This Italian minestrone noodle soup takes the classic Italian vegetable soup with beans and pasta in a cozier direction: broken fettuccine noodles, tender potatoes, spinach, and fresh thyme, all slow-simmered in a light tomato broth until the flavors melt together. It's hearty enough for dinner, completely vegan, and even better the next day.
Most minestrone recipes are quick weeknight soups packed with small pasta shapes and a long list of vegetables. This one is different. It keeps the vegetable list short, uses long fettuccine broken into bite-size pieces so every spoonful feels like a noodle soup, and lets the pot bubble gently for a couple of hours. That slow simmer turns a handful of simple ingredients into a surprisingly rich, savory broth. If you're after a faster, more traditional version, try our Vegan Minestrone Soup or the quick-cooking Vegan Orzo Minestrone Soup.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Dried white beans. Cannellini or great northern beans give the soup its creamy, classic minestrone character. Soaking them overnight and cooking them separately keeps them whole and tender. Camellia dried cannellini beans are a reliable choice. Short on time? Use a can of beans instead (see the recipe notes).
- Fettuccine. Breaking long fettuccine into 1- to 2-inch pieces is what makes this a minestrone noodle soup. Choose an egg-free semolina pasta such as De Cecco fettuccine (fresh and "egg fettuccine" usually contain eggs). Linguine, spaghetti, or small ditalini all work too.
- Potatoes. Yukon Gold or red potatoes hold their shape best through the long simmer and add body to the broth. Russets work but will soften and thicken the soup more.
- Spinach. Adds color and a mild, earthy note. Chopped kale or Swiss chard are great swaps and hold up even better over a long cook.
- Fresh thyme. Whole sprigs perfume the broth as it simmers. If you only have dried thyme, use about 1 teaspoon.
- Vegetable stock and crushed tomatoes. A good-tasting stock matters here since it's the base of the broth. Crushed tomatoes give just enough tomato flavor without turning the soup into a tomato soup.
- Olive oil. A generous amount of extra virgin olive oil replaces the butter used in older versions of this recipe, keeping the soup fully vegan while still giving the vegetables a rich start.
Helpful Tips
Keep it at a bare simmer. The long cook is what builds flavor, but a hard boil will break down the potatoes and cloud the broth. Look for just a few lazy bubbles breaking the surface, and give the pot a stir now and then.
Cook the beans while the soup simmers. Once your beans have soaked, start them in a separate pot around the same time the soup goes on low. They'll be tender and ready right when it's time to add them, so the overnight soak is the only real planning you need.
Break the pasta small. Wrap the fettuccine in a clean kitchen towel and snap it into short pieces, or break it by hand over the pot. Short noodles are easier to eat with a spoon and cook more evenly.
Season in stages. Add a pinch of salt with the vegetables, a little more with the broth, and do a final taste once the pasta is cooked. The noodles absorb salt as they cook, so the soup almost always needs a last adjustment.
Add a splash of liquid if needed. Depending on your pot and how gently it simmers, some broth will evaporate. If the soup looks thick once the pasta goes in, stir in another cup of stock or water.
Variations
- Classic minestrone style. Add a diced zucchini and a handful of green beans with the potatoes, and swap the fettuccine for small pasta shells or ditalini.
- Tuscan-style greens. Replace the spinach with a big bunch of chopped lacinato kale, which stays pleasantly chewy after the long simmer.
- Pesto swirl. Top each bowl with a spoonful of vegan basil pesto for a bright, herby finish.
- Gluten-free. Use gluten-free fettuccine or brown rice pasta, and add it only for the last 10 to 12 minutes so it doesn't turn mushy.
- Extra protein. Double the beans, or stir in a can of chickpeas along with the white beans.
- Slow cooker. Sauté the vegetables on the stove, then transfer everything except the beans and pasta to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Add the beans and pasta for the last 30 minutes on high.
Serving Ideas
A bowl of minestrone begs for good bread. Serve it with crusty Italian bread, garlic toast, or a slice of homemade focaccia bread for dunking into that slow-simmered broth. A drizzle of good olive oil and a crack of black pepper over each bowl makes it feel a little special.
To round out the meal, add a crisp green salad with a lemony vinaigrette. The soup is filling enough to be a main dish on its own, but smaller cups also make a cozy starter before a pasta or vegetable dinner. For more ideas to fill out a soup night, browse our round-up of Cozy Vegan Soups for Fall and Winter.
Storing & Freezing
Let leftovers cool, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. The noodles will keep soaking up broth as the soup sits, so it will be thicker the next day. When you reheat it on the stove or in the microwave, stir in a splash of stock or water to loosen it back up, then taste for salt.
For freezing, the best approach is to freeze the soup before adding the pasta. Cool it completely, pack it into freezer-safe containers with a little headspace, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, bring it back to a simmer, and cook fresh broken fettuccine right in the pot. You can freeze the finished soup with the noodles too, but they'll be softer after thawing.
Minestrone Soup FAQ
What is Italian minestrone soup?
Minestrone is a traditional Italian vegetable soup, usually made with beans, pasta or rice, and whatever vegetables are in season. There's no single "correct" recipe; every region and household has its own version. This one leans on potatoes, spinach, white beans, and broken fettuccine.
How is this different from a classic minestrone soup?
Classic minestrone typically uses small pasta shapes and lots of mixed vegetables like zucchini and green beans. This version uses fewer vegetables, long noodles broken into short pieces, and a much longer, gentler simmer, so it eats more like a comforting noodle soup with a deeper-tasting broth.
Is minestrone soup vegan?
Not always. Many recipes use chicken broth, a Parmesan rind, butter, or pancetta. This recipe is fully vegan: it uses vegetable stock and olive oil, and egg-free semolina pasta. Just check your fettuccine label, since egg noodles are common.
Can I use canned beans?
Yes. Skip the soak and the bean-cooking step, then drain and rinse one 15-ounce can of cannellini or great northern beans and add them with the pasta.
More Cozy Vegan Soups
If you loved this recipe, here are a few more you might enjoy:
- Vegan Minestrone Soup
- Vegan Orzo Minestrone Soup
- Vegan Tomato Soup
- Vegan Split Pea Soup
- Cozy Vegan Soups for Fall and Winter
Recipe
Italian Minestrone Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- ⅜ cup dried white beans such as cannellini or great northern (or see notes for canned)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus 1 teaspoon
- 1 yellow onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 carrots medium, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 potatoes medium, peeled and diced
- 1 cup spinach chopped (packed)
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 cup broken fettuccini pasta broken into 1- to 2-inch pieces
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- The night before, put the dried beans in a bowl and cover them with a couple of inches of cold water. Let soak overnight (at least 8 hours). Using canned beans? Skip this step and the next one (see notes).
- The next day, drain and rinse the beans. Put them in a saucepan, cover with fresh water by about 2 inches, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 45 to 60 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside. (You can do this while the soup simmers.)
- Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 6 minutes, until softened and golden.
- Add the carrots and celery, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add the potatoes, stir to coat them in the oil, and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Stir in the spinach and cook for about 2 minutes, until wilted.
- Add the vegetable stock, crushed tomatoes, and thyme sprigs, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover, turn the heat to low, and let the soup simmer very gently for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Keep it at a bare simmer, not a boil.
- Stir in the cooked beans and the broken fettuccine. Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, stirring now and then so the pasta doesn't stick, until the pasta is tender. Remove the bare thyme stems, then taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
- Ladle into bowls and serve hot, with crusty bread on the side.
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