Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup is a classic Italian vegetable soup with rural roots. It’s a hearty tomato-based soup packed with fresh flavors and nutrients.

Some Minestrone soup is brothy, loaded with lightly-cooked, chunky vegetables with some bite.

While some Minestrone soups are thick and dense with vegetables cooked down for hours.

What’s Minestrone Soup Made of?

Minestrone soup is a versatile soup with many regional and seasonal variations.

It’s usually made of vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, beans, stock, and pasta or rice.

You may find variations using different herbs, pasta, tomato-based ingredients, and seasonal vegetables.

Some people like to keep it vegan or vegetarian by using vegetable stock or bean broth. While others like to add bacon or use chicken stock for more body and complex flavors.

Tools for Making Minestrone Soup in Instant Pot

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
• Wooden Spoon
• Pyrex Measuring Cups

Step-by-Step Guide: Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Here are the ingredients for making Minestrone Soup in Instant Pot:

Fire Roasted Tomatoes

The taste and aroma vary between different tomatoes. Thus, the quality and flavor of your tomatoes will affect your minestrone soup. So, make sure to balance your soup’s flavors based on your tomatoes.

• If your tomatoes are very acidic: balance the tangy flavors with a bit of sugar.
• If your tomatoes are mild and bland: add salt to bring out more flavors.

We used crushed fire-roasted tomatoes for extra flavor. You can use diced or whole tomatoes.

Red Kidney Beans

We used canned red kidney beans because dried beans need a presoak or a longer cooking time.

Preparation: discard the liquid, rinse the beans over cold running water, then drain well.

Can I Use Other Beans? Yes! Other beans will work with this minestrone soup recipe. As an alternative, you can use canned cannellini bean, navy beans, or lima beans.

Pasta

We used La Molisana’s Farfalle for this minestrone soup because it’ll hold up well in a soup recipe. Side bonus: The bowtie pasta looks pretty in the soup. 

We’re not sponsored by La Molisana. But their pasta quality is pretty good considering the low price. 

Can I Use Other Pasta? Yes! You can use pasta such as Penne Rigate, Mafalda Corta, Rotini, Shell with this minestrone soup instant pot recipe.

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! After cubing the potatoes, keep them fresh by submerging them in cold water before using them. Make sure to strain and drain them well before adding the potatoes in Instant Pot.

Italian Squash (optional): I love Italian squash! They’ll add another texture and bite to your minestrone soup.

Onions: If you don’t want to dice the onion, slicing the onion will work too.

Saute Onions in Instant Pot

First, press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” function to heat up your Instant Pot.

It’ll switch to “ON” on the screen.

Wait until it says “HOT” on the screen (takes roughly 8 minutes).

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! Make sure your Instant Pot is as hot as it can be to induce a Maillard reaction.

Now, add 2 tbsp (30ml) olive oil in the Instant Pot’s inner pot. Make sure you cover the whole bottom with oil.

Then, saute the diced onion in Instant Pot for 2.5 to 3 minutes.

Saute Garlic, Herbs & Veggies in Instant Pot

Now, add minced garlic, 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp (0.8g) dried oregano, ½ tsp (0.6g) dried basil in Instant Pot, then saute for 30 seconds.

After 30 seconds, add in chopped celery, carrots, and Italian squash (optional). Then, saute for 3 minutes.

Deglaze Instant Pot

Now, add 1 cup (250ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot.

Then, deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

Pressure Cook Minestrone Soup

Now, add 1 tsp (8g) fine salt and 4 cups (1L) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot. Then, give it a quick mix.

Add 1 cup (80g) Farfalle, drained beans, and drained potato cubes in Instant Pot.

Finally, layer the crushed fire-roasted tomatoes on top of all the ingredients. Do not mix.

With Venting Knob in Venting Position. Close the lid. Then, turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 1 minute, then Natural Release for 10 minutes.

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! If you’re halving this recipe, increase the pressure cooking time to High Pressure for 2 minutes.

After 10 minutes, carefully release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position.

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! Since the Instant Pot is quite full, it’s safest to use the Gradual Natural Release method to release the pressure little by little.

• More Info on Pressure Release Methods: Instant Pot Natural Release vs Quick Release

When the Floating Valve drops, open the lid carefully.

Add Spinach/Kale and Season (Optional)

First, bring the minestrone soup to a simmer with the “Saute” function. Then, cook the spinach or kale in Instant Pot.

Kale: cook for roughly 3 to 4 minutes

Spinach: cook for roughly 1 to 2 minutes

Now, don’t forget to taste the minestrone soup, then season with salt if necessary. 

For Reference: We added 3 large pinches of salt to season our minestrone soup.

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! If the tomato you’re using is particular sour, you can add a bit of sugar to balance the flavors.

Garnish & Serve Minestrone Soup

Finally, place your minestrone soup in a serving bowl.

Then, garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and basil leaves (optional).

What to Serve with Minestrone Soup

You can enjoy an Italian-inspired meal with this hearty minestrone soup.

These delicious Italian-inspired chicken dishes: Chicken Marsala, Tuscan Chicken, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Piccata will go well with this wholesome soup.

You can also pair it with pasta or risotto dishes like Instant Pot Spaghetti, Instant Pot Risotto, Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo, Instant Pot Lasagna.

Or you can serve side dishes like No-Knead Artisan Bread, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Dreamy Creamy Mac and Cheese, Instant Pot Italian Meatballs, salads, or fries to go with this Minestrone Soup.

Enjoy your wholesome Instant Pot Minestrone Soup!

Other Tasty Instant Pot Soup

• Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
• Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
• Instant Pot Tomato Soup