Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup is a hearty filling Italian soup packed with fresh vegetables, filling beans, and tender pasta in a seasoned tomato-based broth. It is as healthy as it is delicious!

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

Making restaurant dishes at home is a hobby of mine. I love replicating foods that I love so that I can cheaply and conveniently make them anytime (and usually it's healthier too!)

This Olive Garden Minestrone Soup is no exception. It is an unsung hero of the comfort food world, being both super healthy and nutritious, and so warm, and comforting, and yummy. It is the epitome of a healthy, delicious Mediterranean meal, packed with beans, vegetables, olive oil, plus some pasta for that comfort food feeling. The rich broth flavors every bite with robust, savory flavor.

Making Olive Garden Minestrone Soup at home is simple, healthy, affordable, and delicious! You won't miss the restaurant a bit!

What is Minestrone Soup?

Minestrone Soup is a hearty Italian vegetable soup. It's a vegetarian soup that's packed with beans, vegetables, and pasta in a seasoned tomato-based broth.

What is the Difference Between Minestrone Soup and Vegetable Soup?

While both soups are packed with veggies in a tomato broth base, that's pretty much where vegetable soup ends. Whereas minestrone soup is considered more of a bean soup with added veggies and pasta, the primary focus of the vegetable soup is the vegetables.

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Variations

• Pasta - I use the small shells because they're easy to find, and they work perfectly in this recipe. You can use any small pasta, such as elbow macaroni or ditalini. Stay away from larger pastas as they won't cook through correctly and may absorb too much liquid.
• Spinach - Instead of spinach, you can substitute another green such as kale or chard, Be sure to chop both of those other options.
• Veggies - You can add veggies or substitute some for other favorites. Try adding potatoes, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, yellow summer squash, or leeks. Add harder vegetables like potatoes or butternut squash when you add the broth so they have time to simmer and soften.
• Parmesan Rind - This is an optional but highly recommended ingredient if you happen to have one. The rind is simply the hard, inedible part of the parmesan. If you buy it in wedges, the rind it the back part like a pizza crust. Adding it to the soup while it simmers offers a rich, nutty flavor that truly takes the soup to the next level. Remove the rind before serving.
• Protein - If you're looking to fill out your minestrone soup a little more, add some protein such as Italian sausage, ground turkey, or ground beef. Brown before adding it at the same time as the broth.
• Gluten Free - Use gluten free pasta to make this soup gluten free.
• Dairy Free - Simply omit the parmesan and parmesan rind.

How to Serve Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

Serve your Olive Garden minestrone soup warm topped with parsley and parmesan with a side salad and rolls, breadsticks, or warm crusty bread.

You can also serve this soup as an appetizer or healthy side dish to a more hearty dish like fettuccine alfredo.

This soup makes a great meal prep lunch as well! Check out the reheating directions below to make sure it tastes as fresh on day 5 as day 1!

Reheating Leftovers

Leftovers should be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can reheat in individual servings in the microwave or in a large pot or Dutch oven on the stove before serving.

One tip to be aware of is that as minestrone soup sits, the pasta will absorb more of the broth. So while you're reheating it, you may want to add a little more broth or water to bring it back to a soup texture.

More Soup Recipes You'll Love

• Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup - a creamy chicken soup with tender bites of gnocchi, just as good as the restaurant!
• Zuppa Toscana - zesty sausage with potatoes and greens in a creamy soup that is super simple to make and equally flavorful.
• Easy Homemade Vegetable Soup - Super easy vegetable soup in a tomato-based broth.
• Cabbage Roll Soup - Like a cabbage roll in a bowl! This soup takes all the effort out of making cabbage rolls but leaves all of the warm, comforting flavor.
• Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup - Classic chicken noodle soup in the slow cooker with juicy chicken and tender egg noodles.
• Crockpot Lasagna Soup - This delectable soup is an easy way to enjoy lasagna without all the work. It's saucy, cozy, family-loved, and amazing topped with ricotta and mozzarella for the full lasagna experience.

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Video