Autumn Minestrone Soup
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Autumn Minestrone Soup – a healthy minestrone brimming with nutritious, seasonal fall vegetables, tender pasta, and creamy kidney beans.
This cozy soup is one you’ll have on repeat once those chilly days hit!
The Perfect Fall Minestrone Soup
I’ve always loved minestrone soup, so seeing as it’s fall, I decided to make a minestrone filled with the veggies of the season. This soup is incredibly hearty and filling, even though it’s vegetarian. It’s a lot of dicing since there are so many veggies, but you can take shortcuts and use some pre-cut veggies like I did.
I hate cutting butternut squash, so I’ve been loving the pre-cut packages of it at the store. I’m willing to pay a little bit extra if it means I don’t have to spend forever peeling and cutting that solid vegetable.
This minestrone tastes pretty similar to the Slow Cooker Minestrone I have posted, but I adjusted the ingredients to highlight the fall flavors of Yukon gold potatoes, butternut squash, and kale. One thing I found that I don’t think is necessary in this minestrone recipe is adding pasta, since you already have the starchy potatoes and kidney beans. But if you want it even heartier feel free to add some ditalini or elbow pasta.
I love vegetable soups, and this one is a great way to get a good portion of veggies into your daily diet. It will also make great leftovers for lunch for the next few days!
How to Make Autumn Minestrone Soup
- Heat olive oil in a pot.
- Sauté onions, carrots, and garlic.
- Add broth, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, Parmesan rind, herbs, and season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until veggies are nearly tender.
- Stir in zucchini, kale and kidney beans, cook until veggies are tender.
- Remove bay leaf, stir in balsamic vinegar if using, and serve with more extra virgin olive oil to taste and parmesan .
Can I Add Other Vegetables?
Yes. You can swap out some of these vegetables for others you may have on hand and need to use up. Other good vegetables to use include:
- Sweet potatoes
- Brussels sprouts
- Other types of squash
- Cauliflower
- Green beans
- Spinach
- Celery
- Beets
Possible Variations
Add pasta: Pasta can also be included in the recipe, recipe has been updated Sept. 2026 and pasta omitted as if feels unnecessary with the potatoes. To make it even more filling you can also include 3/4 cup ditalini pasta or elbow pasta, semolina wheat based or gluten free. Add it along with the zucchini and kale if using, and increase broth by 1 cup.
Include meat: If you aren’t needing this to be vegan and want a meat minestrone include 1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled or 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped. Sausage can be added with the potatoes and squash, bacon add closer to the end if you want it to maintain some texture.
More Delicious Favorite Fall Soup Recipes to Try
- Cabbage Soup
- Lentil Soup
- Gnocchi Vegetable Soup (with Pesto and Parmesan!)
- Mexican Vegetable Soup
- Vegetable Soup
Follow Cooking Classy
Autumn Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup chopped carrots (2 medium)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch diced yukon gold potatoes
- 2 1/2 cups 3/4-inch diced butternut squash (I usually buy pre-cut to save prep time)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 4-inch parmesan rind plus shredded parmesan for serving (omit if making vegan)
- 1 Tbsp minced minced fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
- 2 bay leaves, or 1 tsp crushed fennel seeds
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium zucchini, ends trimmed, sliced into half moons or quarters
- 2 cups packed chopped (2.5 oz) curly kale (thick ribs removed)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 Tbsp aged balsamic vinegar, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots and saute 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
- Stir in vegetable broth, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, parmesan rind, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and and simmer until veggies are nearly tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in zucchini, kale and kidney beans and cook until kale is tender, about 5 to 10 minutes longer.
- Remove bay leaves, stir in balsamic vinegar if using. Drizzle individual servings with more extra virgin olive oil to taste and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Pasta can also be included in the recipe, recipe has been updated Sept. 2026 and pasta omitted as if feels unnecessary with the potatoes. To make it even more filling you can also include 3/4 cup ditalini pasta or elbow pasta, semolina wheat based or gluten free. Add it along with the zucchini and kale if using, and increase broth by 1 cup.
- If you want a meat minestrone include 1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled or 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped.
- Recipe makes about 13 cups.