Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Our easy Instant Pot minestrone soup with noodles and canned beans recipe is full of flavor, healthy and vegetarian. My kids raved that this was their favorite quick one pot meal you can make as a Ninja Foodi recipe too.

Ok so we are a little obsessed with our new 7 in 1 device. It just makes my life so much easier! Once I got my IP we started having more family dinners together. Then I added a Crockpot Express and Ninja Foodi so I had 3 pressure cooker pots to use to make all the things!

Believe it or not my girls actually prefer vegetables over a plate of meat any day, so they were all ready to try this vegetable soup I made.

I bet you have had this at your favorite Italian restaurant and wished you could have it a lot more often than when you went out to eat right?? I remember eating a big bowl of this at our favorite pizza joint growing up. It was a choice every single time vs. salad and you just had to get it.

Ingredient Notes

We are going for the easiest way to make this so I use diced tomatoes (canned), and cube up some fresh carrots, zucchini and celery and throw all of that in there. You could add yellow squash too if you wanted another one.

Can you use frozen vegetables?

Yes you could, I highly suggest a bag of mixed frozen veggies vs. canned as the latter are already soft and will likely become mushy with extreme heat. I think a mix of green beans, carrots and peas would be the best and most commonly found at the store.

All shapes and sized noodles work for this but elbow macaroni or medium size shells is what we like. Any larger and they will be a bit firmer but that is up to you. I would stay away from egg noodles as they only take 1 minute so they would be mush in this case.

You want to use chicken broth for the necessary liquid. If you want to go all out you could make broth homemade and then noodles too but I wouldn’t even venture a guess on how to make those fresh, that isn’t in my wheelhouse.

You definitely want to add beans to this dish because you would typically find those in every spoonful. Once again, to make this easier we are going to use canned beans both kidney beans and I like to add garbanzo beans as well. Don’t bother to drain them if you don’t want, you can throw them both in as is.

Can you add potatoes?

You could but you would need them to be small bite size pieces or else 3 minutes won’t get them tender enough for you to enjoy. I would say 1/2″ x 1/2″ taters would work well probably with skin removed just so it is easier to chew.

Can you make minestrone soup with dried beans?

This is how to cook kidney beans from dry first. You can do this fastest using the same pressure under high pressure first, drain, and then follow the directions to make this once they are tender.

Can you add ground beef?

You could and we did with our Instant Pot vegetable beef soup recipe. You just saute and brown the meat first, drain, and proceed with the directions below to include meat in this bowl.

Can you add chicken?

You could basically make a version of our Instant Pot chicken noodle soup but with beans and more vegetables with a can of diced tomatoes. That would be a good cross between the two you may love.

How Long to Cook Minestrone Soup in Instant Pot

Just 3 minutes is all you need if you use canned beans, vegetables and your favorite small or medium noodles too. This will yield a softer outcome, if you prefer al dente pasta I would opt for 2 minutes with a quick release either way.

If you are going to use a Foodi pot you would follow the same directions below but use the lid that is not attached with the pressure cook button on the front. You can make this and any of our other cheap Instant Pot recipes with any brand of machine you might have on hand.

Tips for Success

Choose what is in season I say. Squashes usually you can find year round. If you like them all then throw ’em on in. If you prefer to leave out the zucchini…no problem. Make it to your liking! I used a can of petite diced tomatoes because that is what I had on hand but dicing your own fresh tomatoes (use the juice that comes out of them too) is wonderful.

If you’re making it vegetarian soup just swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth! I typically use what is in my cupboard but we do eat meat so I am not too picky as far as that one goes. I have made it with all 3 different types I think they all turn out wonderful.

TIP: If you’re new to this type of cooking, know it takes VERY little time for pasta to get tender. Use my recipe notes and the exact timing I provide you or noodles will turn to mush with even 2 minutes longer. Pay attention to the timer and quick release right when it’s done. Sitting in the liquid much longer will make them too soft too.

What is the best way to save leftover soup?

Always make sure it is cooled completely at room temperature before transferring it to a container. Then set into the fridge and reheat within 3 days. Transfer to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute, stir and then 45 seconds beyond that or so until it is as hot as you’d like it to be. Then enjoy away.

Other Instant Pot Soup Recipes you’ll Love

When you’ve tried this give these Instant Pot soup recipes other Instant Pot pasta recipes and soup recipes to choose from. They all make for wonderful meals in about 30 minutes or less so you can’t go wrong with any one of them. Work your way thru and have something new every day for the whole year!

If you too are huddled up at home with snow outside, or just want a bowl of warm comfort food in your belly we have more! Start with a delish bowl of Instant Pot french onion soup with warm melted cheese on the top. Here are a few other quick soup recipes we think you’ll like as well. Our fave Instant Pot potato corn chowder is widely popular. I suggest adding lots of bacon to it so it’s over the top delicious!