Mediterranean

Serving

Minestrone Soup

Name: Minestrone Soup
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion (diced); 2 carrots (diced); 2 stalks celery (diced); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes; 6 cups vegetable broth; 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans or cannellini beans (rinsed); 1 cup small pasta (ditalini or macaroni); 1 medium zucchini (diced); 2 cups fresh spinach; 1 tsp dried oregano; salt and pepper; parmesan rind (optional)

A hearty Italian vegetable soup of tomatoes, beans, and small pasta simmered in broth with carrots, celery, and zucchini, finished with parmesan.

45 minutes

Serves 4

Lunch

16 min prep

25 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
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 6-8 minutes until softened.
2
Add the minced garlic and dried oregano. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3
Pour in the diced tomatoes (with juices) and the vegetable broth. If you have a parmesan rind, drop it in now for extra umami flavor. Bring the soup to a boil.
4
Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the rinsed beans. Let the soup cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
5
Stir in the pasta and the diced zucchini. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and cooked through.
6
Remove the soup from the heat (discard the parmesan rind). Stir in the fresh spinach and let it wilt in the hot broth. Season generously with salt and pepper, and serve hot with grated parmesan cheese on top.

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™

58/100

Works for many families

Allergen-friendly 70

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 52

Budget-friendly 56

Great leftovers 87

Pantry-friendly 24

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

240

Calories

11 g

Protein

32 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 is an Italian vegetable soup without a single fixed recipe, historically built from whatever vegetables and beans a household had on hand, with the addition of pasta or rice marking it as more of a substantial meal than a simple broth-based soup.

Listahan note

This version drops a parmesan rind into the simmering broth, a classic Italian kitchen habit for building savory depth out of what would otherwise be a scrap.

Technique cues

Sauteing the onion, carrot, and celery for 6 to 8 minutes before adding anything else builds a sweeter base than adding raw vegetables directly to the broth.
A parmesan rind simmered in the broth, then discarded before serving, adds a savory depth that the vegetables and beans alone don't provide.
The pasta goes in only for its own cook time near the end, since adding it too early leaves it overcooked and starchy by the time everything else is ready.
Fresh spinach is stirred in off the heat at the very end, wilting from the soup's residual warmth rather than being simmered, which keeps its color from turning dull.

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. Everything else is quick — the simmer is the one step that takes real time.
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. Everything else is quick — the simmer is the one step that takes real time.

Ingredient brief

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

2 tbsp olive oil

Richness and texture

Purpose: tbsp olive oil rounds the texture and helps the dish feel complete.

Handling: Prep before heat is high so the cooking step can move without rushing.