Vegan Minestrone Soup made in the Instant Pot is a cozy, hearty Italian classic that's perfect for busy weeknights. Loaded with vegetables, tender beans, and pasta, this minestrone soup is a true dump-and-go recipe that comes together in under 30 minutes. It's comforting, nourishing, and incredibly flavorful-everything you want in a one-pot chunky soup recipe that's easy to customize and great for meal prep.
🔍 Quick Look: Vegan Minestrone Soup
- 🌍 Cuisine: Italian
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 20 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 30 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 6 people
- 📊 Calories: ~ 270.87 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Instant Pot
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Tangy, mildly spiced, and comforting
- ⭐ Difficulty: Simple, quick, and easy
Need to Substitute An Ingredient Or Didn't Find The Answers You Were Looking For?
Ask AI To Answer Based On This Specific recipe:
* Disclaimer - I am not responsible for the quality of suggestions AI makes.
Jump to:
- 🔍 Quick Look: Vegan Minestrone Soup
- What Is A Minestrone Soup
- Making Vegan Minestrone Soup In The Instant Pot
- Difference between Fagioli and Minestrone
- Recreating Italian Restaurant Favorites
- Why Make It
- 🧾 Ingredients Needed
- 🔪 How to make Vegan Minestrone Soup
- 🍽 Serving Suggestions
- 💭 Priya's Recipe Tips
- 📖 Vegan Minestrone Soup FAQs
- More Instant Pot Recipes
- Recipe 📖
What Is A Minestrone Soup
Minestrone soup is a classic Italian chunky vegetable soup made with seasonal vegetables, beans, and pasta simmered in a flavorful broth. This vegan minestrone soup is hearty, chunky, and deeply comforting, which is why it's a favorite among vegetarians and plant-based eaters-especially during the colder months.
Rooted in traditional Italian home cooking, minestrone began as a rustic, everyday meal made with simple pantry staples and whatever vegetables were in season. The name minestrone comes from the Italian word minestra, meaning soup, and there's no single authentic recipe-every region and household has its own version. Over time, meatless and vegan minestrone soups became widely popular, letting vegetables and legumes shine as the main ingredients.
Making Vegan Minestrone Soup In The Instant Pot
This vegan minestrone soup is also gluten-free and made entirely in the Instant Pot for an easy, hands-off cooking experience. While minestrone has many modern variations today, making it in the Instant Pot keeps all the comforting Italian flavors intact while significantly cutting down cooking time.
This one-pot vegan minestrone soup recipe is nourishing, hearty, and incredibly versatile. You can easily customize it with seasonal vegetables or whatever you have on hand, making it perfect for busy weeknights, meal prep, or cozy plant-based dinners.
Difference between Fagioli and Minestrone
It's easy to confuse fagioli and minestrone, since both are classic Italian soups made with beans and pasta. The main difference lies in the vegetable content and texture. Fagioli soup (often pasta e fagioli) is thicker and more bean-forward, with beans and pasta as the star ingredients and fewer vegetables.
Minestrone soup, on the other hand, is more vegetable-heavy and made with a variety of seasonal veggies along with beans and pasta. It has a heartier, stew-like consistency and is commonly enjoyed as a complete meal. This is why minestrone soups are so popular-they're filling, flexible, and easy to adapt based on what vegetables you have on hand.
Recreating Italian Restaurant Favorites
We love dining at Italian restaurants, especially for their variety of vegetarian options. While I usually stick to pasta, KR often enjoys vegetarian minestrone soup with pasta and a side salad, alongside his favorite, Eggplant Parmesan.
I also enjoy recreating these Italian classics at home. Some of our favorites on the blog include Vegan Fried Ravioli and creamy Baked Pesto Pasta. Lately, KR has been asking me to make Italian vegetarian Minestrone Soup and Eggplant Parmesan at home, so I decided to make a hearty version in the Instant Pot for an easy, hands-off meal.
Other hearty soups that warm you up instantly include Instant Pot Indian Tomato Soup, Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Instant Pot Vegan Italian Chili and Instant Pot Tortellini Soup.
Why Make It
- 🥕 Packed with fresh vegetables and bold Italian flavors
- 🌿 Completely meat-free and vegan-friendly
- 💪 Rich in protein, fiber, and essential vitamins
- 🍽️ Hearty, filling, and satisfying in every bowl
- 🍝 Includes pasta for a comforting one-pot meal
- ⏱️ 30-minute quick and easy Instant Pot recipe
- 🥄 A simple dump-and-go recipe for busy days
- 🔄 Fully customizable with your favorite vegetables
- 📅 Make-ahead friendly for easy weeknight dinners
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Vegetables: I used onions, zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow squash, carrots, celery, potatoes, and baby spinach. Feel free to swap in seasonal veggies or whatever you have on hand.
Tomatoes: For authentic Italian flavor, I recommend Tuttorosso® San Marzano Style Chopped Tomatoes with Basil & Sea Salt and canned tomato paste. They create a rich, flavorful base for this chunky vegetable soup.
Beans: I used canned cannellini beans for convenience, but you can also use dry beans-just soak them overnight before cooking.
Pasta: Mini macaroni works perfectly here, but any small pasta shape is fine.
Herbs and Spices: Garlic, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a bay leaf give the soup its classic Italian aroma and depth of flavor.
Other Ingredients: A splash of red wine vinegar brightens the flavors, and a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese adds richness. Using vegetable broth instead of water makes this Instant Pot minestrone soup even more hearty and flavorful.
🔪 How to make Vegan Minestrone Soup
- Step 1: Turn your Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add onions, garlic paste, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent, releasing their aroma.
- Step 2: Add all the chopped vegetables to the pot and stir to combine. Sauté for about 30 seconds to lightly soften them.
