After a long search for the perfect Minestrone Soup, I came across a winner. This version turned out flavorful and filling, with subtle smoky undertones. It tastes rather sophisticated, which is why you may be surprised at the addition of a can of bean with bacon soup in the ingredients. Just go with it! The addition of the condensed soup adds a subtle smokiness to the soup that compliments everything so well. This soup is great the first night, and even better as leftovers. It makes a fantastic freezer meal as well! If you’re looking for a more traditional all-vegetable soup, try this Vegetable Minestrone!
Ingredient Needed
- Italian Sausage – You’ll need one pound of Italian sausage. You can find this in either links or bulk in your store’s meat department. If using links, you will need to remove the meat from the casings. Most Italian sausage is labeled either “sweet” or “hot” which basically just means spicy and not-spicy. I always grab the non-spicy “sweet” one, but feel free to use either!
- Onion
- Fresh garlic
- Water
- Celery
- Carrots
- Zucchini
- Beef broth
- Bean With Bacon Soup –We’re talking good old condensed bean with bacon soup here. This may seem like a strange ingredient but, trust me, it adds a subtle richness and smoky flavor to the finished soup.
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Great northern beans
- Oregano
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes – Speaking of heat, feel free to adjust the red pepper flakes as you see fit. 1/8 teaspoon will add some nice flavor without being overwhelmingly spicy. If you like a little kick, feel free to bump it up to 1/4 teaspoon or more.
How to Make Minestrone Soup
- Start off by browning some Italian sausage with diced onions and minced garlic. Drain if necessary.
- Then everything else gets added to the pot. First you’ll add some water, followed by celery, carrots, and zucchini. Then the canned ingredients: beef broth, bean with bacon soup, diced tomatoes, and great northern beans. Finish it off with a little sugar, oregano, kosher salt, and black and red pepper.
- Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for an hour. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and your favorite bread for dipping.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze individual portions for a quick meal when needed!
Frequently Asked Questions
This soup actually shines brighter after reheating, in my opinion. Feel free to make it a day ahead of time and reheat as needed.
Minestrone freezes beautifully. Freeze the prepared soup in individual portions or follow these freezer instructions for the whole batch: Cook sausage, onions, and garlic and drain if necessary. Place in a large Ziploc bag or large freezer-safe container. Add remaining ingredients. When ready to cook, Place contents of the bag in a large slow cooker and cook on low for 9-10 hours or on high for 6-8.
Yep, simply brown the sausage, onion, and garlic in a frying pan and then transfer to a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and cook all day on low.
Minestrone Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 onion, medium diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups water
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 carrots, large diced
- 1-2 zucchini, small quartered and chopped
- 1 14.5-ounce can beef broth
- 1 10-ounce can bean with bacon soup
- 1 28-ounce can tomatoes, diced
- 1 15-ounce can Great Northern Beans drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Remove sausage from casings and crumble the meat. In a large soup pot, brown Italian sausage with onions and garlic. Carefully drain, if necessary.
- Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, cover, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer on low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Slow Cooker Instructions: Brown the sausage, onion, and garlic in a frying pan, drain, and then transfer to a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and cook all day on low.
- Freezer Instructions: Cook sausage, onions, and garlic and drain if necessary. Place in a large Ziploc bag or large freezer-safe container. Add remaining ingredients. When ready to cook, Place contents of the bag in a large slow cooker and cook on low for 9-10 hours or on high for 6-8.
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- This soup freezes well. Freeze individual portions for a quick meal on busy days!
Questions & Reviews
I’m so glad I noticed the link to this Minestrone Soup recipe from your latest e-mail. I made this today for Sunday dinner. It was sooo good and my elderly Mother loved it! But I do have a question. What’s the difference in the Italian sausage in the casing and in bulk?
That’s the only difference- one is in casing and the other not 🙂
I just made this for dinner and let me tell you… It was amazing! I have picky eaters in my house and they gobbled it up! Great recipe!!! Thank you!!
Just recently discovered your website and cook books. I’ve tried several of your recipes now, including this one, and LOVE all of them. Thank you, thank you!!! I’ve never had so much success with one recipe source. I’m a big fan!
This may sound like a weird question, but can you cook the meat, onions and garlic add the other ingredients and than freeze it or do you need to cook the soup and freeze the soup? I wasn’t sure if the celery, carrots and zucchini would taste good if they were frozen raw.
I would probably freeze it in SOME liquid–frozen zucchini can get a little weird. 🙂
My take on this soup is that it is good the first night and AMAZING the second night. So what if you made extra, had some for dinner, and froze the rest? Then it would be amazing the first night the next time you make it… 🙂
Made this yesterday and it turned out great. I doubled it and plan to freeze half. We all felt like something was missing since the minestrone from our favorite restaurant has little bits of pasta in it. I plan to boil some pasta (the kind you put in macaroni salads) and add it to the soup as we eat it. I don’t like the way pasta absorbs liquid and gets all soft and blown up when it sits in soup over time.
Hello from Malaysia. Our choice of soup mixes are very limited here so for the smokiness, I tried putting a tablespoon of Hunt’s BBQ sauce extra smokey. Seems to do the job and there’s a lovely smokey smell and taste to it. 🙂 I also put in left over red wine, which added to the richness. I didn’t add meat, so I find that the soup still lacks a little bit of depth, so I’m trying to experiment with other things. Will let you know how it goes 🙂
I just finished making this, it is amazing!! I am definitely making it again, and again. Now I just need to throw together some breadsticks for tonight!! Thanks for a great recipe!!
I made this last night and we loved it. It was sooo good, even the 2nd time around for leftovers. I also made the breadsticks and they went great with the soup. Definietly a keeper!
Kate, Can I add pasta to this and leave out the extra can of beans?
Sure! 🙂
Just made this family favorite again. I used green beans and zucchini from our garden. So yummy.