Why travel to Olive Garden and spend all that money for minestone, when it’s such a snap to make at home? If you’ve been looking for an old-country Minestrone recipe, without having to scroll down forever just look at it, you’ve arrived!
This Minestrone is deceptively simple, authentically Italian, and darned impressive for both the novice and the gourmet.
Without further ado, here’s my Minestrone recipe (a more compact, printable version appears below):
Table of Contents
- Minestrone Soup: Ingredients
- How to Make Minestrone
- Minestrone Printable Recipe
- Minestrone Tips for Success
Minestrone Soup: Ingredients
- 1 lb. Italian sausage
- 2T. olive oil
- 1t. cooking oil
- 1T. chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4t. red pepper flakes
- 1 can tomatoes, 28 oz. size
- 2 cans of water (28 oz.)
- 2T. chicken bouillon powder
- 1/4t. black pepper
- 1t. basil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1c. ditalini pasta
- 1 can each, chickpeas + Canelli beans 15 oz. size, rinsed
How to Make Minestrone
- Place the sausage and olive oil into a soup pot and brown over medium-high heat. Add onion about halfway through this stage, after about 10 minutes.
- Shut off heat. Remove the sausages to a plate, and set aside. Add garlic and red pepper to pot.
- Pour in tomatoes and 2 cans of water; and stir in chicken bouillon powder, seasonings, and vegetables.
- Cut sausages into bite-sized pieces, discarding skin, and return to pot.
- Bring to a boil, turn to low, cover, and simmer for at least 1 hour.
- Bring soup to a boil again, and stir in the pasta. Let it boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Stir in beans and chickpeas, and bring to boil once more, before removing from heat to serve.
- Top each serving with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.
Minestrone Printable Recipe
Minestrone (better than Olive Garden’s)
This Minestrone is deceptively simple, authentically Italian, and darned impressive for both the novice and the gourmet.
Servings: 10
Calories: 200kcal
Cost: $16
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Italian sausage
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1 t. cooking oil
- 1 T. chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- ¼ t. red pepper flakes
- 1 can tomatoes 28 oz. size
- 2 cans water 28 oz. each
- 2 T. chicken bouillon powder
- ¼ t. black pepper
- 1 t. basil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 c. ditalini pasta
- 1 can chickpeas 15 or 19 oz. size, rinsed
- 1 can Canelli beans 15 or 19 oz. size, rinsed
Instructions
- Place the sausage and olive oil into a soup pot and brown over medium-high heat. Add onion about halfway through this stage, after about 10 minutes.
- Shut off heat. Remove the sausages to a plate, and set aside.
- Add garlic and red pepper to pot.
- Pour in tomatoes and 2 cans of water; and stir in chicken bouillon powder, seasonings, and vegetables.
- Cut sausages into bite-sized pieces, discarding skin, and return to pot.
- Bring to a boil, turn to low, cover, and simmer for at least 1 hour.
- Bring soup to a boil again, and stir in the pasta. Let it boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Stir in beans and chickpeas, and bring to boil once more, before removing from heat to serve.
- Top each serving with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.
Minestrone Tips for Success
- A quality soup pot will cook this soup with even results. I like this heirloom quality pot (view here).
- Other meats will work, too; such as ground beef, ground pork, or even leftover steak…
- …or just go vegan – Omit the meat, and use vegetable bouillon powder.
- Some prefer oregano or Italian seasoning instead of basil.
- Skim off any foam that forms on the soup’s surface, for a more digestible food. These are impurities which can cause unpleasant digestive issues.
- Any size egg noodle can be used. Smaller egg noodles need less cooking time.
- Add tiny pasta in last 5 minutes of cooking time. Larger shapes will need a bit more time, but don’t overdo it! Nobody likes a limp noodle.
