Italian Minestrone Soup with Pesto combines lots of veggies, white beans, and orecchiette pasta with a bold tomato broth and a touch of pesto. This flavorful soup will warm your belly and get you coming back for seconds!
Course Soup
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword minestrone soup, minestrone soup with pesto
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Servings 7servings
Calories 436kcal
Author Sue Ringsdorf
Ingredients
For the sauteed veggies:
2Tablespoonsolive oil
1mediumonion- diced
3clovesgarlic- minced
3largecarrots- diced
2mediumcelery stalks- diced
2cupscabbage slaw mix- bagged version
1mediumsweet potato- peeled and diced
4smallyellow potatoes- diced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper- to taste (season in layers)
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
1teaspoononion powder
For the broth and additional ingredients:
30oz.fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4Tablespoonstomato paste
8-10cupslower-sodium chicken broth- You will need extra broth for leftovers.
15oz.white beans- cannellini or other white bean, rinsed and drained
1parmesan rind- optional
2bay leaves- optional
1/2cupbasil pesto sauce- store-bought or homemade
1 1/4cuporecchiette pasta- or other small pasta, such as ditalini, orzo, or small elbow
3cupsbaby spinach leaves
freshly grated parmesan cheese and extra basil pesto sauce- for serving
Instructions
Saute the veggies:
In a medium to large stock pot, add olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, cabbage mix, sweet potatoes, and yellow potatoes. Stir and then add the seasonings - salt and pepper to taste, Italian Seasoning, and onion powder.
Cook for approximately 7-8 minutes, or until veggies begin to soften.
Add broth ingredients:
Next add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, 6 cups of chicken broth (add more as needed), white beans, the parmesan rind, and the bay leaves. Bring to a bubbling simmer, and continue to cook for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are just fork tender or slightly before.
Then add the pesto sauce and the pasta, and cook until pasta is al dente.
Remove from heat, and add spinach. Stir until wilted. Remove the parmesan rind and the bay leaves.
Serve the soup with some freshly grated parmesan cheese, extra pesto sauce, and some crusty bread.
Video
Notes
Don't be scared of the long ingredient list. It's mostly just veggies!
Make sure you DICE the potatoes so they don't take too long to cook in the soup.
You will most likely need at least 8 cups of broth, as leftovers usually require a touch more.