Our go-to classic minestrone soup recipe (with video) (2024)

10 Ingredients
3 Method Steps

10 Ingredients

3 bacon rashers, rind removed, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 desiree potato, peeled, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1L (4 cups) Massel beef style liquid stock
Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes 400g
400g can Coles Red Kidney Beans, rinsed, drained
80g (1 cup) small shell pasta
1/3 cup chopped fresh continental parsley
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3 Method Steps

Step 1

Place the bacon (3 bacon rashers, rind removed, roughly chopped), carrots (2 carrots, peeled, chopped), celery (2 celery sticks, chopped) and potato (1 desiree potato, peeled, chopped) in a large saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over high heat, uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Step 2

Add the garlic (2 garlic cloves, crushed), beef stock (1L (4 cups) Massel beef style liquid stock), tomatoes (Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes 400g) and red kidney beans (400g can Coles Red Kidney Beans, rinsed, drained) to the pan, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. (To freeze the soup, see note).
Step 3

Increase heat to high. Add pasta (80g (1 cup) small shell pasta) and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, following packet directions or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into serving bowls and sprinkle with parsley (1/3 cup chopped fresh continental parsley). Serve immediately.

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Recipe Notes

Can minestrone soup be vegetarian?

This hearty Italian minestrone soup recipe can easily be adapted to being a vegan or vegetarian minestrone soup. Simply omit the bacon and cook the vegetables in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. For a vegan version you can sprinkle with some plant-based cheese or nutritional yeast, or with parmesan or pesto for a vegetarian version. As a general rule, most commercial stocks don’t contain meat products – unless you buy a beef or chicken broth. Check the label to be sure. Also small dried pasta rarely contains egg – instead just semolina and water – so it’s naturally vegan.

What are some other minestrone soup recipe twists?

In keeping with the theme of frugal cooking, use this minestrone soup recipe as a blueprint for cooking up whatever you have on hand. The bacon can be swapped with leftover ham bones or a ham hock. If you have cannellini beans in the cupboard, throw them in instead of the kidney beans and other small pasta, even broken up spaghetti can be used. Save your parmesan rind and simmer it with the soup for extra taste, just scoop it out at the end. Try making a crisper-drawer green minestrone by adding zucchini, broccoli and cabbage. Swap the parsley for basil if you have it in the garden. To top it all off, how about using up stale bread by making some garlic croutons.

Can you make classic minestrone soup in the slow cooker?

Sure can! Simply fry off the vegetables as per the recipe and then transfer to the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients except the pasta, reducing the stock by one cup. Cook for 6 hours on low, adding the pasta in the last hour of cooking.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrition per Serving

%Daily Value#

Nutrition information and Health Score does not include ingredients listed as to serve or any serving suggestions.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

# The % daily values indicates how much of a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet, based on general nutritional advice for a diet of 2100 calories a day.

* Health Scores are calculated on a 1-10 scale based on nutrient density and USDA (global standard) recommendations for a healthy diet. A higher Health Score indicates a healthier recipe. The value is based on the impact of macronutrients and micronutrients in the recipe.

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