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Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is a hearty soup full of nourishing ingredients like fresh healthy vegetables, two kinds of beans, dried seasonings, small shell pasta, and a flavorful tomato and vegetable broth base.
If you’re a fan of minestrone soup then you’ll love these other variations – The Best Minestrone Soup or if you love the Olive Garden version of classic minestrone soup, then you must try my copycat recipe for Olive Garden Minestrone Soup ❤︎
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup Recipe
Minestrone soup made in the instant pot is one of my favorite soup recipes because it combines two all-time favorite and classic soups – a hearty healthy Vegetable Soup and a warm and creamy Tomato Basil Tomato Soup – this homemade recipe tastes incredible and the Instant Pot does most the work.
Minestrone soup is a classic soup recipe full of lots of vegetable like carrots, onion, zucchini, tomatoes, fiber-rich beans, tender pasta shells, and a seasoned tomato based broth.
Fresh Ingredients Needed
- Olive Oil : I use extra-virgin ‘light tasting’ olive oil.
- Chopped Carrots : For the best flavor I recommend using whole carrots instead of baby carrots; whole regular carrots taste much better because they have to been processed like baby carrots have.
- Chopped Celery
- Chopped Zucchini
- Finely Chopped Onion : I use a sweet onion but if you prefer, a yellow onion or white onion are other good options.
- Kosher Salt
- Garlic Cloves : Use fresh garlic cloves that have been minced or pressed, garlic paste, or chopped garlic from a jar.
- Vegetable Broth : Two cans of vegetable broth, or about 30 ounces of vegetable broth or even chicken broth, if you’re not worried about a complete vegetarian minestrone soup.
- Tomato Sauce
- Petite Diced Tomatoes
- Great Northern Beans : Drained & rinsed before adding into the instant pot.
- Light Red Kidney Beans : Drained & rinsed, or dark red kidney beans can also be used.
- Dried Basil, Dried Parsley, Dried Oregano
- Small Shell Pasta
How To Make Hearty Instant Pot Minestrone Soup (Printable Recipe Card)
Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Add the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, and kosher salt. Cook for 5-8 minutes, while stirring frequently, until the veggies are softened.
Stir in the garlic cloves and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Turn off sauté mode.
Add the vegetable broth, tomato sauce, great northern beans, kidney beans, petite diced tomatoes, dry small shell pasta, basil, parsley, kosher salt, and oregano into the Instant Pot insert and stir.
Cover the Instant Pot with the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Press the SOUP button or MANUAL button (depending on your pressure cooker model) and set the time to 6 minutes on high pressure.
When the cook time is done, do a quick release by turning the valve to the venting position, to let the steam escape (watch your hands!). Once the pressure is released you will be able to open the lid.
Give the minestrone soup a good stir and serve it warm with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
How To Store Leftovers and Reheating Instructions
Transfer leftover minestrone soup to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, for up to 3 to 4 days. As the soup sits in the fridge the pasta will soak up the broth, and the pasta will soften.
Reheat individual portions of the soup in the microwave unit heated through. You will probably need to add a splash of water or broth when reheating. Leftovers can also be heated on the stove top, on medium heat in a saucepan, until heated through.
I don’t recommend freezing minestrone soup because the cooked pasta will take on a weird texture once frozen and thawed, and the pasta will soak up the broth. If you need to make it ahead of time, the soup does well on the warm setting, on the instant pot, for several hours.
Substitutions & Ingredient Notes
- Carrots : For the best flavor and color, use regular whole carrots, instead of baby carrots. Peel the carrot skin off and then chop into small pieces.
- Onion : I use a sweet onion but other options are yellow onion or white onion.
- Vegetable Broth : For a vegetarian soup use vegetable broth or vegetable stock. Or you can also use chicken broth, chicken stock, chicken bone broth, or water + bouillon. Sometimes it can be hard to find the cans of vegetable broth, if that’s the case, you will need to measure out about 30 ounces of broth which is almost 4 cups.
- Tomato Sauce : To add more flavor you could use the tomato sauce with Italian spices like basil and oregano.
- Petite Diced Tomatoes : Regular diced tomatoes work, or if you don’t want tomato chunks in your minestrone soup, use a can of crushed tomatoes instead.
- Beans : I love the combination of white great northern beans and light red kidney beans, but other options are cannellini beans, dark red kidney beans, or navy beans. Or use two cans of the same bean if preferred.
- Small Shell Pasta : This is the best type of pasta to use because it’s really small, similar in size to the veggies, and cooks in the time given. If you use another type of pasta you need to make sure it’s very similar in size. I recommend only using the small shell pasta because nothing really is similar in size to it. Elbow pasta is probably one of the only pasta shapes that is close in size.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot White Rice
- Instant Pot Potato Corn Chowder
- Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
- Perfect Instant Pot Baked Ziti
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Quick Easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Recipe
- Instant Pot Tomato Tortellini Soup
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion finely diced
- 1/2 cup small chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup small chopped celery
- 1/2 cup small chopped zucchini
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
- 2 cans (14.5 oz each) vegetable broth (see notes)
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 can (15 oz) great northern beans drained & rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) light red kidney beans drained & rinsed
- 1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
- 1 cup small shell pasta
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Add the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, and kosher salt. Cook for 5-8 minutes, while stirring frequently, until the veggies are softened.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 small sweet onion, 1/2 cup small chopped carrots, 1/2 cup small chopped celery, 1/2 cup small chopped zucchini, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Stir in the garlic cloves and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Turn off sauté mode.3 cloves garlic
- Add the vegetable broth, tomato sauce, great northern beans, kidney beans, petite diced tomatoes, dry small shell pasta, basil, parsley, kosher salt, and oregano into the Instant Pot insert and stir.2 cans (14.5 oz each) vegetable broth, 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, 1 can (15 oz) great northern beans, 1 can (15 oz) light red kidney beans, 1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, 1 cup small shell pasta, 1 tablespoon dried basil, 2 teaspoons dried parsley, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Cover the Instant Pot with the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Press the SOUP button or MANUAL button (depending on your pressure cooker model) and set the time to 6 minutes on high pressure.
