Minestrone Soup Recipe - Easy single serving soup recipe made with vegetables, bacon and pasta. The perfect recipe when you are craving a great bowl of hearty soup but don't want the leftovers.
Minestrone soup has always been one of my favorite soups to order when eating out at our favorite Italian restaurants. In fact, if you're a fan of Olive Garden restaurants in the United States, minestrone soup is one of their most popular menu items.
It's also one of my favorite soups to make at home.
Why This Recipe Works
Minestrone soup, the Italian soup made of mixed vegetables and beans is also a soup that can be made with any number of your favorite vegetables and ingredients.
It's kind of like a "clean your pantry out" soup and the recipe itself is very flexible.
In addition to being a flexible recipe in terms of ingredients, minestrone is an easy soup to make. It's also hearty enough to be a meal in itself.
You really can't mess up a good minestrone soup. I use canned beans and canned tomatoes along with frozen vegetables to keep it simple. Feel free to use same amounts of fresh vegetables and fresh chopped tomatoes instead.
RELATED: The Best Soup Recipes For One
What You'll Need
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- bacon
- chopped onions
- garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- canned beans
- diced tomatoes
- mixed vegetables
- chicken broth
- salt & pepper
- small shaped pasta
Instructions
- Begin by cooking the chopped bacon in a soup pot. After the bacon has crisped, remove the pieces from the pot and set them on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pot and sauté until tender.
- Add beans, mixed vegetables, tomatoes, the cooked bacon, chicken broth and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
- Finally, add the pasta which will cook while the soup continues to heat. I used Conchiglie pasta and they look like small seashells.
Expert Tips
- This minestrone soup recipe is very flexible. I most often use chicken broth because that is what I always keep in my pantry, feel free to use beef or vegetable broth instead.
- Cook the pasta until it is al dente (meaning it has a little bite to it) because it will continue cooking after you remove it from the stove.
- If you aren't eating the soup right away, cook the pasta separately and add it to the minestrone when you are ready to eat it. Otherwise, the pasta will get mushy.
- Remember to customize your soup with ingredients you already have. From small shaped pastas to beans and vegetables, any will work well here.
- Consider adding a protein to your soup. Make a chicken minestrone using leftover chicken or beef minestrone made with cooked ground beef.
- Use rice instead of pasta. If you choose to use rice, I recommend cooking it separately to ensure it is properly cooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you absolutely can! One of the best things about Italian minestrone soup is that it's a clean-out-your-fridge kind of soup. Use what you have on hand or what's in season. A few favorites include:
potatoes
zucchini
spinach
green beans
Yes, skip the bacon and use a good vegetarian broth instead of the chicken broth.
Serving Suggestions
You might like to consider serving any of these wonderful single serving side dishes with a big bowl of minestrone soup:
What To Do With Leftover Ingredients
If you have any leftover ingredients from this minestrone soup recipe, you might like to use them in any of these single serving recipes:
- Bacon: Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf, Twice Baked Potato, Stuffed Fish, Cobb Salad
- Canned beans: Vegetable Enchiladas, Chili Baked Potato, Turkey Chili
- Canned diced tomatoes: Goulash, Chicken Chili, Jambalaya, Shrimp Creole, Tomato Sauce
- Mixed vegetables: Fried Rice, Chicken Pot Pie
- Pasta: Italian Pasta Salad, Macaroni and Cheese, Crawfish Pasta, Mediterranean Pasta and Shrimp
- Chicken broth: Skillet Chicken with Artichokes, Slow Cooker Chicken Piccata, Rice Pilaf
RELATED: Single Serving Comfort Food Recipes
Other Single Serving Soup Recipes
- Thai Shrimp Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Curried Carrot Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Potato Soup
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If you’ve tried this minestrone soup or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
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Ingredients
- 2 strips bacon
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 cup canned red beans , rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
- 3/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup small shaped pasta
Instructions
- Slice the bacon into 1/4-inch pieces and cook in a medium-sized pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally until bacon is crisp. Remove bacon from pot and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add the chopped onions to the pot and cook 2-3 minutes until translucent.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Stir in the Worcestershire Sauce, the red beans, the diced tomatoes and the mixed vegetables. Stir for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth and stir in the cooked bacon.
