How to Make a Delicious Fall Minestrone Soup
How to Make a Delicious Fall Minestrone Soup
There are certain recipes that make you feel like you have your life together, and having a big pot of homemade minestrone soup simmering on the stove is definitely one of them. 😂
This Fall Minestrone Soup is packed with vegetables, creamy cannellini beans, tender butternut squash, little bites of pasta, and a rich tomato broth. Pancetta adds a savory depth, while fresh thyme brings everything together into one seriously satisfying bowl of soup.
It’s hearty enough to be dinner on its own, makes fantastic leftovers, and is exactly what I want when the weather starts getting chilly and suddenly all I want to do is live in a sweatshirt.
What Makes This Fall Minestrone Soup So Good?
The pancetta makes a difference. Cooking the diced pancetta first helps build a savory base for the entire soup. Then the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic get their turn in all that delicious flavor.
We’re not skimping on the tomato flavor. One of my favorite steps in this recipe is cooking the concentrated tomato paste until it turns a deep red. Tomato paste has a concentrated flavor, and letting it cook briefly before adding the liquid helps develop a richer tomato base.
Butternut squash makes it perfect for fall. The tender squash adds a little natural sweetness and makes this minestrone feel especially fitting for soup season. Paired with cannellini beans and small pasta, it turns a simple vegetable soup into a hearty meal.
And fresh thyme? Absolutely belongs here. It adds a lovely herbal flavor without taking over the whole pot.
Fun Fact About Minestrone
Minestrone doesn’t have one strict, official ingredient list. Traditionally, it varies depending on the region, the season, and what vegetables are available. That’s part of what makes it such a versatile Italian soup.
So adding butternut squash for a fall version makes perfect sense. Think of this as a seasonal spin on a classic, with plenty of vegetables and beans in every bowl.
A Few Tips for Making Minestrone Soup
Take your time with the vegetables. Let the pancetta cook until lightly browned, then give the onions, carrots, and celery time to soften. Building flavor at the beginning makes a difference in the finished soup.
Let the tomato paste cook until deep red. Don’t rush this little step. It helps develop the rich tomato flavor that makes the broth so good.
Keep an eye on the consistency. This minestrone is meant to be quite thick and hearty. If it gets thicker than you’d like, add a little more chicken stock to loosen it up.
Cook the pasta separately, especially if you’re planning on leftovers. Pasta continues absorbing liquid as it sits in soup, which can leave you with much less broth and much softer noodles the next day. Keeping them separate makes it easy to get a great bowl every time.
My Favorite Way to Serve It
I like to add a scoop of the cooked small pasta to the bottom of each bowl, grate fresh Parmesan over the pasta, and then ladle the hot minestrone on top.
That way, the pasta stays separate for leftovers, and every bowl gets freshly grated Parmesan right where it belongs. It’s a small thing, but it makes serving and storing the soup so much easier.
This Fall Minestrone Soup is hearty, full of flavor, and packed with all the things I love about fall cooking. Make a big pot, grab your favorite bowl, and don’t be surprised if tomorrow’s lunch is already taken care of.
Fall Minestrone
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4 ounces pancetta diced into ½-inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 –3 carrots cut into rounds or moons
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 2½ cups peeled butternut squash diced into ½-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 4-ounce tube concentrated tomato paste
- 1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 6-8 cups water, chicken stock, or a combination of both
- 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups cooked small pasta such as ditalini
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Cook the pancetta. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.
- Sauté the vegetables. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the garlic during the last 1–2 minutes.
- Toast the tomato paste. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it turns a deep red color, stirring as needed.
- Simmer the soup. Add the diced tomatoes, water or stock, chicken bouillon, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and 1½ teaspoons black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the beans and squash. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the cannellini beans and diced butternut squash. Continue simmering until the squash is tender.
- Adjust the consistency. The soup should be thick and hearty. If it’s thicker than you like, add more chicken stock or water. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed, keeping in mind that the bouillon and stock may already be salty.
- Serve. Add some cooked pasta to each bowl and grate fresh Parmesan over the pasta. Ladle the hot soup over the top and serve.
