This warm and cozy Parmesan Minestrone Soup is loaded with sautéed vegetables simmered in diced tomatoes and loaded with Parmesan cheese flavor. Serve it with a piece of crusty bread or on it’s own. This healthy soup delivers tons of filling, low calorie nutrients without sacrificing any flavor.
Parmesan Rind. Explained.
I really do love cooking for my family, but as a mom of three young boys, 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 parmesan minestrone 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 instant pot?
This parmesan minestrone soup is delicious in the instant pot or the slow cooker. Let’s start with directions for the instant pot.
- 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 along with other remaining ingredients except for the optional pasta.
- Set the instant pot to the pressure cooking setting for 20 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, grate or shave the cheese so that it’s ready to top each bowl of soup once it’s done cooking.
- 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.
Make Parmesan minestrone soup in the slow cooker
To make this parmesan minestrone soup in the slow cooker, you’ll sauté the onion, celery and carrots on the “sauté” setting for 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute. Add the tomato paste and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes. If your slow cooker doesn’t have a “sauté” setting, you’ll need to use a pan on the stovetop and transfer the vegetables and tomato paste mixture into the slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients except for the optional pasta.
Slow cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the packages. Serve each bowl of soup with 1/3 cup prepared pasta (optional) and about 1-2 tablespoons of grated or shaved Parmesan cheese.
Anything goes…into Parmesan 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 veggies 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 variations 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, peas or corn – If I’m using frozen vegetables I prefer to add them at the end of the cooking process. They only need to simmer in the soup for 5-10 minutes to defrost.
- 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 during the last few minutes of cook time. 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 or kielbasa 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 Parmesan Minestone Soup?
- olive oil
- 1 onion
- celery stalks
- carrots
- clove of garlic
- tomato paste
- Vegetable broth or chicken broth – My favorite vegetable broth is Better than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base.
- 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.
- Italian seasoning – I like to keep it simple by using an Italian seasoning rather than individual seasonings. Italian seasoning has all the important Italian flavors like basil, oregano, parsley and thyme in one seasoning to keep it easy!
- Can of diced tomatoes – When I make this recipe in the slow cooker or instant pot I like to substitute the can of diced tomatoes with 10 ounces whole cherry or grape tomatoes, halved.
- Parmesan cheese with rind – You’ll use the rind to flavor the soup and the cheese to add to each bowl as a topping.
- 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.
- Can of Garbanzo beans, red kidney beans, great northern beans or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed – Since I don’t use pasta in my soup since I eat gluten-free, I add an additional can of beans!
- Elbow pasta or small shell pasta – This is optional. If you’re preparing this soup gluten-free, leave the pasta out.
- Salt and pepper
Parmesan Minestrone Soup
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
- 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
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 8 ounce 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.
- 2-3 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. Drained and rinsed
- 2 cups cooked elbow pasta or small shell pasta Cooked al dente (slightly firm). This is optional. If you're preparing this soup gluten-free, leave the pasta out.
- Salt and black pepper To taste
Instructions
- Sauté the onion, celery and carrots in olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven 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.
- Add the broth, sugar, Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes, Parmesan rind, rosemary sprigs, and can of beans into the soup pan.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, grate or shave the cheese so that it’s ready to top each bowl of soup once it’s done cooking.
- Remove the Parmesan rind from the soup. Taste the soup and add salt and black pepper, as needed.
- Serve each bowl of soup with 1/3 cup prepared pasta (optional) and about 1-2 tablespoons of grated or shaved Parmesan cheese.
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