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Healthy Vegan Instant Pot Minestrone Soup Recipe

Today I’d like to introduce you to my new vegan minestrone soup that your whole family will love! Packed with flavor and ready in well under an hour in your Instant Pot, this vegan minestrone will become a star of your family weekly menu. Add it to your list of favorite Instant Pot vegan soups!

How to cook vegan minestrone soup in the Instant Pot

The beauty of vegan minestrone is in its ingredients. You can use as many or as few vegetables as you’d like, and as long as you keep to a few main staple ingredients (tomatoes, pasta, cabbage, and beans), your soup will most likely be a success.

I’ve been making this recipe for years (here’s my earlier vegan minestrone version from the blog), adding or subtracting a few ingredients here and there. But it took me a while to adapt it to the Instant Pot – mainly because I didn’t want to cook everything into a mush while pressure cooking this soup.

Eventually I decided to give it a try, and it turned out a success! Below are a few tips I followed to make it happen. These tips will also work both for other Instant Pot vegan soups.

Instant Pot minestrone - a crowd-pleasing soup recipe for your family weekly menu.

This delicious Instant Pot minestrone is:

  • healthy
  • light yet filling
  • oil-free
  • entirely plant-based
  • made without meat or dairy
  • full of nutrition
  • easy to make
  • approved by adults and kids
  • ready in 40 minutes

Tips for Making Vegan Minestrone Soup in the Instant Pot

1. Make sure to prep all ingredients in advance. Peeling, slicing and chopping takes time, so if you prep and start cooking the first few ingredients, they may be done before the rest of the ingredients are ready.

2. Divide prepped vegetables between 3 bowls, and add everything to the Instant Pot in 3 steps. In my recipe below, bowl #1 will have diced onions, carrots and celery; bowl #2 – cubed potatoes, shredded cabbage, and sliced mushrooms; bowl #3 – zucchini and canned beans.

3. Boost flavors by adding garlic and spices in two steps. Split them in half, then add the first half when sauteing the vegetables. Add the second half later, after pressure cooking, along with pasta and zucchini. Pressure cooking tends to mute the flavors of garlic and spices, so by adding them in two steps, we’re avoiding this.

4. Don’t add all broth or water at once – the larger the volume of food you’re planning to pressure cook, the longer it takes for the pressure to build up. So initially, add only 6-7 cups of broth before closing the lid. Once the pressure cooking cycle is over, feel free to add more broth when the soup is simmering on Saute function.

5. After adding pasta, cook it for a very short time, just until it starts getting al dente. It will continue cooking after you turn off your Instant Pot, so you don’t want to overcook it here.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, I’ve included the stovetop cooking directions in the recipe card below.

And if you have an Instant Pot but haven’t cooked in it much because it intimidates you, check out my 5-step guide to using an Instant Pot for beginners that will help you ace pressure cooking in no time!

Also, see other Instant Pot recipes from the blog.

Best Instant Pot vegan soups: vegan minestrone the whole family will love.

What is vegan minestrone soup made of?

Traditionally, minestrone soup contains beans, small-shaped pasta, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and broth. I’m also adding cabbage, potatoes, zucchini, lentils, mushrooms, cauliflower, green beans, and kale (the last four are optional).

Minestrone lends itself perfectly to being vegan. However, a lot of recipes for this soup call for broth made with animal parts, or for a sprinkling of parmesan cheese at the end.

To bypass those while adding a rich flavor, I’m using a variety of spices, garlic, and nutritional yeast.

Is minestrone soup kid-friendly?

Yes! Of course, this may vary from child to child, but my 2 year-old loves this vegan minestrone. She first picks out pasta and potatoes, then demands that I give her pasta and potatoes from my bowl, then dips bread in what’s left in front of her – fun times 🙂

By the way, check out these 15 kid friendly vegan recipes from this blog that my toddler enjoys.

Vegan minestrone soup recipe - easy to make in your Instant Pot or on stovetop!

What do I do if my minestrone soup becomes too thick?

If your minestrone soup becomes too thick towards the end of cooking, or after it cools off, just add more water or broth. Mix it in and adjust seasoning if needed.

Oil-free and dairy-free minestrone soup recipe for Instant Pot or stovetop.

How do I store vegan minestrone soup?

Store vegan minestrone soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze it, split the soup between freezer-proof individual serving size containers, and freeze up to 2 months.