- Season with salt and pepper and bring to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the pasta and cook on low heat until pasta is al dente, about 4 minutes.
Pour into a bowl and serve.
Notes
- This minestrone soup recipe is very flexible. I most often use chicken broth because that is what I always keep in my pantry, feel free to use beef or vegetable broth instead.
- Cook the pasta until it is al dente (meaning it has a little bite to it) because it will continue cooking after you remove it from the stove.
- If you aren't eating the soup right away, cook the pasta separately and add it to the minestrone when you are ready to eat it. Otherwise, the pasta will get mushy.
- Remember to customize your soup with ingredients you already have. From small shaped pastas to beans and vegetables, any will work well here.
- Consider adding a protein to your soup. Make a chicken minestrone using leftover chicken or beef minestrone made with cooked ground beef.
- Use rice instead of pasta. If you choose to use rice, I recommend cooking it separately to ensure it is properly cooked.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I doubled the recipe so we will have a leftover for a couple of lunches. Next time I’ll decrease the pasta. I added a couple shakes of italian seasoning. Because hot soup is too hot for use to eat when it’s first cooked, I added 2 ice cubes to cool it down a bit. Topped it with fresh grated parm cheese. Very good. So glad I found this site. I use it often.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for your feedback.
Thank you very much for this site! It’s lockdown gold for a single person who also doesn’t really know how to cook. 😉
We’re so glad you are enjoying the recipes, Lauren!
For medical reasons I do not eat beef or pork, how about recipes with out bacon?
Hi Marjorie,
We have many meatless recipes here. You might be interested in browsing through our “meatless meals” article – https://onedishkitchen.com/single-serving-meatless-recipes/. Also feel free to leave out the bacon in this minestrone recipe – you won’t even miss it.
Joanie
This recipe looks awesome!
BUT, I am a little bummed because, yes its cut down to size for one… but I can half or 1/4 any recipe. The problem is, now what do I do with all the leftover 1/2 can of beans, 1/2 can of tomatoes, the rest of the bag of frozen veggies? Either i have to get super creative to use them up, or (more commonly) they spoil before I can. That is what is so frustrating about cooking for one.
Hi Ana, I always suggest saving the rest of the ingredients not used in a recipe to use in different recipes. For instance, the remainder of the beans can be used in a Chili Cheese Baked Potato ( https://onedishkitchen.com/chili-cheese-baked-potato/ ) or in a Red Beans and Rice For One (https://onedishkitchen.com/slow-cooker-red-beans-and-rice-for-one/). Keep the remainder of the frozen vegetables in the freezer to use again when you need it. Canned diced tomatoes can be frozen once the can has been opened or use the remainder in other recipes like chicken chili (https://onedishkitchen.com/chicken-chili-for-one/) or Pasta with Vodka Sauce (https://onedishkitchen.com/pasta-with-vodka-sauce-for-one/). You can search our site for the ingredient and a list of recipes made with that ingredient will show up for you. I hate to waste food and don’t recommend it. Hope these suggestions help.
I just made this minestrone as it’s 24 degrees outside! My husband opted for a cheeseburger (he’s not really a soup person – his loss!! LOL!) So I found this because I am actually always looking for recipes we can both eat that are healthy but sometimes, he ends up eating something else and I still want to eat things he may not be crazy about. Anyway, made this tonight – it was delicious! I omitted the bacon and the Worcestershire sauce, sprinkled some cheese on it and it was so warming on this cold night! I used really tiny shells (soup shells) and it really made a good amount of soup! I ate it all!!
Annamaria, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for letting me know.