Olive garden minestrone soup
This vegan minestrone soup is comforting, easy and delicious. Olive garden minestrone soup copy cat recipe. Dairy free and can be made gluten free. Made with vegetables, kidney beans, tomatoes, herbs and pasta shells.
Since 2016, Olive Garden has made their minestrone soup vegan. You don’t have to go out to eat to get that delicious soup, you can make it at home!
We’re not messing around here, folks. This classic vegan minestrone soup will knock your socks off.
There are so many things to love about a good bowl of soup: how easy it is to make, how you can use up all the veggies in your fridge that are about to go bad, how warm and comforting it is.
This soup is
- dairy free
- can be made gluten free with gf noodles
- high in fiber
- vegan
- healthy
- delicious
- one pot
Ingredients
- Fire roasted tomatoes – These will bring your broth to a whole other level. If you can’t find these, regular tomatoes will work fine as well.
- Tomato paste – This helps thicken up the broth a bit and add more umami flavor.
- Garlic & onions
- Herbs – I use an Italian seasoning to make this easier, along with dried basil.
- Vegetable bouillon – This is so much cheaper to buy that vegetable broth, plus it will last longer.
- Vegetables – I used a mix of carrots, celery, zucchini, kale and green beans.
- Kidney beans & great northern beans
- Pasta shells
- Nutritional yeast – This is optional but it will take the place of using parmesan in this recipe. This adds a nice depth of flavor to the broth.
How to make vegan minestrone soup
- Chop – Cooking this recipe will go a lot smoother if you chop everything first. Chop up the onions, garlic and vegetables.
- Cook onions – Heat up a large soup pan and add the oil. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, vegetables and tomato paste and saute.
- Simmer– Add the stock, tomatoes and vegetable bouillon and herbs and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down to a simmer and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the beans and pasta shells and cook for 10 minutes.
- Serve – Add the kale once you have 2 minutes left to simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add some pepper and serve.
Storing & reheating
- To store – This soup will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days. This tastes amazing as left overs so make a big batch and eat it for lunch for the week.
- To reheate – Reheate this on the stove on medium heat. Add more liquid if needed.
- To freeze – This soup freezes very well. It will last in the freezer for about 3 months.
- To make ahead – Chop up the vegetables, garlic and onions and store in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
Recipe tips
If you can find some vegan parmesan to use for this, do it! My favorite brand is Violife. Their parmesan tastes so damn good in this. Follow your heart also has a good vegan parmesan cheese.
- Make sure to not put your kale or spinach in until toward the end. We don’t want them to get over cooked and slimy.
- If you can’t find fresh basil for this, dried basil works great as well. Just put it in when you put the other dried herbs in.
- This soup can be frozen if you want to make a big batch. Just thaw it out the day before.
- This minestrone soup tastes amazing the next day as leftovers. This gives all the flavors a chance to mingle.
- If you love soups, check out my creamy curry butternut squash soup after this one.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make this gluten free?
Absolutely! Just make sure to use a gluten free pasta and to check your canned tomatoes and tomato paste that they’re gluten free. You can also just leave the pasta out.
Can I make this oil free?
Yes! Just saute with vegetable broth or water. The soup won’t be as rich, but it will still taste delicious.
Can I use different vegetables?
Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Green cabbage, peas and potatoes and broccoli would also taste good.
Is Olive Garden minestrone soup vegan?
Yes! Since 2016 Olive Garden has made their soup without any animal stock or dairy. But you don’t need to wait to go to Olive Garden to eat it, make it fresh at home!
Try these vegan recipes next:
- Loaded Jackfruit Nachos
- White bean and kale winter soup
- Dairy free green bean casserole
- Vegan chicken noodle soup
- Vegan beef stew
- Panera bread black bean soup
Vegan minestrone soup (Olive Garden copycat)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 2 celery stalks (diced)
- 2 medium carrots (diced)
- 1 medium zucchini (cut in half and scoop seeds out with spoon. Roughly chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 cups water
- 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon paste (or 1.5 veggie bouillon cubes)
- 28 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen halved green beans
- ½ cup pasta shells
- 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 16 ounce can of kidney beans or great northern beans ( drained and rinsed)
- 16 ounce can of great northern beans (drained and rinsed)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup kale (roughly chopped)
- ½ cup vegan parmesan (optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions start to lightly brown and caramelize2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion
- Add the carrot, zucchini, celery and tomato paste. Sauté for 5 minutes.2 celery stalks, 2 medium carrots, 1 medium zucchini, 1 tbsp tomato paste
- Add the can of diced tomatoes, bouillon paste, green beans, Italian seasoning, dried basil and water. Bring to a boil then turn heat to a simmer – about medium low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon dried basil, 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon paste, 28 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes, 1 cup frozen halved green beans, 6 cups water
- Add dried pasta, garlic, kidney beans, great northern beans and (optional) nutritional yeast and simmer for 10 minutes. 2 minutes before you're done simmering, add the chopped kale.½ cup pasta shells, 4 cloves of garlic, 16 ounce can of kidney beans or great northern beans, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 cup kale, 16 ounce can of great northern beans
- Turn heat off. Let the soup sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Drizzle another tablespoon of oil on top and stir. Season with black pepper and extra salt if needed. Top with vegan parmesan if you have some on hand.½ cup vegan parmesan, ½ tsp black pepper
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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