Classic Italian Minestrone
Hearty, vegetable-packed minestrone with cannellini beans and ditalini pasta — a comforting, flexible one-pot soup that sings with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of good olive oil.
Minestrone is the lazy-grandmother-of-soups: entirely forgiving, staggeringly nutritious and perfect for using up the veg drawer. This version is a classic Italian-style minestrone — tomato-forward, bean-thickened and finished with lemon and a hit of fresh herbs.
Make it on a chilly evening with crusty bread, or cook a double batch and freeze the base (add fresh pasta when serving). It sings because of a small trick — mashing a few beans to thicken naturally, so you get comfort without creaminess that dulls the flavours.
Ingredients
- 45 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion — medium, finely chopped
- 2 carrots — medium, peeled and diced (about 200 g)
- 2 celery stalks — trimmed and diced
- 3 garlic cloves — minced
- 30 ml tomato paste
- 400 g chopped tomatoes (canned) — one standard can
- 1 1/2 l vegetable stock — hot
- 400 g cannellini beans (canned) — drained and rinsed
- 1 potato — medium (about 150 g), peeled and diced into 1–1.5 cm cubes
- 1 courgette (zucchini) — medium, diced
- 150 g green beans — trimmed and cut into 2 cm pieces
- 100 g ditalini or small pasta — or small shells/elbow pasta
- 100 g kale or spinach — kale: stems removed and shredded; spinach: roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 ml dried oregano
- 5 ml dried thyme
- 10 ml salt — plus extra to taste
- 5 ml black pepper — freshly ground
- 15 ml lemon juice — freshly squeezed, to finish
- 40 g grated Parmesan — optional, for serving
- fresh basil and parsley — a handful chopped, for garnish
Equipment
- large heavy-based soup pot (5–6 L)
- ladle
- wooden spoon
- colander
- measuring jug
- immersion blender (optional)
Instructions
Heat a large, heavy-based soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and once shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrots and celery (mirepoix).
Gently sweat the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to colour — about 8–10 minutes. Lower the heat if they begin to brown too quickly.
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1–2 minutes until the paste darkens slightly and the garlic is fragrant. This deepens the tomato flavour.
Add the chopped canned tomatoes, hot vegetable stock, bay leaf, dried oregano and thyme. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Stir in the diced potato and drained cannellini beans. Reserve 100 g (about a quarter) of the drained beans in a small bowl — you'll mash these later to thicken the soup.
Simmer gently, uncovered, for 18–22 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the flavours have married.
While the soup simmers, mash the reserved cannellini beans with a fork (or small blender) to a coarse paste and set aside.
Add the ditalini pasta to the pot and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the courgette and green beans and continue to cook until pasta is al dente and green beans are tender-crisp (another 6–8 minutes).
Stir the mashed beans and the kale or spinach into the pot and cook for 2–3 minutes until the greens have wilted.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the lemon juice and check seasoning — you may want a little extra salt or a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are very acidic.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Finish each serving with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a scattering of chopped basil and parsley and grated Parmesan if using.
Storage/make-ahead: Cool quickly and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently; add a splash of stock or water if thickened. For freezing, omit the pasta and freeze the soup base for up to 3 months.
Tips
- Reserve and mash a portion of the canned beans — it thickens the broth beautifully without cream.
- Add pasta at the end or cook separately — pasta left in stored soup becomes mushy and soaks up all the liquid.
- If tomatoes taste sharp, add a pinch of sugar or a splash of balsamic to balance acidity.
- Use hot stock so the soup returns to a simmer quickly — avoids long waits and keeps veg vibrant.
- To make ahead and freeze: do not add pasta or delicate greens before freezing. Add them when reheating.
Substitutions
ditalini pasta → 100 g gluten-free small pasta or 125 g cooked barley (pearled), add slightly earlier and adjust liquid
Stays closecannellini beans (canned) → 400 g cooked borlotti or chickpeas; if using dried beans, soak and cook beforehand
Stays closekale or spinach → a handful of tender Swiss chard or chopped cavolo nero (kale) — cavolo nero will be a touch firmer
Stays closevegetable stock → chicken stock (if not vegetarian) — will make soup richer and less bright
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 230
- Calories
- 9 g
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 7 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
- Sugar
- 700 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make minestrone vegan?
Yes — omit the Parmesan or use a vegan hard cheese. Ensure your stock is vegetable-based.
How do I stop the pasta getting soggy?
Cook pasta separately and add to bowls when serving, or add dry pasta only in the final few minutes and expect it to soften if reheated later.
Can I use dried beans instead of canned?
Yes — soak overnight and cook until tender before adding. Using soaked/dried beans increases cooking time but reduces sodium and gives nicer texture.
Can I freeze this soup?
Freeze the soup base (no pasta, no delicate greens) for up to 3 months. Reheat, then add fresh pasta and greens before serving.
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