Classic Minestrone Soup with Winter Vegetables

Minestrone is the soup I make when I cannot decide which winter vegetable I love the most, so I just use all of them. Carrot, celery, onion, potato, kale, beans, tomato. All in. All delicious. This is a hearty Italian classic that has been warming people up for centuries and honestly, once you understand how it works, you will be making it on repeat all winter long. It is cheap, filling, deeply satisfying, and made entirely from affordable seasonal vegetables and pantry staples. Finish it with a genuinely obscene amount of parmesan and you have got dinner sorted. Let's cook!

It doesn't matter where you are in the world, this is one of those winter soups that you will always find on a menu. I have eaten minestrone in mountain restaurants in the Alps, in little cafes in France, and at home on cold evenings when I just needed something easy, cheap, and nourishing. After more than 20 years cooking professionally, I have made and eaten a lot of soup, and minestrone remains one of my favourites. It fills you up, it tastes delicious, and it keeps you warm.

Watch me make this on YouTube!

Recipe Details

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 to 40 minutes
• Total Time: 50 to 55 minutes
• Serves: 4
• Difficulty: Easy
• Special Equipment: Large heavy-based pot or Dutch oven

The foundation of a great minestrone is the soffritto. This is just a fancy Italian word for your carrot, celery, and onion cooked low and slow in olive oil until completely softened and sweet. Do not rush this step. Those 10 to 15 minutes of gentle cooking are what build the flavour base that makes everything else taste incredible. Get the soffritto right and the rest of the soup practically looks after itself.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• A true winter warmer: This soup is thick, hearty, and packed with vegetables and beans. It will keep you full for hours and costs very little to make.
• Classic soffritto technique: Learning how to build a soffritto properly is one of the most useful things you can do in the kitchen. Once you have it, you can use it as the base for soups, stews, and sauces for the rest of your life.
• Flexible and forgiving: Use whatever winter vegetables you have on hand. Minestrone is a fridge-raid soup by nature and it always works out.
• Great with or without meat: A couple of rashers of bacon add a lovely smokiness, but this is just as delicious completely meat-free.
• Even better the next day: Like most soups and stews, minestrone deepens in flavour overnight. Make a big batch and you have lunch sorted for the rest of the week.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1.5 carrots, finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced or minced
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 rashers bacon, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 potato, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 500 to 700ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 stems kale, stalks and leaves separated and roughly chopped
• 150g orzo pasta (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan, generously grated, to serve

Instructions

1. Build the soffritto: Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pot over a low to medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and rosemary sprig. Season with a good pinch of salt and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is completely softened and starting to turn sweet and golden. Do not rush this.
2. Add the bacon and tomato paste: If using bacon, add it to the pot now and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until starting to colour. Add the tablespoon of tomato paste and stir it through. Cook for another minute or two until it darkens slightly and smells fragrant.
3. Add the potato, tomatoes, beans, and stock: Add the diced potato, tinned tomatoes, drained cannellini beans, and stock. Stir everything together, bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the potato is completely cooked through and tender.
4. Add the orzo if using: If you want to add pasta, stir in the orzo now and cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes until tender. Keep an eye on the liquid level and add a splash more stock or water if the soup thickens too much.
5. Add the kale: Add the chopped kale stalks first and cook for 3 minutes, then add the tender leaves and stir through. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the kale is wilted and tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
6. Serve: Remove the rosemary sprig, ladle into deep bowls, and finish with a very generous grating of parmesan. Serve immediately with crusty bread on the side.

Chef's Tips

Low and slow on the soffritto: The biggest mistake people make with minestrone is rushing the soffritto. Those vegetables need time to soften and release their natural sugars. If they are browning too quickly, turn the heat down. You want golden and sweet, not burnt and bitter.

Season as you go: Add a pinch of salt when the soffritto goes in, again when the stock goes in, and taste before serving. Layering seasoning throughout the cooking process makes a much more flavoursome soup than adding it all at the end.

Stock quantity: Start with 500ml of stock for a thick, stew-like minestrone, or use 700ml for a more soup-like consistency. If you are adding orzo, lean towards the higher end as the pasta will absorb liquid as it cooks.

