Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
on May 15, 2014, Updated Jan 25, 2021
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Since it is quite chilly today this Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe will be perfect for us to enjoy with our CopyCat Olive Garden Salad and Dressing for dinner tonight. I made up a big pot yesterday and it was so tasty, I think leftovers are in order. I love grabbing soup and salad when we eat out. One of my favorite soup and salad spots is Olive Garden. They have the most delish soups and I am addicted to their salads too! Eating out at olive Garden is not very frequent for us since we do not have one here on our side of town. Occasionally for a birthday, anniversary, etc we will head to Olive Garden for lunch or dinner.
This Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe is spot on PERFECT! It was torture smelling it all afternoon while it was cooking. The flavors smell so wonderful. I received the typical “what smells so Good” from the kiddos when they arrived home from school.
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I love that this Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe is loaded up with some of my favorite veggies. Zucchini, Spinach and Carrots, YUM!
This Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup is quite simple to make and really does not require much work. I will tell you to be extra careful when cutting your veggies. My hubby was cutting up the veggies for this soup and ended up at the ER and is now in a cast. He will be much more careful next time hes cutting zucchini, I am sure of that.
INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 diced medium Onion
1 chopped small Zucchini
14 oz Italian Style Green Beans
1 diced stalk Celery
4 tsp minced Garlic
4 cup Vegetable Broth
30 ounce drained Red Kidney Beans
30 ounce drained Great Northern Beans
14 ounce can Diced Tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup Shredded Carrot
1/2 cup dry Red Wine (optional)
4 oz Tomato Paste
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1 Bay Leaf
3 cup Hot Water
4 cups fresh Spinach
1 1/2 cup Shell Pasta
Salt and Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot.
Saute onion, celery, zucchini, and carrots until onions are clear.
Add garlic, green beans and tomato paste and stir.
Add the broth, red wine and hot water and stir well.
Add tomatoes, beans, and spices.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove bay leaf.
Add spinach and pasta and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
If you are anything like me, you will be dipping into this pot of soup before it has had a chance to cook. Your house will be smelling so tasty that you will NEED to dip in, ha ha!
If you are looking to enjoy Olive Garden at Home be sure to make this Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup and a Copycat Olive Garden Salad and Dressing at home. You will be saving yourself some $$’s. Plus this is a great light soup for summer.
Adapted from Todd Wilbur’s copycat recipe.
Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 diced medium Onion
- 1 chopped small Zucchini
- 14 oz Italian Style Green Beans
- 1 diced stalk Celery
- 4 tsp minced Garlic
- 4 cup Vegetable Broth
- 30 ounce drained Red Kidney Beans
- 30 ounce drained Great Northern Beans
- 14 ounce can Diced Tomatoes with juice
- 1/2 cup Shredded Carrot
- 1/2 cup dry Red Wine, optional
- 4 oz Tomato Paste
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1/4 tsp Thyme
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 3 cup Hot Water
- 4 cups fresh Spinach
- 1 1/2 cup Shell Pasta
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot.
- Saute onion, celery, zucchini, and carrots until onions are clear.
- Add garlic, green beans and tomato paste and stir.
- Add the broth, red wine and hot water and stir well.
- Add tomatoes, beans, and spices.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf.
- Add spinach and pasta and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
My family loved the soup, so easy to make. We don’t live by an Olive Garden so this is an easy way to get our soup fix!!
This was made for a family gathering -everyone had at least one bowl. A great addition especially when no one is expecting a soup dish and a really good one. No meat to worry about anyone’s objection. All you need is a good crunchy bread and a dish of parmesan cheese. It was delish. Try it you won’t be sorry.
Cooking the zucchini that long, won’t it make it soggy and over cooked? I usually put it in a few minutes after the pasta.
do you cook the pasta shells before putting in the soup or just cook them in the soup?
I cook the pasta shells in the soup.
If I was planning to make this for work lunches all week, would you recommend I skip the step of adding the pasta until I’m ready to eat the soup? Cook the pasts separately and add to the rest of the soup as needed? I find the soup becomes more of a stew otherwise lol Still delicious though!
Oh, also noticed a typo on the size can of the kidney beans and great northern beans, I just used the 15 ounce can.
I made this last night without the red wine and it was delicious. I also used beef broth because I didn’t have vegetable broth, could taste the difference from Olive Gardens Minnestrone, but still totally yummy. Two friends stopped by and had a bowl and really enjoyed it.
Made without wine, added salt and it was super yummy!
when I make this I don’t cook the spinach. Instead, I put a small handful of raw spinach in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the hot soup on top. Then I let the soup sit in the bowl for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt – it doesn’t take long! The spinach keeps it’s beautiful bright green color this way. I’ve even been known to use frozen chopped spinach – thawed & squeezed dry.
Yum! I need to make this. Do you recommend using the red wine? Would it make a huge difference if I skip it?
Yes it definitely makes a difference. The wine gives it the depth. The true Olive Garden soup contains Chianti.
Your recipe is the only one I find that uses wine. And, I just asked the waiter yesterday at Olive Garden what was the secret to this broth – he said the red wine !!! Great post, thank you