What do I serve vegan minestrone soup with?

I love serving my vegan minestrone with freshly baked bread (French baguette or sourdough bread pair really well). It’s amazing with a dollop of my vegan kale pesto. A sprinkling of nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan are also nice.

Healthy Instant Pot vegan soups the whole family will love: vegan minestrone soup recipe.
Yield: 6 servings

Vegan Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

This delicious vegan minestrone soup makes a wholesome, light, yet filling meal. An easy to make Instant Pot minestrone the whole family will love! Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients - a lot of them are optional.

Serve with fresh baked bread for a complete meal. If you don't have an Instant Pot, see stovetop cooking instructions below.

Instant Pot minestrone soup - a vegan soup recipe

This delicious vegan minestrone soup makes a wholesome, light, yet filling meal. An easy to make Instant Pot minestrone the whole family will love! Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients - a lot of them are optional.

Serve with fresh baked bread for a complete meal. If you don't have an Instant Pot, see stovetop cooking instructions below.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can tomato sauce, 14.5 oz size
  • 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1/2 cup uncooked red lentils
  • 1.5 cups shredded cabbage
  • 5 crimini mushrooms, sliced (optional)
  • 1 can white beans*. drained and rinsed
  • 1 small zucchini, sliced into half-moons
  • 1/2 cup small pasta**
  • 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water, plus more if needed
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • Salt, pepper to taste
  • Optional, for sauteing vegetables: Avocado or olive oil (or use more water/broth)

Spices***:

  • 1 Tbsp oregano
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions:

  1. In a small bowl, mix all spices. Set aside.
  2. Press Saute button on your Instant Pot. Once the inner bowl is hot, add 1-2 Tbsp water/broth (or oil if using). Add diced onions, carrots and celery, saute 3-4 min until the onion is translucent.
  3. Mix in 1/2 of the minced garlic and 1/2 of the spice mixture, saute 1 min. Add tomato sauce.
  4. Add cubed potatoes, red lentils, shredded cabbage, sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper, and 6 cups of vegetable broth or water. Press Cancel button.
  5. Lock the lid in place, making sure that the vent lever is set to pressure. Press the Manual button and set the timer for 4 minutes. Once the time is up and your Instant Pot beeps, follow 10-minute natural release opening method (let the timer reach 10 minutes, then press Cancel and carefully turn the pressure knob to release steam - be careful not to burn yourself when the steam starts coming out!).
  6. Open the lid. Press Saute button. Add the pasta, zucchini, white beans, nutritional yeast, and 1-2 additional cups of broth or water if the soup looks too thick. Mix in the rest of the garlic and spices. Bring to a boil. Cook 3-4 min until the pasta is just beginning to become al dente. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
  7. Once the pasta is al dente, press Cancel. Let the soup rest for 10-15 min before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

Stovetop Instructions:

  1. Saute diced onion, celery and carrots in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot with 1-2 Tbsp of water/broth or oil until the onion is translucent, 3-4 min.
  2. Mix in garlic and all of the spices, saute 1 min until fragrant. Add tomato sauce.
  3. Add cubed potatoes, shredded cabbage, red lentils, sliced mushrooms, and all of the of vegetable broth or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer, and cook for 15-17 min, until potatoes are fork-tender, and the lentils begin to break down.
  4. Add the pasta, zucchini, white beans, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, and additional broth or water if the soup looks too thick. Bring to a boil. Cook 3-4 min until the pasta is just beginning to become al dente. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
  5. Let the soup rest for 10-15 min before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

Notes

*Canned cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, or even red kidney beans work well in this recipe. Alternatively, use cooked beans instead of canned.

**Small shells, elbows, or tubatini pasta work well here.

***Alternatively, use 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning + 1 tsp sweet paprika.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 bowl

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 366Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 14gSugar: 10gProtein: 17g

Please note that the provided nutritional information data is approximate.

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Question for you: do you have a favorite soup that often goes on your family weekly menu?

The best Instant Pot minestrone soup - vegan, dairy-free, oil-free, and fully plant-based. | Vegan Runner Eats

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Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats
Alina first made a switch to a vegan diet in 2013 to optimize her athletic performance as a marathon runner. Eventually she embraced veganism as a way to be kinder to fellow living beings and the environment. Alina hopes that this blog helps its readers on their path to becoming vegan and making this world a better place.

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