- When the cook time is done, do a quick release by turning the valve to the venting position, to let the steam escape (watch your hands!). Once the pressure is released you will be able to open the lid.
- Give the minestrone soup a good stir and serve it warm with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
- Carrots : For the best flavor and color, use regular whole carrots, instead of baby carrots. Peel the carrot skin off and then chop into small pieces.
- Onion : I use a sweet onion but other options are yellow onion or white onion.
- Vegetable Broth : For a vegetarian soup use vegetable broth or vegetable stock. Or you can also use chicken broth, chicken stock, chicken bone broth, or water + bouillon. Sometimes it can be hard to find the cans of vegetable broth, if that’s the case, you will need to measure out about 30 ounces of broth which is almost 4 cups. I usually use chicken bone broth when I make this soup. I have a hard time finding canned vegetable broth at my grocery store.
- Tomato Sauce : To add more flavor you could use the tomato sauce with Italian spices like basil and oregano.
- Petite Diced Tomatoes : Regular diced tomatoes work, or if you don’t want tomato chunks in your minestrone soup, use a can of crushed tomatoes instead.
- Beans : I love the combination of white great northern beans and light red kidney beans, but other options are cannellini beans, dark red kidney beans, or navy beans. Or use two cans of the same bean if preferred.
- Small Shell Pasta : This is the best type of pasta to use because it’s really small, similar in size to the veggies, and cooks in the time given. If you use another type of pasta you need to make sure it’s very similar in size. I recommend only using the small shell pasta because nothing really is similar in size to it. Elbow pasta is probably one of the only pasta shapes that is close in size.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love to see it! You can share it with me on @togetherasfamilyblog and follow on Pinterest @together-as-family-blog-recipes or Facebook @togetherasfamilyblog for more!
Looks delicious. Can this be doubled? I have an 8 quart and 4 very hungry men in the household.
I use the smaller 6 QT IP for this recipe and it works great. My only concern with doubling the recipe for a larger IP is that there may be too much liquid/stuff for it. I’ve never tried it so I can’t say for sure, but it may work just fine!
For what it’s worth, I think there would be plenty for 4 men without doubling the recipe. Serve it with a side of garlic bread, cornbread, or some type of roll and it’s a pretty hearty meal.
Anyone try this with gluten free pasta? Wondering how it would hold up, would it get mushy later on and make for not so good left overs?
I make my soups with the gluten free noodles on the side and add as we go. Good for leftovers that way!
This is the best thing I have made in my instant pot yet! So good and so easy!
I sautéed a 1/2 lb of sausage in the pot before I sautéed the veggies. I also added two bay leaves and a splash of Worcestershire. I only had fire roasted diced tomatoes so I used those as well.
Since my husband is gluten free I made the pasta and added that separately after cooking, I was scared for the pasta to turn to mush.
I love how easy and adaptable this recipe is. Thank you so much for posting. I will be madding this again for sure.
This soup was delicious, it made a generous amount! I added more shells because I’m a big fan of pasta.
Is it the same directions if you were going to use a crock pot? If not how do I go about using a crock pot instead?
You will need to cook it for about 6 hours on low for a slow cooker and add the pasta half an hour before it’s done. I used to do a minestrone recipe very similar to this one in the slow cooker.
Can you substitute beef broth for the vegetable broth? There is a place here who makes the best minestrone soup and they use a beef broth and it tastes amazing
Yes you can!
Excellent recipe, turned out so yummy. Thank you for sharing!
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe. Do you use the soup setting? Because on manual my IP preheats for about 40 minutes before cooking for 6 with this one….
I always just use the manual setting. I’ll be honest, I don’t love making soup in the IP because of all the liquid it does always take longer to come to pressure. Mine has never taken 40 minutes so I am not sure there. IP’s can be so finnicky. I have this stove top version that you might find easier. I’ll have to retest this recipe because it has been awhile since I made it. Thanks for your comment. https://togetherasfamily.com/minestrone-soup/
This is my favorite recipe to make in the instant pot! So flavorful, comforting, and easy! I add a bay leaf, extra noodles, and I serve with crusty bread. It’s a hit!!
I made this in my Instant Pot Aura (first time using it) and thought I really messed up. I started sautéing the veggies no problem, but It doesnt have a soup button so I used the stew button instead and it came out beautifully. So many great flavors My friend came over to partake and she loved it. Thanks so much.
We loved this recipe….we added lean ground beef, peppers and corn to ours… it was absolutely delicious!!!
Made while the kids were napping and it was so easy and DELICIOUS! I added 3/4cups grated Parmesan to the whole batch at the end and it tasted incredible. Thanks for another way to sneak veggies into my toddlers!
This recipe is so good!…Definitely a keeper!
I use a 3 quart Instant Pot. Should I cut the portions in half?
Yes you will probably need to cut the recipe in half. I use a 6 QT and this soup is perfect for that size of IP. You just want to make sure that the ingredients don’t go past the max fill line in the IP (in whatever size you use).
Made this soup for my book club. Everyone loved it. I followed the recipe as written except I didn’t have all the seasonings so I used 1 tablespoon of Herbs de Provence. This was so easy and good.
This is my go-to that the whole family loves. I use chickpea pasta shells. I love to eat the leftovers too!