Easy Minestrone Soup recipe by Pressure Cooking Today™ (2024)

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This light and healthy Easy Minestrone Soup recipe is a vegetable-packed light lunch or dinner with kidney beans, store-bought pesto sauce, and pasta.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This easy minestrone soup recipe is light and flavor-packed, thanks to store-bought pesto. It’s also quite satisfying, thanks to kidney beans, and full of vitamins and minerals from all the veggies.

We’ve been making this summery basil soup for years, and it’s delicious hot (or cold) the next day!

This is one of our most popular Pressure Cooker Soups for late summer and early fall, along with Creamy Instant Pot Tomato Soup with Basil and Parmesan and Instant Pot Garden Fresh Minestrone Soup.

Update: This is an old standby recipe for us, so we’ve updated the recipe with new tips and photos for you!

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INGREDIENTS YOU NEED

Here’s what you need to make this Easy Minestrone Soup recipe in your pressure cooker:

Olive oil. Use this to saute the aromatics and veggies in the pressure cooker.
Onion, carrots, and celery. This combo is a key flavor-builder for any delicious soup.
Garlic. You’ll need four whole cloves for this soup!
Tomatoes. Look for canned diced tomatoes.
Stock. You can use vegetable stock to keep this soup vegetarian or swap in chicken broth if you prefer.
Bay leaves. These add a subtle flavor as they simmer in the soup.
Pasta. We like tiny ditalini pasta because it’s spoon-able and cute!
Spinach. Baby or regular spinach will both work.
Beans. We use kidney beans to add some protein to the pesto soup.
Pesto. You can use your favorite store-bought or homemade pesto.

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How to Make Minestrone Soup in an Instant Pot

✅ This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.

Start by cooking the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in the oil in the pressure cooker pot using the saute feature.

Once the vegetables are softened, add the diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaves, and salt.

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Lock on the lid and cook on high pressure for five minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for five minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release.

When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid and remove the bay leaves from the soup. Add the cooked pasta, baby spinach, and rinsed beans. Add more salt and pepper to taste if you like, then switch to the Keep Warm setting to heat everything through.

When you’re ready to serve, stir in the pesto sauce.

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Important Tips for Making Easy Minestrone Soup

Slice the onion, carrots, and celery into equally sized, small pieces so they cook at the same rate and are easy to eat on your spoon.
You can use a different style of pasta if you like, but we recommend something short.
Cook the pasta just until al dente, because it will continue to cook in the hot soup.
You can use a different kind of beans, such as white beans or chickpeas instead of kidneys if you like.
Avoid measuring and adding the pesto sauce until just before you serve the soup. Otherwise, it may turn brown.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Our Minestrone Soup recipe

What’s the best pesto to use?

You can use any store-bought pesto you like, or make your own with fresh basil, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts. We like refrigerated pesto rather than jarred, as it’s fresher tasting and brighter green.

Can I add toppings to the basil soup?

Of course! If you’d like to add some crunch, top your soup bowls with croutons. For extra creaminess, add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream. A sprinkle of parmesan would be great as well!

How should I store leftovers?

Store leftover pesto soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. You can enjoy it chilled or reheat servings on the stove, in the microwave, or in the pressure cooker.

Can I freeze pesto soup with beans and the pasta already added?

Yes, we often freeze this soup. If you’re sensitive to texture, the pasta definitely is a little soft after it’s been frozen and reheated. In this particular pasta, I usually don’t worry that the leftovers aren’t as firm as I like.

MORE Instant Pot Soup Recipes

If you’re looking for a cozy dinner, try these popular Instant Pot recipes next:

Garden Fresh Minestrone Soup is a light and healthy Instant Pot soup that’s packed with vegetables.
Spicy Chicken Soup has a bit of a kick and is loaded with black beans and shredded cheese on top.
Vegetable Beef and Rice Soup is a hearty and satisfying stew full of chickpeas and beef in a flavorful tomato broth.

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Easy Minestrone Soup with Basil Pesto

Yield: 10 cups

Easy Minestrone Soup is a light and healthy dinner made with red kidney beans, mixed vegetables, and store-bought pesto sauce.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, diced
1 cup diced celery
2 cans (14.5 oz, each) diced tomatoes
5 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
2 cups digitali pasta, cooked
2 cups baby spinach
1 can (14.5 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons basil pesto, to taste

Instructions

Select Saute to preheat the pressure cooking pot. When hot, add the oil and distribute evenly to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Keep stirring and cook about 5 more minutes.
Add the tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaves, and salt. Lock the lid in place, select High Pressure and 5 minutes cook time.
When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release.
Remove the bay leaves and discard. Add the pasta, spinach and kidney beans. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Set pressure cooker to Keep Warm setting to hold the soup until ready to serve. Stir in the pesto just before serving.

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