Italian

Serving

Italian Kid-friendly

Minestrone Soup

Name: Minestrone Soup
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 large onion, all evenly diced; 2 medium zucchinis, diced; 400g (1 can) diced tomatoes with juices; 400g (1 can) Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained; 1.5 liters (6 cups) vegetable or chicken broth; 1/2 cup small dried pasta (ditalini or small shells); 2 cups fresh spinach or kale, roughly chopped; 1 Parmesan rind (crucial for flavor); 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried oregano

A hearty, thick Italian soup made with vegetables, beans, and often pasta.

60 minutes

Serves 4

21 min prep

33 min cook

Contains common allergens

celery Wheat Dairy

In the app, Listahan checks these against your household automatically.

Good to know

One-pot

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners

Instructions

6 steps

1
Sauté the Base: Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery (the soffritto). Cook for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are softened and fragrant.
2
Add Aromatics and Veggies: Stir in the diced zucchini, a pinch of dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 3-4 minutes to slightly soften the zucchini.
3
Build the Soup: Pour in the diced tomatoes (with juices), Cannellini beans, and the broth. Stir to combine. Drop the hard Parmesan rind directly into the pot—this will dissolve slowly, adding incredible depth and umami to the broth.
4
Simmer: Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot partially and let it simmer gently for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
5
Cook the Pasta: Increase the heat slightly to bring the soup back to a lively simmer. Add the ditalini pasta and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is *al dente*.
6
Finish and Serve: Remove the pot from the heat. Discard the remaining piece of the Parmesan rind. Stir in the fresh spinach or kale and let it wilt in the residual heat for 1-2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot in deep bowls, garnished with a drizzle of good olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Minestrone Soup — plated and served — Serving moment. How Minestrone Soup looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

69/100

Works for many families

Allergen-friendly 70

Kid-friendly 85

Weeknight-easy 64

Budget-friendly 64

Great leftovers 93

Pantry-friendly 29

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

335

Calories

19 g

Protein

48 g

Carbs

9 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Minestrone takes its name from the Italian minestra, meaning to serve, reflecting a soup that was never pinned to one fixed recipe but built around whatever vegetables, beans, and pasta a household had on hand that season.

Listahan note

This version treats the vegetable list as a starting point rather than a formula, and builds a proper soffritto base before anything else goes into the pot.

Technique cues

The soffritto of diced carrot, celery, and onion needs a real seven-to-ten-minute sweat until soft and fragrant, that base is what gives the broth its foundation before anything else goes in.
Adding vegetables in stages, sturdier ones like carrots first and more delicate ones like zucchini later, keeps everything from turning to mush by the time the soup is done.
Cannellini beans, whether canned or home-cooked, are usually added closer to the end so they warm through without breaking down into the broth.
A rind of parmesan simmered in the pot, if you have one, dissolves slowly and adds a savory depth that plain vegetable broth alone doesn't provide.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Prep any side dishes while Minestrone Soup finishes with the liters vegetable or chicken broth — the hands-off cook time is the window to use. Everything else is quick — the simmer is the one step that takes real time.
Make-ahead: Minestrone Soup reheats well, so cooking it a day ahead and finishing it just before serving is a reasonable way to spread out the work. This one leans on the liters vegetable or chicken broth. Plan around the simmer; that's the slow part.
Leftover move: Leftover Minestrone Soup reheats well covered on the stove or in the oven with a splash of liquid; avoid the microwave, which tends to toughen the liters vegetable or chicken broth on a fast reheat. Plan around the simmer; that's the slow part.
Cleanup rhythm: Deglaze the pan used for Minestrone Soup with a splash of water or broth right after cooking — it lifts the browned bits before they dry on and saves scrubbing later. This one leans on the liters vegetable or chicken broth. Plan around the simmer; that's the slow part.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 large onion, all evenly diced

Aromatic base

Purpose: carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 large onion, all evenly diced creates the savory foundation before stronger ingredients are added.

Handling: Wash, trim, and cut evenly so the pieces cook at the same pace.