A perfect soup that is a complete meal in itself - beans, loads of veggies and pasta, topped with cheese and a side of bread. This tastes just like the Olive Garden minestrone soup. Vegetarian-friendly and can easily be made gluten-free and vegan.
Fall is in full swing, although not so much in California yet. But I am still craving soup! So here is a hearty and healthy vegetarian Minestrone soup made in the Instant Pot. It is a perfect combination of tasty and nutritious.
Beans, loads of veggies and pasta, all cooked in a yummy broth....so flavorful. This is a complete meal with protein, carbs, and loads of nutrients from the veggies. It is also the easiest thing to make. It is most a throw all in and let the magic pot do it's work kind of soup.
This is a perfect Vegetarian Instant Pot Soup!
Vegan? Skip the cheese at the end!
Gluten-free? Skip the pasta or use a rice or quinoa pasta to make this gluten free.
Check out this collection of 20+ Instant Pot Vegetarian Soup recipes for more delicious soups!
Ingredients for Minestrone Soup
Look for all the veggies in your refrigerator...okay, not all but most veggies work great in this soup.
It is easy to customize this soup and use other veggies. I have used:
- Carrots
- Celery
- Zucchini
- Baby Spinach
I always keep some canned cannellini beans in the pantry. You can also add kidney beans if you like.
You can also cook the beans in the instant pot, which is great. Here is my recipe to make instant pot cannellini beans.
Many recipes add beans at the end after pressure cooking, but I like the canned beans cooked with the broth and veggies so they soak in the flavor.
I have tried making this soup with fresh tomatoes and with canned diced tomatoes. It works great both ways, so feel free to use any.
I used small elbow macaroni pasta in this soup. Any dry pasta works well in this recipe. I like to use dry pasta and cook it directly in the instant pot with the veggies.
If you have pre-cooked pasta ready, you can add that to this soup after pressure cooking along with the spinach and simmer for a few minutes.
How to make Minestrone Soup in the Instant Pot?
This is a very easy soup to make in the instant pot. You don't have to simmer the pot on the stovetop for hours to get a flavorful delicious soup!
- Start with heating oil in the instant pot and sautéing onions and garlic.
- Then add diced tomatoes and chopped celery, carrots and zucchini. Also add all the seasonings at this time.
- Add in the pasta, vegetable broth and white kidney beans. Stir it all up. Make sure the pasta is under the broth.
- Now cook on SOUP mode in the instant pot.
- When the instant pot beeps, manually release the pressure after 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped spinach and let it sit for 5 minutes. Season with more slat and pepper if you like.
- Garnish with parmesan cheese (optional) and minestrone soup is ready to serve.
Love the colors in this easy, healthy minestrone soup!
This is a bowl of goodness, so satisfying. Top with some grated parmesan (skip for vegan).
You won't miss going to Olive Garden for a hearty bowl of minestrone any more. You can enjoy it in the comfort of your home!
If you want to freeze this soup, leave out the pasta when pressure cooking. Cook the pasta separately and add in when reheating.
If you like this recipe, do let us know by leaving a comment. You might like other soups made in a pressure cooker -
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 cup Onion diced
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 1 can Diced Tomatoes or 4 fresh tomatoes diced, 15oz
- 2 Celery Stalks chopped, ¾ cup
- 2 Carrot chopped, ¾ cup
- 1 Zucchini chopped, ¾ cup
- ½ cup Pasta I used elbow macaroni
- 32 ounces Vegetable Broth
- 1 can White Kidney Beans 15oz (cannellini)
- 2 cups Spinach (Palak) chopped
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated (optional, skip for vegan)
- Parsley chopped, to garnish
Seasoning
- 2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper crushed, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Paprika adjust to taste
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and heat olive oil in it.
- Add diced onions and minced garlic. Stir and Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add diced tomatoes and chopped celery, carrots and zucchini. Add in the italian seasoning, salt, pepper and paprika.
- Add in the pasta, vegetable broth and white kidney beans. Stir it all up. Make sure the pasta is under the broth.
- Press Cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position. Set to SOUP setting (high pressure) for 5 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Then manually release the pressure.
- Stir in the chopped spinach and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Garnish with parmesan cheese (optional) and minestrone soup is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Angela says
Going to try this! Do we soak the beans and cook on high and then use them, or because it’s instant pot we don’t have to soak them?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Angela - If using dry beans, I would recommend to soak overnight and pressure cook them for 15 minutes before using in the recipe. You can also cook them without soaking, then pressure cook for 30 minutes on high.
Krupa says
Loved the recipe. This is the best recipe I tried for Minestrone soup. Thank You !!
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Krupa - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it back 🙂
Amy Pereira says
SOOOO yummy... so easy quick and delicious.. a great hearty winter soup. You wont be disappointed with this recipe
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Amy - Glad you liked the recipe. Thank you for sharing it back 🙂
Ruby says
Hello Meeta- love your recipe! I tried it for the first time today and it will easily be a weeknight favorite. I followed everything except I used water instead of broth (just to limit the salt) but it still tasted delicious! Thank you!
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Ruby - So good to hear that 🙂
Anvita Saxena says
Total satisfaction. Everyone loved it.
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Anvita - So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
Sarah says
I love this soup so much! Thank you!
I stockpile frozen broccoli, carrots, and spinach just in case I need a "ready in 10 minutes" dinner on any given night. This recipe is just as good with all frozen veggies, I'm happy to report.
Anitha says
Loved the recipe! Super easy and delicious!! Thank you!
Meeta Arora says
Hey Anitha - Happy to hear you enjoyed the soup!
Garima Bhatia says
Thanks for the recipe! Can I make a batch for the week? Will it stay good for kids?
Meeta Arora says
Hey Garima - It will definitely stay good refrigerated for 3 days. Another idea is to keep all the chopped veggies ready and freezed, then it will be super easy to make a second batch of soup.
Marni says
I made it today — 3rd recipe I ever made in my IP — and it was delicious! So easy!
Meeta Arora says
Hey Marni - So glad to hear you enjoyed the soup. Thank you for sharing back your review. I am sure there will be many more awesome dishes you will make in your ip!
Archana says
Do we cook pasta or add raw?
Meeta Arora says
Hey Archana - Add raw pasta to the soup. It will get cooked along with the veggies. Hope you enjoy it!