Instant Pot Minestrone Soup – Olive Garden Copycat Recipe

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This easy Instant Pot Minestrone soup is perfect comfort food! It is a quick, easy and nutritious one pot meal the entire family will love. Full of flavor and packed with veggies in a rich broth it is a healthy 30 minute meal.

Nothing beats a steaming, warm bowl of soup when it is cold and blustery. This vegan soup is a simple dump and go recipe, making it perfect for new Instant Pot owner or anyone who needs to get dinner on the table fast. And since it is full of tasty veggies you can feel good about what you are serving!

This filling soup is like the popular Olive Garden minestrone soup, only made at home, full of fresh flavor and ready in about 30 minutes! Sounds too good to be true but keep reading for all the details on this copycat Olive Garden recipe. And if you love healthy soup check my Instant Pot Vegetable Soup!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

This vegan soup is full of flavor, so you won’t miss the meat.

I’ve simplified by eliminating the extra step of sautéing vegetables. Purists might argue it would taste a little better if the onions were sautéed, but it isn’t necessary.

It is easy to customize, so you can use up whatever vegetables you have in the refrigerator.

Leftovers are perfect for reheating for a healthy lunch.

ingredients for minestrone soup

Key Ingredients

For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below

Vegetables – I used the classic minestrone vegetables of onions, carrots, celery, bell pepper and zucchini in this recipe. But you can vary these and use whatever you have in the refrigerator. Include a variety of colors in your veggies so the soup looks amazing.

Tomato juice and diced tomatoes – These give the soup a deep tomato flavor.

Vegetable broth – If you use low sodium vegetable broth you might need to add salt to the final dish.

Pasta – Pick a small pasta, like shells, elbows or ditalini. There is just a little bit of pasta in the soup. If you add too much it will overwhelm the veggies.

Seasoning – I used parsley, oregano and a bay leaf. You could also substitute Italian seasoning. Salt and pepper will vary depending on your taste. I recommend tasting it after you make it and adding salt then, since vegetable broths vary quit a bit in salt content.

minestrone soup made the instant pot

Key Tips for This Recipe

Be sure to check out the step by step instructions

Most grocery stores sell pre-diced mirepoix, consisting of onions, carrots and celery in the produce section. Using already cut vegetables will cut your prep time and simplify the recipe even more.

You don’t have to saute the onions before pressure cooking.

Taste the soup and add the salt and pepper after pressure cooking so you get it seasoned to your taste. Vegetable broths vary widely in their sodium content.

How to Make Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

1. Prep

Dicing the onions, carrots, celery, yellow pepper and zucchini is the biggest part of the prep for this soup. If you want to save time you can buy pre-diced mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery) in the produce section of most stores.

add the veggies to the Instant Pot

Another way to cut the preparation time is to dice the vegetables during a meal prep session after shopping. Then when it is time you to make dinner you can just dump the pre-cut veggies in the Instant Pot.

2. Pressure Cook

Put the diced onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, and bell pepper in the Instant Pot. Add the vegetable broth, tomato juice, diced tomatoes, pasta and seasoning. Don’t add fresh herbs or any optional ingredients like beans or spinach. Stir to mix everything and put the lid on the Instant Pot.

adding pasta and tomatoes to soup

You might be wondering, what about sautéing the onions? Most recipes would have you put the Instant Pot on Sauté and cook the veggies oil for 3-5 minutes. I’ve tried it both ways and I don’t think it makes much flavor difference in this recipe. So to simplify things I just dump all the ingredients in and let it cook!

minestrone soup before pressure cooking in instant pot

Set the Instant Pot for Manual, high pressure, for 10 minutes. It will take 10-15 minutes for it to reach pressure. Once it is done cooking do a quick release and take the lid off. Taste it to check the seasoning and add some salt and pepper if needed.

Minestrone soup in Instant Pot

3. Optional Add-ins

If you want to add beans or greens like spinach or kale to the Instant Pot minestrone soup do it after pressure cooking. Just stir the extra ingredients in, put the lid back on, and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. The residual heat will warm up the beans and wilt the spinach.

Find More Instant Pot Recipes!

How to Serve

Serve a big bowl of this tasty soup garnished with fresh parsley or basil. If you don’t care about keeping the soup vegan then sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese for a classic Italian flavor.

This copycat Olive Garden minestrone tastes amazing paired with crusty Italian bread. My kids love it when I make air fryer garlic bread to go with it too!

spoonful of olive garden minestrone soup

How to Store

This soup makes great leftovers and gives you a hearty and healthy lunch! It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat it warm it up on the stove on low heat or microwave it for a few minutes. The pasta will absorb some of the broth in the refrigerator, so it won’t be as brothy when reheated.

How to Freeze

Instant Pot minestrone soup freezes best if you leave the pasta out. The pasta tends to get mushy when frozen and thawed. So to freeze the soup skip the pasta and add fresh cooked pasta to the soup when you serve it.

If it is frozen thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat it on low heat on the stove. This will give the vegetables the best texture.

copycat olive garden minestrone soup

Instant Pot Minestrone Soup Variations

Minestrone is a classic Italian recipe that can be changed up in lots of ways, depending on the cooks preference! Here are some of my ideas for making this recipe your own unique soup.

  • Use rice, quinoa or another grain in the soup instead of pasta.
  • Add different vegetables such as broccoli, squash or asparagus.
  • Try different types of beans such as navy beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans or black beans.

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Yield: 8

Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

copycat olive garden minestrone soup

This easy Instant Pot Minestrone soup is perfect comfort food!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Pressure Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 small onions, chopped
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 zucchini, diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and diced
  • 1 can (19 ounces) tomato juice
  • 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomato
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup small pasta, shells, elbows or ditalini
  • 1 tablespoon dry parsley
  • ½ tablespoon oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Optional

  • 1 can cannellini or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • fresh parsley or basil for garnishing

Instructions

  1. Put all the ingredients In the Instant pot, adding all the ingredients except for the optional ones and salt and pepper. Stir to mix it all together.
  1. Put the lid on and make sure the sealing ring is in and the valve is closed.
  2. Set the pressure cooker for Manual, high pressure, for 10 minutes. It will take 10-15 minutes for the soup to reach pressure.
  3. When the cooking time is over do a quick release.
  4. Open the lid carefully. If you want to add beans or spinach add them now, put the lid back on and wait 5 minutes.
  5. Or just stir in the fresh herbs and serve with crusty bread.

Notes

  • Buy pre-diced mirepoix, consisting of onions, carrots and celery to cut prep time.
  • Vegetable broths vary widely in their sodium content, so I suggest tasting and adding salt after pressure cooking.
  • Vary the vegetables in the soup based on what you have in the refrigerator.
  • Sprinkle the soup with Parmesan if you don't care about it being vegan.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 182Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 415mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 7gSugar: 7gProtein: 9g

Nutrition facts are estimates.

bowl of instant pot minestrone soup
anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

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