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, 3/4 cup
- 2 Carrot, chopped, 3/4 cup
- 1 Zucchini , chopped, 3/4 cup
- 1/2 cup Pasta , I used elbow macaroni
- 32 ounces Vegetable Broth
- 1 can White Kidney Beans, 15oz, drained (cannellini)
- 2 cups Spinach (Palak), chopped
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (optional, skip for vegan)
- Parsley, chopped, to garnish
Seasoning
- 2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
- 1/4 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
I have honestly made this recipe so many times and it’s always a hit! thank you so much for a great recipe, and a great step by step guide with photos. your website is truly one of my favorite cooking websites/blogs out there.
Thank you, Mando. So glad you have been enjoying the recipes on the blog.
Wow! I just made this and it turned out so amazing and all family members loved it. Thank you so much, Meeta! <3
Hi Kanan – So glad that you all enjoyed the soup!
I have some baby arugula. Do you think that would taste good in this soup? I don’t want to ruin the soup.
Hi Janet – I think baby arugula will work great in the soup. Hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is FANTASTIC!!! I printed this one and put it in my favorites folder so it can become a staple. The flavor is wonderful and you really don’t want to stop at one bowl! The white Kidney Beans make the dish so don’t skip them! I used Ziti vs. Macaroni because I love noodles. This may not be for everyone but it was wonderful (but cooked noodles continue to expand in liquid, so remember that). Thank you for such a wonderful, easy version of my favorite soup. Also, there are lots of great Parmesan Cheeses that are not made with Rennet (basically meat) and because I’m a vegetarian, I have my favorites of those cheeses.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the soup. Thank you for sharing back!
So good!
Hi Kimberly – Thank you 🙂
I would like to use rice and quinoa in my meal. Does the rice need to be precooked before placing the pot?
Hi Rebecca – As we are pressure cooking for 5 minutes, you can add uncooked rice or quinoa to this soup, and it will cook perfectly in the same pressure cooking time. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Can the recipe be doubled. If so , does the cooking time in IP change?
Hi Parul – Sure, you can double the recipe. The cooking time will remain the same. Hope you enjoy it!
Amazing recipe made it today lunchtime and it was delicious. Will be uploading the picture shortly on Instagram and will tag you.
Hi Aparna – So great to hear that. Thank you 🙂
Do you drain the beans?
Hi Ashley – yes, I drain the beans before adding to the instant pot. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Hello! I LOVE this soup and so does my family. Is there anyway to freeze the chopped veggies ahead for meal prep? How would this adjust the cooking instructions?
Hi Ashlyn – you can surely chop the veggies and freeze them. The cooking time would not change, the instant pot will just take longer to come to pressure. You can also move the bag to the refrigerator the night before you plan to make the soup.