Whenever I think of comfort food, soups are at the top of the list, and our Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is one of our favorites.
We love the versatility of minestrone and the fact that we can use up whatever vegetables or leftover meat we have on hand.
For this Minestrone recipe, I used some of the leftover Easter ham, and man alive, it was way past yummy! Read on.
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup with Ham
Minestrone is an Italian vegetable soup made with cannellini beans, kidney beans, pasta, carrots, celery, and tomatoes.
At times it is made with pancetta. I like my minestrone with meat, but I didn’t have any pancetta, so I used some of the leftover Easter ham we had in the fridge, and it was an excellent choice.
Keep in mind salt has a lot of sodium, so take it easy on adding additional salt to this recipe.
Rule of thumb, you can add salt, but you can’t take it out.
Add a little at a time until you get the right amount of saltiness suited for your taste.
Also, if you prefer not to add meat, by all means, don’t add it.
While I had some of the ingredients, I didn’t have all of them, so I used what I had on hand.
I didn’t have carrots, but I had two ears of corn on the cob.
I also didn’t have green beans, but I had a can of kidney beans and a can of cannellini beans.
I also didn’t have fresh basil, so I used a variety of dried herbs like oregano, thyme, bay leaves, rubbed sage, and a tablespoon of herbs de Provence and it worked just fine.
I also used three cups of fresh spinach and two stalks of celery, including the celery leaves.
Two cups of precooked elbow macaroni worked out just fine, but if you don’t have elbow pasta, use whatever pasta you have on hand.
In the past, I have used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. If that is all you have, then use it and forget about it!
What You Will Need To Make Our Minestrone Soup:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Quality extra virgin olive oil is underrated, and since I love to season this soup with an extra loving spoonful when serving it, it’s a good idea to have good olive oil on hand.
Onions, Garlic & Celery. These three ingredients are the flavor base of this wonder Italian soup; when you’re sautéing the onions, make sure you keep them moving around until they are translucent, then add the celery and garlic.
Zucchini, Corn & Potatoes. Here’s where things get hardy and fulfilling. Adding zucchini, corn, and potatoes give this soup heartiness and much-needed density.
Spinach & Celery Leaves. Both of these ingredients provide this soup with a bit of green color, which is a great nutritionally dense addition to the rest of the ingredients.
Pasta. Traditional minestrone uses Ditalini pasta, but I used elbow-shaped pasta, and everything worked out just fine.
Beef, Vegetable, or Chicken Stock. Although I used beef stock in this recipe, feel free to use vegetable or chicken stock.
Tomatoes. When it comes to using tomatoes in this recipe, feel free to use stewed, crushed, or a can of whole tomatoes and crush them with your hand or chop them with a chef’s knife. For this recipe. I used two cans of diced tomatoes and a can of crushed tomatoes.
Seasoning. Here’s where the magic happens. Traditionally, since this is an Italian dish, it uses its fair share of oregano, basil, thyme, and sage. Garlic is also used, and I added herbs de Provence and chopped ramps to put my take on this classic recipe.
You Will Love Our Instant Pot Minestrone Soup With Ham Because It’s:
Easy
Hearty
Flavorful
Comforting
Ready In Under 45 Minutes
Ingredients for Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
6-8 Servings
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin oil olive
- 1 large sweet or yellow onion chopped
- 4 large cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 stalks of celery thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup celery leaves torn apart
- 2 medium russet potatoes cut into half-inch or one-inch cubes
- 1 medium zucchini cut into half-inch or one-inch cubes
- 1 ear of sweet corn with the kernels removed
- 1 15-ounce can of kidney beans with the liquid included
- 1 15-ounce can of cannellini beans, drained
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups cooked pasta macaroni
- 1 cup of leftover ham (optional)
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 single 14.5 ounces can of diced tomatoes
- 1 single 28 ounces can of crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups spinach chopped
- 2 tablespoon pinenuts for serving (optional for topping)
- Optional: Parmesan cheese for topping
Directions:
- Following the package instructions, prepare the elbow macaroni or whatever variety of pasta you are using for the recipe after the pasta is finished cooking drain off the water, place it back into the pot and toss it with extra virgin olive oil then set aside for later.
