Quick Look at this Minestrone Soup with Ditalini Pasta
- Ready In: 45 minutes
- Serves: 10
- Main Ingredients: pancetta, fresh vegetables, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, cannellini beans, spinach, ditalini pasta, and the best pesto sauce!
- Dietary Info: Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free friendly
- One Pot: everything made in one dutch oven for easy clean-up.
- Perfect Texture: ditalini pasta cooked separately to prevent it from getting mushy.
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A Few Reasons We Keep Coming Back To This Soup
- Hearty without being heavy due to all those fresh vegetables and light pesto flavors!
- Flexible – easy to swap vegetables, beans, pasta, or broth with whatever you have on hand.
- Finish strong by serving with pesto, parmesan, and crusty bread to take it over the top!
- Make a large batch which is perfect for a crowd or lots of delicious leftovers.
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Ditalini Pasta – a small, cylinder pasta that fits that is the perfect size for this soup. Use a gluten-free ditalini or another small pasta size. Highly recommend cooking it separate from the soup to keep the best, al dente texture.
- Chicken Broth – option to use store-bought broth, homemade, or a vegetable broth.
- Pesto – use some of our homemade pesto sauce in the soup and add some on top for the most incredible depth of flavor!
- Parmesan Rind – an optional addition, but if you have one, add it! Amazing flavor and the rest of the parmesan wedge can be shredded to add on top.
How To Make Ditalini Minestrone Soup
Step 1 – Sauté the pancetta, onion, and garlic in melted butter.
Step 2 – Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes to soften for a few minutes.
Step 3 – Add all the beans, tomatoes, herbs, and seasonings.
Step 4 – Pour in the broth and bring it to a simmer.
Step 5 – Add the spinach, simmer to wilt, adjust any flavors, and serve!
Ditalini Pasta: Why We Cook It Separately
Nothing is nothing worse than a soup with soggy, mushy pasta. Ditalini pasta is small, which is perfect for soup, but it can soak up quite a bit of broth. Therefore, we have found it best to cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions. Then ladle the soup over the cooked pasta in a bowl to serve. Leftovers should also be stored separately to keep the perfect pasta texture.
Best Ways To Serve Minestrone Soup
We absolutely love enjoying this minestrone recipe with some buttered sourdough bread or easy grilled bread for dipping! They are perfect for soaking up all that brothy goodness. Of course, make sure you top the soup with the added fresh basil pesto and a very generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese!
Ditalini Minestrone Soup FAQs
You can, but I would not recommend it. The noodles will continue soaking up the broth even after cooking and they will get very soggy. Keeping them separate also helps with storing and reheating to keep the best texture.
Ditalini is our favorite because the small shape works really well with the vegetables and beans. Small shells, elbows or another small pasta can also work if that’s what you have.
Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store cooked ditalini noodles separately or cook when ready to serve.
Yes, the soup itself (without any noodles in it) would freeze really well. Let it cool, transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Cook the pasta when ready to serve.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 ounces pancetta, chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups carrots, diced
- 1 ½ cups celery, sliced
- 1 russet potato, diced
- 1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 4-5 cups chicken broth, sub vegetable broth
- 15 ounces cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon basil pesto
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- parmesan rind, optional (if you have one)*
- 1-2 handfuls fresh spinach
- kosher salt, to taste
- 4 cups ditalini pasta, cooked al dente**
Serving Suggestions:
- pesto
- parmesan cheese, shaved
- crusty bread
Instructions
- Sauté: Bring a large Dutch oven to medium-high heat (I used a 5.5qt). Add 1 tablespoon butter and let melt, swirl to coat the pan. Add 4 ounces pancetta and move around pan until the fat renders, approx. 2-5 minutes. Add 1 small yellow onion (diced) and 1 tablespoon garlic to pan, sauté for 2-3 minutes or until garlic becomes fragrant and onion softens a bit. Season lightly with a little salt and pepper.
- Combine + Simmer: Add carrots, celery and potatoes – move those around the pan and let cook 4-5 minutes. Add green beans, 28 ounces crushed tomatoes, 4-5 cups chicken broth, 15 ounces cannellini beans, ¼ cup white wine, 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 tablespoon basil pesto, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, and parmesan rind. Stir to combine. Cover and let simmer 15-20 minutes. Uncover and add in 1-2 handfuls fresh spinach, stir to combine as they wilt.
- Adjust: Taste and add any salt (I added ¼ teaspoon), pepper or other seasoning – as desired.
- Serve: Enjoy over some ditalini pasta (cooked al dente), extra basil pesto, shaved parmesan cheese and some easy grilled bread!
Notes
- *Parmesan Rind: don’t fret about this one, if you don’t have a parmesan rind laying around – if you have one – great! If not, recipe will still turn out, but you might need to add a bit more salt.
- **Ditalini Pasta: you can also use elbows, small shells or even a farfalle, if you want – I would just choose a smaller pasta. Also, we recommend cooking the pasta separate and serving the soup over the noodles. If you cook the pasta in the soup it will soak up a lot of the liquid.
- Salt: as written, I only added an additional 1/4 teaspoon salt, but if you omit the parmesan rind you will need to add a bit more and if you use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, you will also need to add a bit more – so just be sure to taste and adjust as you go!
- Pesto: We have a fresh basil pesto recipe on the site as well as a dairy free pesto recipe.
- Gluten-Free: use a gluten-free pasta and serve with gluten-free bread.
- Dairy-Free: use a plant-based butter, a dairy-free pesto and omit the parmesan cheese.
- Storage: store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days – store pasta and soup separate so pasta doesn’t get mushy and soak up all the liquid.
Suzan says
This is a wonderful soup for a cold day. Easily adaptable to any vegetable you have laying around. I did forget the spinach but it wasn’t missed! I also did not need to add any extra salt. Will definitely make again.
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Suzan! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review – I really appreciate it!