It’s soup weather! This Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Copycat is fast, simple, and loaded with delicious ingredients. Put on your comfy clothes and make this easy copycat soup instead of heading out to the restaurants and battling the crowds.
When we make this easy minestrone soup recipe, everyone in the house gets excited. It’s the perfect combination of comfort food meets hearty flavors, and literally tastes as it came straight from Olive Garden.
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Trust us when we say that you don’t need the endless basket of breadsticks at all with this homemade Olive Garden Recipe soup. It’s literally perfection in a bowl.
Why You’ll Love Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
- Cook time is only 25 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights when you need a complete meal made from pantry staples!
- An easy way to add more vegetables to your diet.
- One pot soups and one pot recipes mean less clean up after!
- Kids and adults adore this pot of soup.
Copycat Olive Garden Soup Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Carrots
- Zucchini
- Minced garlic– if you’re short on fresh garlic, you can use garlic powder
- Diced fresh tomatoes– fresh is best, but you can also use canned diced tomatoes
- Vegetable broth
- Tomato paste
- Italian seasoning
- Small white beans
- Red kidney beans
- Green beans
- Small shell pasta
- Baby spinach leaves
- Chopped parsley
Tools Needed To Make This Easy Recipe
Instant Pot
- 7-IN-1 FUNCTIONALITY: Pressure cook, slow cook, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sauté pan and food warmer.
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Spatula for Stirring
- CAREFULLY CRAFTED with CONSIDERED MATERIALS: One of the best things about Bake Royal silicon spatula kitchen utensils is its ability to withstand heat safely, each spatula is heat-resistant up to whopping 600 degrees Fahrenheit and won’t melt (even leave it in the pot for a while) or impart anything to food even at those extreme temperatures. Exposure to such heat can permanently damage low grade rubber spatulas or plastic spatula but our spatula head won't even become knicked or warped.
Cutting Board
- KITCHEN ESSENTIAL: This set of 3 bamboo cutting boards are perfect for everyday food preparation, from slicing fruit to chopping veggies and is a perfect kitchen starter set, housewarming gift or back-to-school essential
Knives
- SET INCLUDES: 8-inch Chef Knife, 8-inch Slicing Knife, 7-inch Santoku Knife, 5.5-inch Utility Knife, 3.5-inch Paring Knife, 2.75-inch Bird's Beak Paring Knife, 4.5-inch Steak Knives (6), 8-inch Sharpening Steel, All-Purpose Household Shears and Wooden Block
Mason Jars for Storing and Serving
- 6 PACK – This Mason Jar bundle comes with (6) 16 oz Regular Mouth jars. The jar's sides end with “12 oz” and the rest of the space between the end of the marking scale and the lid amounts to 4 oz , thus this means that altogether the capacity of the jar is 16 OZ.
How To Make Minestrone Soup In The Instant Pot
- Turn on the sauté mode on your Instant Pot and pour in your oil.
- Toss your onions and carrots in the pot and sauté them for about 3 minutes, softening them a bit.
- Next, add the zucchini and sauté them for 2-3 minutes, softening it as well.
- Next, mix in your minced garlic and let cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Press cancel button on the Instant Pot and add your tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste, and all your beans to the pot.
- Now, press Pressure Cook, close the lid and seal the valve.
- Cook on high for 3 minutes.
- Once the timer finishes and beeps, perform a quick release by releasing the valve which will release the pressure (be careful with this step to avoid burning yourself).
- Remove the lid, add in your pasta and mix everything together.
- Return lid to the pot and seal the valve. Set a timer for 5 minutes, letting the pasta soak and “cook”. Check it once the timer is off to ensure you have tender pasta.
- Season with salt and black pepper to your liking. Add in fresh spinach and stir. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Once your spinach leaves have wilted, serve or store your soup in Mason Jars and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Variations
The more that you vary this Instant Pot Minestrone Soup recipe, the less “copycat” it’s going to be. However, it’s your bowl of soup and your family, so there are a few things that you can swap out or add in easily.
Use beef or chicken broth – The vegetable broth is preferred but you can swap out for other types of broth or vegetable stock just as easily.
Add kale – Superfoods are great to add in when you can! Adding kale to soups creates a great health boost and the kale leaves cook down perfectly.
Change up the pasta – Small shell pasta isn’t something that everyone keeps on hand so use whatever type of pasta that you have hiding in the pantry.
Add more fresh vegetables and beans– try adding in other healthy vegetables, cannellini beans, great northern beans, sweet potatoes, etc.
Add meat– try using ground beef or Italian sausage.
Tips & Tricks
- Remember to allow extra cooking time for the Instant pot to come to pressure and also to release the steam and pressure. The time needed for this is in addition to the actual cooking time of the recipe.
- The steam coming out of the valve area of the pressure cooker will be very very HOT. Put a dish towel over the valve area when you’re doing the quick pressure release to save your arm from a potential burn.
- Store any leftovers in a mason jar or airtight container and keep them in the fridge.
- To reheat, you can pop it in the microwave or you can reheat it on low to medium heat and cook slow on the stove.
What Is The Difference Between Pasta E Fagioli And Minestrone?
They’re actually pretty similar soups. The biggest difference is that this copycat Olive Garden minestrone soup recipe has more vegetables in it while pasta Fagioli soups put a ton of emphasis on the beans and pasta.
Can You Freeze Cooked Minestrone Soup?
You bet. This would be a great way to meal prep and have some yummy soup ready and waiting in the freezer.
We like to freeze ours in freezer bags that we can then lay flat to take up less space.
Make sure to label them as well!
How Do You Reheat Frozen Soup?
Remove the freezer bag full of soup and place it in the fridge to thaw. We try to do this the night before we are ready for the soup, but this is not required.
Once thawed a bit, you can reheat in the microwave or low and slow in a stockpot on the stove for some nice hot soup.
How Long Is Minestrone Soup Good For?
This hearty soup copycat recipe stays well for about 3-4 days in the fridge. If you’d like to have it longer, we recommend freezing it.
Other Instant Pot Recipes To Try
Easy Instant Pot Goulash – You’ll love the heartiness of this simple pressure cooker dinner recipe.
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup – Fill up your bowl with this lightly sweetened and creamy soup!
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce – We love making this during the holidays or as a sweet side dish.
Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Copycat
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ cup onion, diced
- ½ cup carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 zucchini, halved and sliced
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 15 ounce can small white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- ½ cup cut green beans, canned
- ½ cup small shell pasta
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Turn your Instant pot on to sauté mode. Once hot, add in your oil.
- Add in your onions and carrots. Sauté them for about three minutes allowing them to soften.
- Add in your zucchini and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes letting those soften.
- Add to your vegetables your minced garlic. Mix well for about 30 seconds.
- Press cancel on your instant pot. Add in your tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste, beans, and green beans.
- Turn your instant pot on to pressure cook. Seal the lid and seal your ceiling valve by pushing it away from you and creating pressure. Set your instant pot to 3 minutes.
- Once the instant pot is done, do a quick release by releasing the valve and pressure.
- After taking the lid off your instant pot, add in your pasta. Mix so that everything is well incorporated. Put the lid back on the instant pot and close the ceiling valve. Allow your pasta to sit in the soup for about five minutes. Check your pasta to make sure it’s tender.
- Season your soup with salt and pepper to your liking. Add in the spinach leaves and stir. Allow them to cook for about two minutes.
- Once the spinach has wilted, transfer your soup to your favorite soup bowl and add any more salt and pepper you may like. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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