- Pour a cup of water into the Instant Pot, place a steamer basket with the potatoes into the Instant Pot, and lock the lid into place, steam on high pressure for three minutes. Vent the Instant Pot and remove the steamer basket the potatoes should be fork-tender. Set aside. Pour the water out of the Instant Pot.
- Select the Sauté setting on the Instant Pot and add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. *Note keep the Instant Pot on the Sauté setting throughout the rest of the recipe.
- Add the chopped ham and cook until the meat is browned when the oil is hot. Use a slotted spoon, remove the ham, place it into a bowl, and set it aside.
- Add onions and zucchini to the Instant with the ham dripping and saute for five minutes, often stirring, until the onions are soft. Add the celery and garlic and saute for five more minutes.
- Add the chicken or vegetable stock, remaining extra virgin olive oil, sweet corn kernels, kidney beans, cannellini beans, dried oregano, thyme, basil, herbs to Provence, sage, bay leaves, crushed and diced tomatoes. Stir to mix the ingredients and continue to cook until the mixture begins to boil. Add the chopped spinach and celery leaves. Turn off the heat and place the lid over the Instant Pot without locking it into place. Allow the spinach and celery leaves to wilt for five minutes.
- Remove the lid, add the cooked pasta, potatoes, zucchini, and ham, and stir to combine. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Ladle the minestrone into serving bowls, and top with toasted pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I used smoked Gruyère cheese this time out. You can also use gouda, white cheddar, and Parmesan. They all work well in this soup recipe.
- Serve.
Now that you have the recipe, you must grab your Instant Pot and get busy in your kitchen.
After you make it, make sure you return and drop us a line in the comments. We would love to hear from you!
Feel free to tag us on Instagram @thiswortheylife
Find more recipes you can make in your Instant Pot below:
Pressure Cooker Potato + Kale Soup
30+ Easy Dump Dinners to Make in Your Crock-Pot or Instant Pot
Instant Pot Loaded Chili Recipe
Creamy Tomato + Chickpea Soup (Instant Pot Recipe)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin oil olive
- 1 large sweet or yellow onion chopped
- 4 large cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 stalks of celery thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup celery leaves torn apart
- 2 medium russet potatoes cut into one-inch quarter chunks
- 1 medium zucchini cut into one-inch quarter chunks
- 1 ear of sweet corn with the kernels removed
- 1 15- ounce can of kidney beans with the liquid included
- 1 15- ounce can of cannellini beans drained
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups pasta macaroni
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 1 14.5 ounces can diced tomatoes
- 1 28 ounces can of crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups spinach chopped
- 2 tablespoon pinenuts for serving optional for topping
- Optional: Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Following the package instructions, prepare the elbow macaroni, or whatever variety of pasta you are using for the recipe after the pasta is finished cooking, drain off the water, place it back into the pot and toss it with extra virgin olive oil, then set aside for later.
- Pour a cup of water into the Instant Pot, place a steamer basket with the potatoes into the Instant Pot, and lock the lid into place, steam on high pressure for three minutes. Vent the Instant Pot and remove the steamer basket the potatoes should be fork-tender. Set aside. Pour the water out of the Instant Pot.
- Select the Sauté setting on the Instant Pot and add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. *Note keep the Instant Pot on the Sauté setting throughout the rest of the recipe.
- Add the chopped ham and cook until the meat is browned when the oil is hot. Use a slotted spoon, remove the ham, place it into a bowl, and set it aside.
- Add onions and zucchini to the Instant with the ham dripping and saute for five minutes, often stirring, until the onions are soft. Add the celery and garlic and saute for five more minutes.
- Add the chicken or vegetable stock, remaining extra virgin olive oil, sweet corn kernels, kidney beans, cannellini beans, dried oregano, thyme, basil, herbs to Provence, sage, bay leaves, crushed and diced tomatoes. Stir to mix the ingredients and continue to cook until the mixture begins to boil. Add the chopped spinach and celery leaves. Turn off the heat and place the lid over the Instant Pot without locking it into place. Allow the spinach and celery leaves to wilt for five minutes.
- Remove the lid, add the cooked pasta, potatoes, zucchini, and ham, and stir to combine. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Ladle the minestrone into serving bowls, and top with toasted pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I used smoked Gruyère cheese this time out. You can also use gouda, white cheddar, and Parmesan. They all work well in this soup recipe.
- Serve.
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