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Top shot of two bowls of minestrone soup with gold spoons next to slice of toast and tea towels.
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Minestrone Soup Olive Garden Style

Enjoy your own soup, salad and breadsticks lunch right at home with this easy 30-minute minestrone soup Olive Garden style recipe.
Course Savory
Cuisine Italian
Keyword minestrone soup, minestrone soup olive garden style, olive garden minestrone soup
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Author Elizabeth Van Lierde

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil 
  • 1 medium yellow or white onion diced 
  • 2 celery stalks diced 
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced 
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste 
  • 1 tsp garlic powder 
  • 2 tsp dried oregano 
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes +more for topping 
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • Cracked black pepper 
  • 1 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed 
  • 1 28 oz can fire roasted Italian tomatoes
  • 6-8 cups vegetable broth 
  • 8 ounces fresh green beans trimmed and roughly chopped
  • 4 ounces orecchiette pasta 
  • 2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Optional:

  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Baguette or toasted garlic bread

Instructions

  • In a large pot or dutch oven heat olive oil on medium heat. Add in onions, celery and carrots and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent and have softened. 
  • Add in tomato paste, garlic powder, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and a few turns of black pepper. Cook mixture for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. 
  • Add in kidney beans, italian tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until mixture comes to a simmer. 
  • Add in green beans and pasta. Cook for 7-8 minutes or until the pasta is al dente and the beans are tender. Stir in fresh spinach until slightly wilted. 
  • Serve bowls with grated parmesan and crushed red pepper flakes on top along with a toasty piece of bread.

Notes

  • Easy to freeze. This minestrone soup is perfect for meal prep or make-ahead meals! Simply cook the soup, let it cool, then freeze it for 3 months. Then, when you're ready to enjoy, you can simply move it in the fridge and allow it to thaw overnight.
  • Make it vegan. An easy vegetarian soup, you can easily alter the recipe to make it vegan, too. Simply eliminate the parmesan cheese from the soup or replace it with your favorite vegan cheese brand.
  • Use a slow cooker. If you prefer allowing your Olive Garden style minestrone soup to simmer throughout the day, you can easily adapt this recipe to use your slow cooker. First add all of the liquids, seasonings and veggies then allow to cook in your Crockpot. Depending on your time frame, you'll want to cook 2-4 hours on high or about 6 hours on low. Then, about a half hour before you want to serve your soup, add in the pasta shells and cook until the tender. Lastly, add the spinach and enjoy!