. Now that I found it, I’ll make it several times this fall & winter!
Q: how much is in a serving? I see 300cal. Maybe I missed something?
It’s 1 1/2 cups per serving!
Can not seem to print on letter size paper !
This is awesomely delicious and easy to make. I made it exactly as written and would not change a thing Hank you for the recipe🙂
Does this soup freeze and thaw well?
Yes you can freeze it!
Hi which brand of vegetable broth would you recommend? I’ve tried many and some are awful
I typically use Swanson. You can also easily make your own by simmering a quartered onion, 2 sliced carrots, 3 stalks of celery, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, peppercorns and garlic in water for a few hours.
I grew up with a mom that was a general managers of an Olive garden. This is hands down the closest to their recipe I’ve had. Thank you so much!
The nutrition content doesn’t mention the serving size or how many servings.
The number of servings is listed at the top of the recipe and it’s 1 1/2 cups per serving!
I add a cup of cooked chickpeas as well as a medium green pepper. And part chicken broth, too.
So delicious… I added cooked Italian sausage and bell peppers instead of green beans. Great soup thank you
Super yum, and I have made it many times now. I do make the pasta separately and just add a spoonful for each individual serving just before eating. Otherwise the pasta absorbs so much liquid that it turns to goo for leftovers.
i always cook pasta separately for soups..hate mushy pasta
Did you cook mild sausage? And did you cook as like ground beef or cut into pieces?
Looking to try this addition too!
This soup is delicious. So easy to make and I’ll make it again and again! Sometimes I’ll add in some chicken broth too since I like a little more liquid to my soups. ❤️
It was the best minestrone soup recipe.
This soup was quick and easy to make. I used half vegetable broth & half chicken broth to spice up the flavor. Otherwise a very tasty, hearty flavorful soup. I think another commenter said she used lentils, so I might try that next.