Instant Pot White Minestrone Soup

White Minestrone Soup

If you’ve had minestrone soup, I don’t need to tell you it’s the Italian version of tomato-based vegetable soup with pasta peppered throughout. But how about we remove the tomato element and give a creamy dairy finish at the end? The end result is White Minestrone and it is essentially a vegetarian-style chicken & dumplings. It has quickly become one of my new all-time favorite soups and I dare you to have just one bowl. Goes perfectly with a cheesy Parmesan crisp or warm, crusty bread for dunking!

Watch The Video!

Instant Pot White Minestrone Soup

Pre-Pressure Cooking

Butter added to Instant Pot
Begin by adding some butter to the Instant Pot.
Melted butter in pot
Heat it up until it melts…
Adding mirepoix to pot
…and then add a mirepoix (that’s a trifecta of onion, celery and carrot).
Sautéing mirepoix
Sauté the mirepoix for a few minutes. These veggies are going to give the soup base a rich flavor and make it quite colorful.
Adding garlic to pot
Then, add some garlic to join this party!
Adding white wine to pot
Time to soupify it. Add a dry white wine. This provides a really nice depth of flavor.
Adding broth to pot
Follow that with a broth of your choice (if not using wine, just sub more broth in its place).
Adding seasonings to pot
Adding some seasoned salt (or Tony Chachere’s), Italian seasoning, thyme, and pepper will give the perfect seasoning.
Adding beans to pot
Then, follow with some drained and rinsed beans…
Adding green beans to pot
…frozen cut green beans.
Adding ditalini to pot
Regardless of color, it’s not any rendition of minestrone unless there’s pasta! Add some of a small variety to the pot (I use ditalini).
Stirring pot
Give it all a good stir.
Topping pot with spinach
We’ll top it with some spinach (it may feel like it comes to the brim, which is fine) and then hit a few buttons to get this soup pressure cooked.

Post-Pressure Cooking

Soup after pressure cooking
When done, you’ll notice the spinach will have wilted down significantly.
Stirring soup
Give it a good stir and look at all the goodies in the soup. Now the soup looks great as is, but it’s not quite done. It’s time to put on the finishing dairy touches to make this a white minestrone.
Adding herb cheese to soup
Add some herb cheese
Adding cream to soup
…heavy cream…
Adding Parmesan to soup
….and grated Parmesan.
Stirring until dairy is combined with the soup
Stir until the soup becomes a brilliant white color and the herb cheese has melded into it.
Ladle of soup
Just look at how stunning this soup is! Let’s see if it’s as good as it looks. Ladle some out…
Soup in bowl with cheese crisp next to it
…place it in a bowl. Of course, feel free to garnish with a Parmesan crisp or some warm, crusty bread.

The Taste Test

Man holding bowl of soup
Look at this beautiful bowl of culinary color! Try to contain yourself so you can give it a taste.
Man trying soup
Hmmmm. Mmmmm. MMMMMMMMMM!
Man kissing fingers
And chef’s kiss, my friends. White Minestone is truly one of the the greatest soups you’ll ever experience and I am willing to wager it will earn a place in your roster.
Yield: 6

Instant Pot White Minestrone Soup

Instant Pot White Minestrone Soup

If you've had minestrone soup, I don't need to tell you it's the Italian version of tomato-based vegetable soup with pasta peppered throughout. But how about we remove the tomato element and give a creamy dairy finish at the end? The end result is White Minestrone and it is essentially a vegetarian-style chicken & dumplings. It has quickly become one of my new all-time favorite soups and I dare you to have just one bowl. Goes perfectly with a cheesy Parmesan crisp or warm, crusty bread for dunking!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter
  • 2 large shallots, diced
  • 2 large carrots, peeled, sliced into 1/4-inch disks and then into quarters
  • 3 ribs celery, sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (like a sauvignon blanc, optional)
  • 5 1/2 cups chicken or garlic broth (use 6 cups if not using the sherry)
  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 teaspoons seasoned salt or Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 10 ounces frozen green beans
  • 1 cup ditalini, pipette or mini shell pasta
  • 5-8 ounces baby spinach
  • 1 (5.2-ounce) package Boursin or any herb cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

Instructions

  1. Place the butter in the Instant Pot and hit Sauté and Adjust to the More or High setting. Once the butter's melted, add the shallot, carrots and celery (the french call this trifecta of veggies a "mirepoix"). Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until slightly softened. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
  2. Add the white wine (if using), broth, beans, seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, thyme, pepper, frozen green beans and pasta. Stir well. 
  3. Top with the spinach but do not stir - just lay the spinach on top of the broth and the veggies. It will seems like a lot's going on in the pot and close to the brim but it will cook down to nothing.
  4. Secure the lid and move the valve to the sealing position. Hit Cancel followed by Manual or Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release when done.
  5. Add the herb cheese, cream and Parmesan and stir until combined and the cheeses are fully melded into the soup, about 1-2 minutes.
  6. Ladle into bowls and top with more Parmesan, if desired.

Jeffrey's Tips

Want this minestrone meaty? Add 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of uncased Italian sausage of your choice in Step 1 when adding the garlic and sauté until lightly browned and crumbled.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pam

    I saw this recipe yesterday, and couldn’t wait to make it! Early this morning I headed out to pick up the few ingredients I was missing. As soon as it was done, I had to try a small bowl – you know, just to check on the seasonings…OMG!!! IT’S THE ABSOLUTE BEST SOUP I HAVE EVER TASTED! I have changed our dinner plans from roasted chicken and home fries to this minestrone soup – with a side of minestrone soup!!! Yum yum!

  2. Doug

    I made this soup for dinner last night. It’s definitely a keeper recipe! I’m on a sodium restricted diet and this was easy to adjust the sodium content. I also used your copycat Boursin cheese recipe. I made a batch of cheese for Christmas and no one even knew the difference! It’s so much cheaper to make yourself.

  3. Robyn

    I haven’t actually made this yet, but did add it to my next meal plan. It sounds delicious!

    I mostly just want to thank you for creating a nightshade-free recipe. (At least if you leave out the Creole seasoning.) It’s so rare to be able to make a recipe nearly as written.

  4. Sharon

    This was fabulous! This and Sausage and Shells (which I make with spicy turkey sausage) are my hubby’s 2 faves.

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