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This is my delicious and easy-to-follow recipe for Autumn Minestrone Soup, ready in about 40 minutes. It’s loaded with seasonal vegetables and has a wonderful depth of flavor. This soup freezes well, so make a big batch and freeze some for later.

A closeup showing the carrots, squash and beans in the soup

Get ready to warm up and savor the flavors of the fall season! A hearty vegetable soup is a great way to use seasonal veggies and is my favorite comfort food. This is one of the tastiest fall soups. To make it a complete meal, just add crusty bread.

This Autumn Minestrone soup recipe is pretty close to traditional minestrone, with typical ingredients like pancetta, cannellini beans (traditional Italian white beans), onion, celery, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini/courgette, and fresh rosemary. I’ve added a couple of seasonal additions like butternut squash and sweet potatoes. You can even add diced pumpkin.


Autumn minestrone in a grey bowl topped with grated Parmesan cheese

Minestrone Secret Flavor Ingredient

Many Italian soups and sauces adopt this trick: adding a Parmesan rind. Whenever you use up a wedge of Parmesan cheese, wrap up the rind and throw it in the freezer for future use.

Pasta and Beans

To make this soup filling, add cannellini beans along with small pasta. I like small macaroni or ditalini pasta, but you can use any small variety. For the beans, you can use any white beans you like.


A spoonful of vegetables and pasta

Minestrone Soup Ingredients

  • Pancetta – This unsmoked, cured pork belly adds a wonderful savory flavor, a little saltiness and sweetness
  • Yellow onion – Adds a natural sweetness that balances the other flavors in the soup as well as a savory depth that can enhance the overall taste.
  • Carrots – Bring a touch of natural sweetness and color.
  • Celery – Mild and slightly herby, celery adds a subtle vegetal (plant) flavor that can add flavor complexity.
  • Garlic – Adds a sweet, slightly garlic flavor that blends nicely with the vegetables.
  • Rosemary – With subtle notes of lemon, pepper and sage, this hearty herb adds a distinctive, powerful, and complex flavor.
  • Zucchini/courgette – Adds bright color, a slightly sweet and hearty vegetable.
  • Butternut squash – Along with adding vibrance, this popular fall vegetable adds sweetness and a little nutty flavor.
  • Sweet potato – Tender and sweet, this creamy potato also adds great texture.
  • Passata – A puree of fresh tomatoes that is crushed. It adds a rich, tomato flavor.
  • Beef broth – Provides a deep, meaty flavor that complements the tomato.
  • Parmesan rind – Slowly melts into the soup and adds a little, nutty, savory and slightly salty umami.
  • Cannelini beans – Traditionally added to soups for their creamy texture.
  • Pasta – Makes the soup filling with a little chew when prepared al dente and can also thicken.

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

An important flavor component to this soup is pancetta (unsmoked Italian pork belly). Just like when I make my Milanese Minestrone (pictured below) it is cooked with the vegetables. If you want to make this a vegetarian soup, omit the pancetta and swap the beef stock for vegetable stock. For the Parmesan rind, you can use nutritional yeast instead.

Viewed from overhead, a bowl of Milanese minestrone soup with bread

Minestrone Soup Variations

Different regions of Italy use different ingredients for their minestrone. Just as I mentioned earlier in Milanese Minestrone from Lombardy, they add rice and no tomato. Tuscan minestrone uses chard, cabbage, and pumpkin, while Liguria adds basil, green beans, and beans.

Minestrone Soup Vegetables

Because of the versatility of this soup, I like to mix up the ingredients according to the season. In the autumn/fall, I like delicata squash, butternut squash, or pumpkin. In spring, you could add peas and asparagus. To make a winter minestrone, add Brussels sprouts, parsnips, or leeks.

Spicy Minestrone

If you’re feeling under the weather, I sometimes add red chili flakes to make the sauce a little spicy if my nose is stuffy. Chicken soup is also perfect when you’re not feeling well.


Hearty pasta in vegetable minestrone soup with a crusty loaf of bread

Slow Cooker Minestrone

You can prepare the soup according to the recipe, add it all to a slow cooker and then let it cook until you’re ready to eat it. This is a great make-ahead idea.

If you’ve tried this Autumn Minestrone Soup or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

Yield: 4

Autumn Minestrone Soup

The soup viewed from overhead with a spoon and a delicata squash

A hearty and comforting soup made with zucchini/courgette, butternut squash, sweet potato and carrot along with beans and pasta in a tomato and beef broth.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 ounces (85 grams) pancetta, diced
  • 1 cup (128 grams) yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 ½ cups (212 grams) carrots, diced
  • ½ cup (60 grams) 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated or finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ cups (140 grams) zucchini/courgette, diced
  • ½ cup (40 grams) butternut squash, diced
  • 1 cup ( 80 grams) sweet potatoes, diced
  • 15 ounces (425 grams) passata or crushed tomatoes
  • 3 ½ cups (826 ml) beef stock, or vegetable stock if you prefer
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Parmesan cheese rind
  • Salt to taste, if needed
  • 15 ounces (425 grams) cannellini beans
  • ½ cup (100 grams) small pasta, cooked

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and onions, cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and rosemary. Stir and cook for 1 minute, don't allow the garlic to brown.
  2. Add the zucchini, squash, potatoes and passata.
  3. Add the beef stock, pepper and Parmesan rind. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes slightly covered, or until the potatoes are tender.
  4. Taste for seasoning, add salt if needed (the rind will also add salt). Remove the Parmesan rind, stir in the beans and pasta.
  5. Serve hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 333Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 11mgSodium 444mgCarbohydrates 41gFiber 9gSugar 8gProtein 15g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.

© Janette
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Soup