This is the Best Instant Pot Minestrone Soup! It’s made with a tomato-based broth that gets extra flavour from a parmesan cheese rind.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – any neutral oil like sunflower oil, vegetable oil or peanut oil can be used as a substitute.
- Yellow onion – if you’re in a pinch, use red onions, sweet onions or scallions.
- Celery stalks – if you don’t have celery on hand, you can leave it out entirely.
- Carrots – as said for the celery, if you’re not a fan or don’t have carrots on hand you can leave it out entirely or replace with a vegetable of your choice.
- Garlic – I suggest fresh grated or minced garlic but jarred minced garlic can be used as well.
- Parmesan cheese rind – parmesan cheese rinds add a packed flavour to sauces, stews and soups. It is an optional step but definitely recommended. If you don’t have parmesan cheese rinds, you can use a gruyere rind or pecorino romano rind.
- Italian seasoning – use a blend of oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary and/or sage instead.
- Bay leaves – thyme or oregano can be used to substitute bay leaves.
- Salt and pepper – to taste.
- Green beans – leave the green beans out entirely or replace with another vegetable of your choice.
- Kidney beans – kidney beans add substance and protein to the minestrone. For the same effect, use red beans, chickpeas, black beans or pinto beans instead.
- Small shell pasta – feel free to add in any pasta you would like, but a direct substitute would be fusili, farfalle, rotini or gemelli.
- Diced tomatoes – crushed tomatoes canned or freshly crushed tomatoes are both great replacements.
- Vegetable broth – if you’re not a vegetarian, use chicken broth or make your own broth from bouillon cubes.
- Baby spinach – leave out the spinach or use another dark leafy green like kale.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is a great dairy-free substitute or you can leave this off entirely.
How to make minestrone soup in the Instant Pot
- Add everything to the Instant Pot in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure.
- Garnish with parmesan, serve and enjoy.
What to serve with minestrone soup
Here are a few side dishes to serve with your minestrone soup:
- Side salad – any leafy green salad will add balance to this meal. I recommend a mixed green salad dressed with a balsamic vinegar dressing.
- Garlic bread – who doesn’t love some bread with their soups? Use your piece of garlic bread to enjoy alongside your soup or to dip into your soup throughout.
- Roasted veggies – this dish is hearty and filled with vegetables, so why not include some roasted veggies that would enhance the flavour palette even more? I recommend roasted broccoli, roasted zucchini, or roasted peppers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Minestrone is an Italian dish that essentially means a thick soup. What makes this soup “minestrone” is the inclusion of beans and pasta. Minestrone is typically enjoyed as a vegetarian dish but can be altered to have chicken stock, which removes it from being an entirely vegetarian dish. Popular inclusions in the soup are: beans, celery, pasta, carrots, tomatoes and croutons (for texture and crunch).
This minestrone soup is made with a blend of veggies including celery and carrots, kidney beans, pasta, a tomato-based broth and a parmesan cheese rind for extra flavour.
To add a rich flavour to the minestrone, I added a parmesan cheese rind into the Instant Pot while the soup was cooking. Parmesan cheese rinds are usually used in soups, stews and sauces to add a creamy, cheesy texture. As well as the parmesan cheese rind, I’ve added herbs. Using herbs like the Italian seasoning uniformly adds flavour and seasons the vegetables.
Minestrone soup is essentially a hearty version of your classic vegetable soup. It typically includes the addition of pasta and beans to bulk it up a bit.
Storing and reheating
My favourite tip for storing soups is to store them in mason jars! Mason jars are a great way of storing soups in a travel friendly container, making them easy for anyone on the go! If you don’t have any mason jars on hand, you can use glass container to store your soup. You can also decide whether to store the whole batch in one container or in individual single servings. Once refrigerated, your soup will last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you’re ready to enjoy your soup, take your serving out of the fridge and warm it up on the stovetop or in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.
Can you freeze minestrone soup?
This soup freezes wonderfully, which makes it one of the best meal prep soup options! Store your soup in a glass container or freezer-safe Ziploc bag and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Once you’re ready to eat your soup, defrost it in the fridge overnight and then reheat is in a pot on the stovetop and dig in.
More Instant Pot soup recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this delicious soup into your weekly lunches.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls for up to 3 months.
The Best Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 parmesan cheese rind
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1 lb green beans, chopped
- 2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 lb small shell pasta
- 1 (796mL) can diced tomatoes in their juices
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Serve in large bowls, garnishing with parmesan cheese if desired, then serve and enjoy.