Kale stalks first: The stalks take longer to cook than the leaves, so always add them a few minutes ahead. This way everything is perfectly tender at the same time rather than having mushy leaves and tough stalks.

Parmesan rind in the pot: If you have a parmesan rind in the fridge, throw it into the pot with the stock. It adds an incredible depth of flavour and is a brilliant way to use up something that would otherwise go in the bin.

Substitutions & Variations

• No cannellini beans? Borlotti beans, butter beans, or even chickpeas all work brilliantly. Any white bean is classic minestrone territory.
• No kale? Cavolo nero, silverbeet, or spinach all work. Silverbeet and kale stalks first, tender leaves added at the end. Spinach just needs a minute or two at the end.
• No rosemary? A couple of fresh thyme sprigs or a bay leaf will give you a similarly aromatic base.
• Want it vegan? Leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Finish with a vegan parmesan or a drizzle of good olive oil instead.
• No orzo? Any small pasta shape works well. Ditalini, small macaroni, or even broken spaghetti. Cook according to the packet and add at the same stage.
• Want to bulk it out more? A diced courgette added with the potato, or a handful of green beans added with the kale, are both classic minestrone additions.

Storage

Best eaten fresh: Minestrone is genuinely excellent straight off the stove, but it is one of those soups that improves with time as the flavours meld together overnight.

Fridge: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over a low heat, adding a splash of water or stock to loosen it back up as the pasta and vegetables will have absorbed more liquid overnight. Do not boil it hard or the vegetables will go mushy.

Freezer: Minestrone freezes well for up to 3 months, but freeze it without the pasta if possible as pasta goes soft and mushy on defrosting. Make the soup, cool completely, then freeze in portions. Add freshly cooked pasta when you reheat from frozen.

Avoid: Do not add the kale too far ahead of serving if you are making this in advance. It will turn grey and lose that love viberate green. Add it fresh when you are reheating the soup rather than cooking it in from the start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this vegetarian? Absolutely. Leave out the bacon and use a good quality vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. The soffritto and the cannellini beans provide plenty of body and flavour without the meat.

My soup is too thick, what do I do? Just add more stock or water a little at a time until you reach the consistency you like. This is especially common if you have added pasta, as it absorbs a lot of liquid as it cooks and even more as it sits.

Can I double this recipe? Yes. Minestrone keeps beautifully in the fridge for days and freezes well too. Just make sure you have a large enough pot and season as you go rather than trying to correct it all at the end.

What if I do not have a heavy-based pot? Any large pot will work. A heavy base just helps with the soffritto stage as it distributes heat more evenly and reduces the risk of anything catching on the bottom. If your pot is thinner, keep the heat a little lower and stir more frequently.

Can I add the pasta at the start? No. Pasta needs to go in towards the end of cooking or it will turn to mush. Add it with about 10 minutes of cooking time left and keep an eye on the texture as it cooks.

How do I know when the soffritto is ready? The vegetables should look completely soft and slightly translucent, smell sweet and fragrant, and have reduced in volume significantly. If you can still see defined edges on the carrot and celery pieces, keep cooking.

You Might Also Like

The Most Incredible Mushroom Soup - Another deeply satisfying winter soup that is rich, earthy, and ready to become your go-to cold weather recipe.

Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes with Spinach and Herb Sauce - Another Weekly Veg favourite that shows just how good simple seasonal winter vegetables can be.

Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Bake - Rich, comforting, and perfect alongside a bowl of soup for a proper winter dinner.

This classic minestrone soup is everything you want from a winter dinner. It is cheap, deeply flavourful, made from vegetables you probably already have in the fridge, and comes together in under an hour with very little fuss. The slow soffritto is the secret that makes it taste like it has been cooking all day, and that final generous grating of parmesan on top is non-negotiable. Make a big pot, eat it all week, and feel very smug about it.

Enjoy!
Del x

Classic minestrone soup made with cheap seasonal winter vegetables, cannellini beans, kale, and pantry staples. Hearty, filling, and finished with a generous grating of parmesan.