Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

This Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe is warm and comforting, perfect for chilly nights. Loaded with plenty of veggies, plus tender beans and pasta, it’ll fill you right up! Recreate this popular menu item at home in 30 minutes.

 

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

This is one of our favorite Olive Garden™ soups!! The recipe is budget-friendly and can be customized based on what you have on hand.

Fresh vegetables, red and white beans, and tender pasta are simmered in a rich tomato broth for a hearty, filling meal.

If you love this copycat Olive Garden minestrone soup recipe, try our homemade versions of their Zuppa Toscana or Chicken Gnocchi Soup.

I’ve even got a Chicken Vino Bianco recipe, which was my favorite dish before they pulled it from the menu!

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Fresh Veggies – Known as the “holy trinity” in many cuisines, onions, celery, and carrots create the base of flavor for soups and stews.
  
  You will get much better results with fresh versus frozen.
  
• Green Beans – Fresh veggies always taste best in this minestrone Olive Garden copycat, but using frozen green beans works perfectly too.
  
  You can also use canned, but if so, we recommend rinsing them so they aren’t too salty.
  
• Broth – Chicken broth is the gold standard for soups because it generally adds more flavor.
  
  However, this is often served as a vegetarian dish, so feel free to use vegetable stock instead.
  
• Pasta – While ditalini is the traditional choice, I like small shells for this recipe. Orecchiette is another good option.
  
  Feel free to use whichever variety you prefer, though smaller shapes will be ready faster.
  
  Pay close attention to the measurements — the noodles soak up more broth than you’d expect! 

Prep Ahead

• Chop veggies
• Drain and rinse the beans
• Measure out ingredients

Tips and Tricks to Make Perfect Minestrone Soup Like Olive Garden

• Saute onion and celery first.

Doing so brings out the flavor and natural sweetness.

Plus, it helps soften both veggies so there’s no crunch in your homemade Olive Garden minestrone soup.

• Keep heat at a simmer.

Once the soup comes to a boil, turn that heat down so it just lightly bubbles.

More than that and you’ll end up cooking off too much liquid!

• Add zucchini, spinach, and pasta at the end.

Squash and noodles cook quickly and will become soggy if they are in the pot the entire time.

The spinach simply needs to wilt, so you can easily stir it in just before serving.

Serving Suggestions

No minestrone soup Olive Garden meal would be complete without salad and breadsticks!

While they may not be bottomless, you’ll save plenty of money by recreating your restaurant favorites right at home.

You could also pair this Italian minestrone soup with a gourmet grilled cheese for your very own lunch combo.

Or, keep it simple by crushing a handful of crackers over the top.

Kitchen Tools You Will Need

• Large Stock Pot or Dutch Oven – Perfect for soups, roasts, and one pot meals!
  
• Quality Knives and a big solid Cutting Board make prepping a breeze and are well worth the investment.
  
• Ladle – A must for dishing up this minestrone Olive Garden copycat!

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe FAQ

Storing and Reheating Italian Minestrone Soup

Allow leftover copycat Olive Garden minestrone soup cool before transferring it to an airtight container and storing it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Reheat on the stove until warmed through, adding extra broth if needed.

You can also freeze Italian minestrone soup, but I recommend cooking the noodles separately and adding in a handful just before serving.

Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours. 

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Other Soup Recipes

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Copycat (30 Minute Recipe)

Donna Elick

Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup is warm and comforting, perfect for chilly nights. Recreate this popular menu item in 30 minutes!

5 stars from 4 reviews

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Method Stovetop

Servings 10 1 cup

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 medium yellow onions, diced (1 cup)
• ▢ 2 stalks celery, diced (1 cup)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 large carrots, diced (1 cup)
• ▢ 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into pieces
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ 15 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes (including the juices)
• ▢ 15 ounce can white beans (navy or cannelini), drained and rinsed
• ▢ 15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
• ▢ 1 zucchini, lightly peeled and sliced
• ▢ 2 cups fresh spinach
• ▢ 2/3 cup small shell pasta
• ▢ parsley for garnish, if desired

Instructions

 

• In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, saute onion and celery in the olive oil until softened.
• Add the carrots, green beans, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, white beans, kidney beans, broth, and Italian seasoning.
• Stir and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add zucchini, spinach, and pasta and continue cooking until the pasta is al dente tender (about 10 minutes longer).
• Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Donna’s Notes

Storage: Store in the refrigerator for 4-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Canned or frozen green beans work great in this soup if you don’t have fresh.

Add the zucchini and pasta at the end because it cooks quickly and gets soggy. The spinach simply needs to wilt – it can even be stirred in after you’ve taken the soup off the stove.

Use fresh herbs if available and you’d like.

Chicken broth generally adds more flavor. However, the soup is often served as a vegetarian dish, so use vegetable broth if keeping the soup vegetarian.

You can use any type of pasta – smaller pasta will cook up faster. The pasta soaks up the broth amount quicker than you’d expect. That’s why we add just 1/2 cup – 2/3 cup. More than that and you won’t have much broth left!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 177cal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 742mg | Sugar: 5g | Fiber: 7g | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 3mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Originally published November 2021, updated and republished January 2024

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