Cheesy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Eating healthier in the New Year? Look no further. This warm and cozy, vegetarian Cheesy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is loaded with sautéed vegetables simmered in diced tomatoes and extra Parmesan cheese flavor. Serve it with a piece of crusty bread or on it’s own. This soup delivers tons of filling, low calorie nutrients without sacrificing flavor.

Parmesan Rind. Explained.

Life is busy. I really do love cooking for my family, but my time is limited so when I see an ingredient I don’t use regularly, I usually try the recipe and skip the mystery ingredient or move on to another recipe. I’ve been skipping the “Parmesan rind” in my minestrone soup for years. It’s not something I usually have on hand and my minestrone was still pretty good without it. BIG mistake.

For cheese lovers like myself, the rind is worth getting acquainted with. There is a ton of cheese flavor packed in the protective outer layer of a Parmesan cheese wheel (which develops as it ages). If you add that rind to sauces or soups, it adds BIG, cheesy flavor that truly takes the dish to the next level.

You can find a slice of Parmesan cheese with the rind at the cheese counter in the deli section of your grocery store. You’ll use the rind for the preparation of the soup and the cheese portion to top each bowl of soup for extra cheesy flavor. For this soup, I’d suggest using a piece of Parmesan cheese with a rind that’s about 3 inches or larger. I cut the rind off and chop it into a few smaller pieces before dropping it into the soup. The rind will infuse cheesy flavor into the broth, and the cheese portion is grated or shaved and placed on top of each bowl of soup.

Prefer the slow cooker?

Cheesy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup can be prepared in the slow cooker instead of the pressure cooker. If your slow cooker doesn’t have a sauté setting, you’ll need to prepare the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and tomato paste in a pan on the stovetop. Once they’re sautéed, simply drop them into the slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Anything goes…into Cheesy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

This soup is one of my favorites because swapping out ingredients for what’s on hand is easy. The broth is so delicious that almost anything goes. I love to make this soup at the end of the week when I have vegetables leftover from other recipes that I don’t want to go to waste. I’ve included my favorite ingredients in this recipe, but below are some suggestions for substitutions or add ons. If you have these on hand, throw them in. Anything goes when it comes to Minestrone.

• Beans I love garbanzo beans (chickpeas) but red kidney beans, great northern beans or cannellini beans are all great in this soup.
• Frozen green beans or peas If I’m using frozen vegetables I prefer to add them at the end of the cooking process, after the vent has been released and the lid has been removed. I set the instant pot to warm and pop the veggies into the pot for 5-10 minutes to defrost and warm up using the hot broth. Adding them during the pressure cooking portion of the process will make them soggy.
• Chopped potatoes are great in this soup instead of pasta. I’d recommend adding them along with the broth.
• Summer squash can be used in place of or in addition to the zucchini.
• Mushrooms are not an ingredient traditionally used in minestrone soup, but if you have them, go for it! I’ve used drained canned mushrooms which I added along with the broth and fresh mushrooms which I sautéed along with the onions, celery and carrots.
• Fresh baby spinach is great in this recipe. To add spinach, simply throw about two cups into the soup after the pressure cooking portion of the process is complete and the soup is on the warming setting. Mix it into the soup and allow the hot broth to cook the spinach just enough without overheating it. Be careful not to overcook it as it will turn to soggy mush. Yuck.
• Italian sausage is a great option if you’d like to add a little extra protein. Simply sauté it along with the onion, carrots and celery.

What’s in Cheesy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup?

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth. My favorite vegetable broth is Better than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base.
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar. This is optional. Sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes so I like to add a small amount to my soup for a more balanced taste, but if you’d prefer to skip it, the soup is great either way.
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. I like to keep it simple by using an Italian seasoning rather than individual seasonings.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 3 inch (or larger) piece of Parmesan cheese with the rind. You’ll use the rind to flavor the soup and the cheese to add to each bowl as a topping.
• 2 rosemary sprigs. This optional ingredient isn’t traditional in minestrone soup but I really love the aroma it adds. Be sure to remove the stems after the soup has cooked before serving.
• 15 oz can of Garbanzo beans, red kidney beans, great northern beans or cannellini beans.
• 2 cups cooked elbow or small shell pasta (optional). If you’re preparing this soup gluten-free, leave the pasta out.

Directions

• Set the instant pot to the saute setting and add the oil. Sauté the onion, celery and carrots for 5-7 minutes or until softened.
• Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
• Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Continue to cook on the sauté setting for 2-3 minutes while stirring.
• Cut the rind off of the slice of Parmesan and set the cheese portion aside. Cut the rind into 2-3 smaller pieces (I find this tactic maximizes the cheesy flavor as it infuses into the broth) and add it to the soup. Grate or shave the cheese so that it’s ready to top each bowl of soup once it’s done cooking.
• Add all remaining ingredients to the instant pot except for the optional pasta.
• Set the instant pot to the pressure cooking setting for 20 minutes.
• Once the pressure cooking process is complete, vent using the quick release on the instant pot. Remove the lid and remove the stems from the rosemary and any large pieces of Parmesan rind that are left.
• Serve each bowl of soup with 1/3 cup prepared pasta (optional) and about 1-2 tablespoons of grated or shaved Parmesan cheese.

Cheesy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

This warm and cozy Cheesy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is loaded with sautéed vegetables simmered in diced tomatoes and extra parmesan flavor.

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Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

  

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 3-4 celery stalks chopped
• 1 cup carrots chopped
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• ⅓ cup tomato paste
• 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth My favorite vegetable broth is Better than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base.
• ½ tablespoon sugar This is optional. Sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes so I like to add a small amount to my soup for a more balanced taste but if you'd prefer to skip it, the soup is great either way.
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning I like to keep it simple by using an Italian seasoning rather than individual seasonings.
• ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 3 inch or larger piece of Parmesan cheese with the rind You'll use the rind to flavor the soup and the cheese to add to each bowl as a topping.
• 2 rosemary sprigs This optional ingredient isn't traditional in minestrone soup but I really love the aroma it adds. Be sure to remove the stems after the soup has cooked before serving.
• 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, red kidney beans, great northern beans or cannellini beans.
• 2 cups cooked elbow or small shell pasta This is optional. If you're preparing this soup gluten-free, leave the pasta out.

Instructions

 

• Set the instant pot to the sauté setting and add the oil. Sauté the onion, celery and carrots for 5-7 minutes or until softened.
• Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
• Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Continue to cook on the sauté setting for 2-3 minutes while stirring.
• Cut the rind off of the slice of Parmesan and set the cheese portion aside. Cut the rind into 2-3 smaller pieces (I find this tactic maximizes the cheesy flavor as it infuses into the broth) and add it to the soup. Grate or shave the cheese so that it's ready to top each bowl of soup once it's done cooking.
• Add all remaining ingredients to the instant pot except for the optional pasta.
• Set the instant pot to the pressure cooking setting for 20 minutes.
• Once the pressure cooking process is complete, vent the instant pot using the quick release. Remove the lid and remove the stems from the rosemary and any large pieces of Parmesan rind that are left.
• Serve each bowl of soup with 1/3 cup cooked pasta (optional) about 1-2 tablespoons of grated or shaved Parmesan cheese.

Keyword cheesy instant pot minestrone soup, cheesy minestore soup, instant pot minestrone soup

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