Minestrone soup is hearty and warm and could not be easier to whip together when you use the Instant Pot. It’s completed from start to finish (including cooking of the pasta) in the electric pressure cooker. You’ll only dirty a cutting board and the Instant Pot insert!
Traditionally, minestrone is filled with carrots, celery, beans, spinach, and pasta in a tomato broth. It’s a great vegetarian soup, but you can also brown some Italian sausage or ground beef if you want to add some more protein and even more flavor.
You can really add any vegetables you have on hand to this soup. It’s the perfect way to use up odds and ends you have in your refrigerator. Feel free to omit or add any vegetables you wish. Peppers, kale, and potatoes are all great options.
No matter how you customize it, serve the soup with crusty bread and a simple salad for a quick, delicious meal.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup prepared pesto
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup small shell pasta
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup spinach, chopped
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Gather the olive oil, garlic, onion, and vegetables.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney -
Add the olive oil to the Instant Pot insert. Set the pot to sauté and heat the oil. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Sauté until the vegetables are fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney -
Gather the rest of the ingredients.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney -
Add the green cabbage, followed by the pesto, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, pasta, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Set to the soup or broth setting for 3 minutes. Close the lid and make sure to adjust the gauge towards sealing.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney -
After the timer goes off, release the steam immediately. Add in the cannellini beans, parsley, and spinach. Set to sauté and heat until the beans and spinach are heated through. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney -
Remove the bay leaves and serve it immediately.
- Switch to chicken broth rather than vegetable broth, if you prefer.
- If you like a chunkier soup, you can add less broth. If you want it soupier, you can add more!
- You can cook the vegetables for longer on the sauté setting if you want more of a slow-cooked taste. You can also add in a little concentrated tomato paste for extra zing and pop.
- You can add in cheese tortellini instead of pasta. Or choose any other small shaped pasta like rotelle, pastina, or orzo.
- Add ground sausage or ground beef to the sautéed vegetables. You can also substitute chicken or beef broth for the vegetable broth.
