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Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe is a copycat recipe for the popular Olive Garden soup – Tender pasta shells, fresh vegetables, beans, in a savory broth that is perfectly seasoned with fresh garlic and dried herbs.

Do you love Olive Garden’s soup? Then you must try Pasta e Fagioli Soup, Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup, and this Zuppa Toscana recipe.

A bowl of veggie loaded minestrone soup with a gold spoon.

Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

This copycat version of Olive Garden minestrone soup is just like Classic Minestrone Soup but instead of a savory tomato broth, it’s a savory vegetable stock that’s loaded with a variety of fresh vegetables – such as green beans, carrots, onion, zucchini, spinach, and celery.

It’s one of my favorite recipes to make when the weather starts to cool down for Fall. The best part is that it’s a filling soup thanks to the hearty beans, veggies, and small shell pasta.

A bowl of soup with a spoon holding some of it on it.

Side view of the bowl of soup with a spoon above the bowl with soup on it.

Ingredients Needed For Minestrone Soup

Olive Oil : I use extra-virgin ‘light tasting’ olive oil.
Onion : You will need one small onion, or half of an onion, that has been finely diced. Use a sweet onion, yellow onion, or white onion. I use a sweet onion when I make this soup recipe.
Celery
Carrots : Thinly slice the carrots or finely dice them. For the best flavor I recommend using whole carrots rather than baby carrots, because they usually taste much better than the baby carrots.
Fresh Zucchini : Slice the zucchini and then cut each slice into 4 pieces.
Fresh Green Beans : Trim the ends off of the green beans and then cut into 1-inch pieces.
Fresh Garlic Cloves
Tomato Paste : For extra flavor use the Italian-style tomato paste with garlic, oregano, and basil.
Vegetable Stock : Stock has much more flavor than broth so I highly recommend using stock instead of broth.
Red Kidney Beans : Light red kidney beans or dark red kidney beans can be used; I prefer using light red kidney beans.
Cannellini Beans : These are white beans that are similar to kidney beans, another white bean option is navy beans.
Petite Diced Tomatoes
Italian Seasoning
Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
Small Shell Pasta
Fresh Spinach : I prefer using baby spinach because they’re smaller pieces, I also like to take off the stems of each spinach leaf before adding it into the soup pot.

How To Make Minestrone Soup Just Like Olive Garden (Printable Recipe Card)

Heat the oil in a large pot, or dutch oven, over medium heat.

Add the diced onion, diced celery, and sliced carrots. Cook until the onions are softened, about 4-5 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini, green beans, and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.

Add the vegetable stock, red kidney beans, cannellini beans, petite diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil (you may want to increase the heat to medium-high heat).

Stir in the small shell pasta and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened.

Stir in the baby spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.

Serve warm & enjoy!

How To Store Leftover Soup

Any leftover minestrone soup should be stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 7 days. This soup makes for really easy meal prep; simply transfer the soup portions to individual containers, store in the fridge for up to a week, and reheat as needed for lunch or dinner.

To reheat, place individual servings (inside a microwave-safe bowl or container) in the microwave for 45-60 seconds at a time until desired temperature is reached. You can heat larger portions in a saucepan on the stovetop, over medium-low heat, until heated throughly.

The minestrone soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Place the soup inside a freeze-safe container or Ziploc bag for freezing. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.

Pot of soup with a serving bowl of it inside a bowl, a bowl of salad to the side.

Serving Suggestions For Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

To serve this minestrone recipe, ladle your soup into bowls, and top with a bit of freshly shredded parmesan cheese (or any variety of parmesan cheese) and serve alongside some Olive Garden Breadsticks, Copycat Olive Garden Salad Recipe, or crusty bread from the grocery store.

I have also found some great breadsticks, the take & bake kind, in the bakery area of the grocery store. Or purchase your favorite frozen rolls or breadsticks and use those. My buttery One Hour Rolls are another great option for soup.

Pot of soup with a soup ladle inside of it.

Substitutions For Minestrone Soup

Olive Oil – Alternative options include grapeseed oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, or canola/vegetable oil.
Onion – A yellow, white, or sweet onion works best in this soup.
Carrots – For the most flavor, and best texture, whole fresh carrots are the best choice compared to baby carrots.
Garlic Cloves – Fresh is best in this soup, but if you need to, use jarred minced garlic or garlic paste.
Kidney Beans – Use dark red or light red kidney beans.
Cannellini Beans – These are like white kidney beans, other options include navy beans or great northern beans.
Vegetable Stock – Although I highly recommend stock for the added depth of flavor, there are lots of other options; vegetable broth, chicken broth, chicken stock, or even beef broth. If you want the soup vegetarian then be sure and use veggie broth or vegetable stock.
Small Shell Pasta – Ditalini or elbow macaroni are both good alternatives. You can also use gluten-free pasta. However, if you using gluten-free pasta, you will want to cook it separately, drain it, and pour your soup over the pasta inside the serving bowls. Gluten-free pasta releases a lot more starch when cooking and becomes mushy faster than standers pasta if fully incorporated into the soup.

A bowl of soup with a spoon inside of it.

Recipe FAQs

Is Minestrone Soup Vegetarian?

Yes, this soup is vegetarian as long as you stick to the recipe and use the vegetable stock. It’s still packed with protein from the beans and is a hearty and complete meal on its own.

My Soup Has Less Broth After It’s Been In The Fridge. Why Is That?

The small shells pasta and beans will soak up the broth as it sits in the fridge. If this happens, and the soup is too thick for your liking, simply add some additional water, broth, or stock when reheating the soup for serving.

Can I Make It Spicy?

Although classic minestrone soup is not traditionally spicy, some people may prefer heat. If so, add some red pepper flakes, dice up a jalapeño, or add some hot sauce to the soup.

Can I Make Minestrone Soup Ahead of Time?

Yes, if you’d like to prepare this a day or two in advance and reheat it when you’re ready to serve, then you can. Note that the pasta and beans will continue to soak up the broth, so while making the soup ahead of time will make the soup taste better because the flavors have time to marry and deepen, you will need to add additional broth or stock when reheating. You could also prepare the soup ahead of time and let it sit in the slow cooker, on warm or low heat, for several hours until ready to eat.

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup