Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
A bowl full of beans, vegetables and small pasta makes a welcoming lunch or dinner. The tomato broth is savory and light enough to keep every spoonful interesting. Add the parsley at the end and sit down while the pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 18 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Beans & lentils
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
- Dish type
- Soups · Soups & stews
A few quick notes
1. Start with the vegetables
Cook onion, celery, carrots and zucchini in oil until tender before giving the garlic its short turn in the pot.
2. Bring broth to a simmer
Add tomatoes, broth, tomato paste and Italian seasoning before the beans and pasta, bringing that mixture to a simmer first.
3. Check pasta and vegetables
Simmer until both pasta and vegetables are tender before adding spinach, rather than judging only by the pasta's cooking time.
Get to know the ingredients
Two kinds of beans
Drain and rinse both the small white beans and kidney beans before adding them to the tomato broth with pasta.
Small shell pasta
The shells cook directly in the soup alongside the beans and green beans, taking in the broth as they soften.
Baby spinach
Keep the baby spinach for the end. Stir it into the seasoned soup and cook just until the leaves wilt.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 6 steps completeMake room for Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Parsley over the bowls
Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the soup after the spinach wilts, then serve with the warm broth and tender pasta.
A little more help as you go
Quarter the zucchini
Quarter and slice the zucchini before adding it with the first vegetables, so its pieces are ready for the brief sauté.
Season in stages
Season the softened vegetables first, then taste the soup again after the pasta cooks to decide on its final salt and pepper.
A few questions you might have
Does the garlic cook from the start?
Add it after the first vegetables soften, then cook for thirty seconds before the tomatoes and broth go in.
Are the green beans fresh or frozen?
The ingredient list calls for frozen cut green beans, added with the white beans, kidney beans and small shell pasta.
Do I need to boil the pasta separately?
The pasta goes directly into the simmering soup and cooks there until tender with the beans and vegetables.
Does the spinach simmer for the full pasta stage?
It joins after the pasta and vegetables are tender, then cooks for only two to three minutes until wilted.
Which broth is used?
Vegetable broth is listed. It joins the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and Italian seasoning before the beans and pasta.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinneratthezoo.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
