Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe Copycat

This homemade version of the Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe is loaded with fresh vegetables in a savory tomato broth. The copycat recipe, like the original Olive Garden recipe is a vegan soup.

All the veggies and beans in this minestrone soup make it an amazingly nutritious choice, you will feel good serving your family.

How to Make Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

Let's make a pot of this fresh veggies laden soup. The Italian soup recipe is easy to prepare and I have step-by-step instructions for you complete with pictures. Jump down to the printable recipe card if you prefer.

The recipe makes 10 servings.

Prep Time: 15 minutes| Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes

Minestrone Soup Ingredients:

Here is everything you will need to make copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup.

• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil (classic) or avocado oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 6 celery stalks, diced
• ½ large onion, diced
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can Cannellini Beans, drained (or other soft white beans such as Great Northern beans)
• 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
• 1 cup of frozen green beans (not shown)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt (plus extra to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 32 oz vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup uncooked elbow macaroni (Ditalini or small shell pasta are also good options)
• 2 cups fresh raw baby spinach (not shown)
• Optional garnishes: freshly chopped parsley, parmesan cheese

Directions

Add olive oil to a large pot on medium-high heat. When oil is hot and begins to shimmer, add in diced carrots, zucchini, celery and onion. 

Cook vegetables for 8-10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Add diced tomatoes, cannellini Beans beans, kidney beans, green beans, dried herbs, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Gently stir to mix.

Pour in vegetable stock and water. 

Add elbow macaroni to the savory broth. Stir, cover and bring to a low boil. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat or until pasta is tender. Add the baby spinach at the end, since fresh spinach only takes a minute or two to cook.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm with fresh homemade Olive Garden breadsticks and garnished with chopped fresh parsley or grated Parmesan cheese.

This makes a great first course for Italian dinners like Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken, Ravioli Lasagna, or my Eggplant Casserole recipe.

Variations on the Recipe

While the overall goal of any copycat recipe is the get close to the original restaurant version, that doesn't mean you can't make adjustments and add-ins to suit your family's tastes. Here are a few you may like:

• Spice up the minestrone with a splash of hot sauce or a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes.
• Reduce the salt in the soup by using reduced sodium broth and swapping some salt substitute such as No-Salt for at least part of what is called for in the recipe. Rinsing the beans is also helpful, as is choosing no salt added canned tomatoes.
• If you are not vegetarian, feel free to use beef or chicken broth in place of the vegetable stock.
• For a rich tomato broth, add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste. Adding a ½ cup of pumpkin or butternut squash puree to the pot of soup also enriches it, both in mouth feel and nutrients.
• Add some meat. Shredded rotisserie chicken, cooked Italian sausage or ground beef that has been well drained are all great choices. See my Chicken Minestrone Soup recipe.
• For a gluten-free soup use gluten-free pasta. Another option is to switch in diced yellow, red-skinned or russet potatoes or sweet potatoes. Add them with the raw veggies.

I hope you enjoy this Olive Garden Minestrone soup. Be sure to also try my Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe and Panera Bread Tomato Soup Recipe as well both are great copycat soup recipes in their own right.

Alt Sp: olive garden minestroni, copy cat olive garden minestrone