- Step 3: Stir in a can of Chopped Tomatoes with Basil, tomato paste, garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well.
- Step 4: Add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans, stirring them into the vegetables and tomato base.
- Step 5: Add uncooked dry pasta directly to the pot and mix it with the vegetables and beans.
- Step 6: Pour in vegetable broth or water, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Perform a quick pressure release, then open and stir the soup.
- Step 7: Add the baby spinach to the hot soup and sauté for 3 minutes until wilted and well incorporated.
- Step 8: Finish by adding a splash of red wine vinegar and a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese. Stir well and serve hot.
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this recipe to you, so that you can look at it later!
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Serve this comforting Instant Pot vegan minestrone soup in individual bowls with some garlic bread on the side. Top it with pangrattato, chopped parsley, and a squeeze of lemon for extra flavor. You can also pair it with a fresh salad like Cucumber Salad, Tomato Salad, or Vegan Dense Bean Salad.
If you want to turn this vegan minestrone soup into a full Italian meal, pair it with dishes like Picada Pesto Spaghetti, Breadcrumbs Pasta Salad, Indian Masala Pasta, Pesto Gnocchi, Baked Tortellini Casserole, Broccoli Pasta, or Mushroom Edamame Pasta Salad. You can also serve some grilled vegetables, like air fried green beans to create a hearty, balanced, and satisfying meal.
When KR tried this chunky vegetable soup, his first reaction was, "It tastes just like restaurant soup!"-followed by, "No, wait, it's actually even better!" Mission accomplished! With this Instant Pot minestrone soup, you can enjoy a rich, restaurant-quality Italian classic at home-quick, easy, and full of flavor.
💭 Priya's Recipe Tips
Instead of traditional pasta, you can use lentils, rice, quinoa, teff, or tortellini, and any leafy greens can replace the spinach. Likewise, any mini pasta or beans work perfectly, making it simple to customize. If you don't have red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar is a great alternative. And if you're using cooked pasta instead of dry, just add it at the end along with the greens to prevent overcooking.
📖 Vegan Minestrone Soup FAQs
Yes! If you're using raw beans instead of canned, soak them overnight first. You can then:
Add them directly to the soup and increase the cooking time to 20 minutes, cooking the pasta separately.
Or, cook the soaked beans separately in the Instant Pot for 20 minutes, then add them to the soup. In this case, the Instant Pot minestrone soup cooking time remains 6 minutes. This is the cook time if using canned beans as well.
Either method works and still gives you a hearty, flavorful vegan minestrone soup.
To make this Instant Pot vegan minestrone soup low-carb, simply skip the beans, pasta, and carrots, and add cauliflower or other low-carb vegetables instead. For a gluten-free version, swap in gluten-free pasta. You'll still get a hearty, flavorful, and comforting Italian soup without compromising on taste.
Chop evenly: Cutting all the vegetables to similar bite-size pieces ensures they cook evenly in your Instant Pot.
Customize freely: Add or skip any veggies you like-fresh or frozen works perfectly.
Boost flavor: Toss in some plant-based meatballs (like the ones I use to make Kofta Curry) for extra heartiness.
Use leftovers: This soup is perfect for using up leftover vegetables, pasta, or beans.
No Instant Pot? No problem! You can make this vegan minestrone soup on the stovetop or in a slow cooker:
Stovetop: Add all the ingredients to a large pot. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables, beans, and pasta are tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Slow Cooker: Add all ingredients except the pasta and cook on low for 6 hours. Add the pasta during the last 30 minutes so it cooks perfectly without getting mushy.
This method gives you the same hearty, flavorful, restaurant-style minestrone soup, just with a little more hands-on time.
The consistency of this Instant Pot vegan minestrone soup is flexible and can be adjusted to your preference. For a thinner, brothy soup, add extra water or low-sodium vegetable broth while cooking. If you prefer it thicker and heartier, reduce the liquid slightly. This way, you can enjoy your minestrone exactly how you like it-chunky and filling or light and brothy.
Instant Pot vegan minestrone soup keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days. It's also freezer-friendly and can be stored for 2-3 months. If freezing, skip adding the pasta during cooking.
To reheat, pour the soup into a pot or microwave individual servings, then stir in the cooked pasta and warm it. Serve hot with your favorite bread for a cozy, comforting meal anytime.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Recipe 📖
30-Minute Instant Pot Vegan Minestrone Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- ½ onion
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
- 2 cups mixed veggies - potato, zucchini, celery, red bell pepper, yellow squash
- 1 cup Canned Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic, Olive Oil & Sea Salt
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 15.5 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
- 5 cups water or vegetable broth
- salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 cup baby spinach
- ¼ cup vegan shredded Parmesan
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add onions, garlic paste, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent, releasing their aroma.
- Add all the chopped vegetables to the pot and stir to combine. Sauté for about 30 seconds to lightly soften them.
- Stir in a can of Chopped Tomatoes with Basil, tomato paste, garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well.
- Add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans, stirring them into the vegetables and tomato base.
- Add uncooked dry pasta directly to the pot and mix it with the vegetables and beans.
- Pour in vegetable broth or water, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Perform a quick pressure release, then open and stir the soup.
- Add the baby spinach to the hot soup and sauté for 3 minutes until wilted and well incorporated.
- Finish by adding a splash of red wine vinegar and a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese. Stir well and serve hot.
Notes
- Instead of traditional pasta, you can use lentils, rice, quinoa, teff, or tortellini, and any leafy greens can replace the spinach. Likewise, any mini pasta or beans work perfectly, making it simple to customize.
- If you don't have red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar is a great alternative.
- If you're using cooked pasta instead of dry, just add it at the end along with the greens to prevent overcooking.
Leave a Reply