Enjoy a piping hot bowl of Olive Garden Minestrone Soup in the comforts of your home. This copycat recipe makes enough for 8-10 hearty serving and is chocked full of vegetables and beans in a rich tomato broth.
If you love dining out at the restaurant, Olive Garden, then you might just love my copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe. Just like my Zuppa Toscana recipe this recipe is about to become a new family favorite. My kids can be a little picky when it comes to eating vegetables, but if I cook them in a soup it’s almost a guarantee they will eat them. The night I made this soup I also made my fettuccine alfredo recipe to serve alongside and homemade bread sticks. I made sure to make extra alfredo sauce, and gave everyone a bowl of their own to dip into the sauce.
Unlike our favorite Carrabba’s Minestrone Soup, this soup has a rich tomato base to it. Whereas, the Carrabba’s soup has a clear broth that has been flavored with prosciutto and pecorino romano cheese. Both soups are delicious. It just depends what you are in the mood for. We love this as a fall minestrone soup.
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Why This Recipe Works
This Olive Garden Minestrone Soup taste identical to what you will enjoy in the restaurant.
This soup recipe is quick cooking and done in under an hours time.
My minestrone soup recipe makes a lot, and the leftovers are perfect for an easy lunch throughout the week.
Ingredients
- Oil – I like to use a little vegetable oil to cook the base vegetables in.
- Vegetables – This soup is loaded with vegetables. I used carrots, celery, onions, garlic, zucchini, green beans, and spinach.
- Beans – I stayed true to the Olive Garden recipe and used a mix of cannelieni beans and kidney beans. Both are canned and will need to be rinsed and drained before adding into the soup pot.
- Canned Goods – I use a mix of tomato pasta, diced canned tomatoes and vegetable broth for this recipe.
- Spices – A mix of dried Italian Seasoning, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley are needed for this soup.
How to Make Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
In a large stock pot, on medium heat add the olive oil, carrots, celery, and onions. Place a lid on the stock pot and let the vegetables begin to soften.
Then add the minced garlic and diced zucchini and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Mixing often.
Next, add the seasonings (salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning) as well as the canned diced tomatoes with juice, green beans, and tomato paste. Mix well then add in the vegetable broth. Mix again, place the lid on the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Bring the soup back up to a boil. Add the rinsed and drained beans and tiny shell pasta to the pot. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked (mixing occasionally).
Pour in the additional 32 ounces of broth. Stir in the fresh spinach, and let sit until wilted. Sprinkle fresh minced parsley just before serving and stir into soup. Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
FAQS
Here are all my frequently asked questions when making this Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone.
This soup recipe will make anywhere from 8-10 servings of minestrone soup.
Olive Garden Minestrone is vegetarian and even vegan as long as you don’t sprinkle the cheese in the dish. No meat is present in this soup, and as long as you use vegetable broth you will keep this hearty soup vegetarian/vegan.
If you have ever eaten at Olive Garden you know they have four basic soups they serve.
–Chicken Gnocchi – A creamy soup made with roasted chicken, traditional Italian dumplings and spinach.
–Pasta e Fagioli – White and red beans, ground beef, fresh tomatoes and tubetti pasta in a savory broth.
–Minestrone – Fresh vegetables, beans and pasta in a light tomato broth – a vegan classic. My recipe is very very similar to the restaurants.
–Zuppa Toscana – Spicy Italian sausage, fresh kale and russet potatoes in a creamy broth. Made with gluten-free ingredients. This is one of my other favorite recipes to make at home.
You may have guessed it, but the healthiest soup at Olive Garden happens to be the Minestrone! This is why I love to make this soup recipe at home so we can enjoy a healthy hearty soup in the comforts of our own home.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few of my tips and tricks whenever I’m making OG Minestrone Soup.
- Prep Ahead – You can easily prep the vegetables ahead of time for this recipe by making a container of diced carrots, onions, and celery. Another container of diced zucchini and garlic, and an additional container of chopped green beans. By separating the vegetables you will be able to easily add them in the order you need them to cook in the soup.
- Thicker Vegetables First – A good rule of thumb when making soup is that you need to cook the thicker vegetables like carrots and celery first. Then add in the vegetables that are not as dense and will take less time to cook.
- Frozen Vegetables – You can use frozen vegetables for this recipe like frozen green beans and even carrots.
- Broth – To keep this recipe vegetarian I used vegetable broth. However, you can use chicken broth if that is all you have on hand. In fact, I like this recipe best with chicken broth.
- Pasta – I like to use the small shell pasta for a similar feel to Olive Garden’s version of the soup. You can also use large shells, ditalini, or any other small pasta you might be able to find.
- Sweating Vegetables – During the first step of this recipe I like to add in a cup of broth to the vegetables to help sweat and cook them faster. This will also prevent them from burning while unattended.
- Cheese – My family loves to top their minestrone soup with grated pecorino romano cheese.
- Cast Iron Pot – I use a large 5 quart Le Creuset cast iron pot for this recipe. Any large soup pot will work.
Copycat Restaurant Recipes
Craving going out to a restaurant, but don’t want to spend extra money? Try some of my favorite restaurant recipes at home.
If you make this Olive Garden minestrone soup recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Equipment
- Stove Top
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 carrots sliced
- 4 ribs celery sliced
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 16 ounces Canned Diced tomatoes
- 4 ounces Tomato Paste
- 1 cup Green Beans cut 1-inch pieces
- 64 ounces Vegetable broth divided
- 16 ounces cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 16 ounces Red Kidney Beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup Tiny Shell Pasta
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1 tablespoon Parsley minced
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, on medium heat add the olive oil, carrots, celery, and onions. Place a lid on the stock pot and let the vegetables begin to soften.
- Then add the minced garlic and diced zucchini and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Mixing often.
- Next, add the seasonings (salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning) as well as the canned diced tomatoes with juice, green beans, and tomato paste. Mix well then add in the vegetable broth. Mix again, place the lid on the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Bring the soup back up to a boil. Add the rinsed and drained beans and tiny shell pasta to the pot. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked (mixing occasionally).
- Pour in the additional 32 ounces of broth. Stir in the fresh spinach, and let sit until wilted. Sprinkle fresh minced parsley just before serving and stir into soup. Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
Notes
- Prep Ahead – You can easily prep the vegetables ahead of time for this recipe by making a container of diced carrots, onions, and celery. Another container of diced zucchini and garlic, and an additional container of chopped green beans. By separating the vegetables you will be able to easily add them in the order you need them to cook in the soup.
- Thicker Vegetables First – A good rule of thumb when making soup is that you need to cook the thicker vegetables like carrots and celery first. Then add in the vegetables that are not as dense and will take less time to cook.
- Frozen Vegetables – You can use frozen vegetables for this recipe like frozen green beans and even carrots.
- Broth – To keep this recipe vegetarian I used vegetable broth. However, you can use chicken broth if that is all you have on hand. In fact, I like this recipe best with chicken broth.
- Pasta – I like to use the small shell pasta for a similar feel to Olive Garden’s version of the soup. You can also use large shells, ditalini, or any other small pasta you might be able to find.
- Sweating Vegetables – During the first step of this recipe I like to add in a cup of broth to the vegetables to help sweat and cook them faster. This will also prevent them from burning while unattended.
- Cheese – My family loves to top their minestrone soup with grated pecorino romano cheese.
- Cast Iron Pot – I use a large 5 quart Le Creuset cast iron pot for this recipe. Any large soup pot will work.
MP
Delicious!!!
Lindsay
perfect for fall! delicious silky soup, it was awesome.
Katie
Hi Lindsay, so happy to read you enjoyed this soup! Thank you for taking the time to leave a 5 star review!
Elaine P
Made this minestrone soup for Book Club and serve with sliced Italian bread and crackers
Katie
Elaine, glad to hear you made this and your sides sounded perfect with it!
Beth@mealsalone.com
Your soups look like mine. Most of the broth is soaked up by pasta, beans etc. I don’t usually read the recipes, I just imagine what is in them from the picture and then create my own. I imagined here, and then I did look at the recipe and it was the same.
Denise W.
For any soup recipe that calls for noodles or rice, I keep separate. I add directly to my bowl when I’m ready to eat. This way, they don’t absorb all of the liquid & also become mush.
Katie
Hi Denise, yes that is a great tip, and I also do that for the most part with my soups. This is one of the few recipes where I cook the pasta in with it.
Mimi
Yum. This just made me realllllll hungry!
Katie
Thanks Mimi! Hopefully you’ll have a chance to give it a try!
Christine (CookTheStory)
Looks wonderful. I grew up on homemade soup. We had a lot of cold days to enjoy it.
Katie
Thanks Christine. I grew up on lots of homemade soup too, but not nearly as many cold days as I’m sure you experienced!
Marnely Rodriguez-Murray
Great looking recipe – I’ve honestly NEVER had minestrone soup…crazy huh?
Katie
Marnely, get on it girl! Its a great way to use up all the veggies in your fridge!
Laura @ The Rookie Cook
Yum, looks delicious! I always love a good minestrone soup when the cold weather hits!
Katie
Thanks Laura! Yes–I’ll take just about any soup when the weather gets cold!