Instant Pot Minestrone is an easy Italian soup filled with fresh vegetables, pasta, and a rich broth. With the help of the Instant Pot, this flavorful, healthy soup can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Red Bowl of Instant Pot Minestrone next to parsley.

The Best Instant Pot Minestrone

While I love my Slow Cooker Minestrone recipe, I prefer this recipe for Instant Pot Minestrone for two reasons.

Faster. Thanks to the Instant Pot, this recipe for Minestrone Soup comes together in just 30 minutes! And I love when I can get a healthy dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less.
More Flavorful. The Instant Pot seals in all the ingredients, which means none of the flavors are evaporated and I find this minestrone has a richer flavor when made in the Instant Pot versus the stove or slow cooker.

Thanks to a few key ingredients and the magic of the instant pot, this Instant Pot Minestrone is truly the best. Not only does this soup come together quickly, but the flavor that is developed is truly outstanding.

Notes on Key Ingredients

Ingredients for Minestrone on white counter.

Red Wine: A good quality wine adds incredible flavor and depth to this minestrone recipe. Select a good-quality dry red wine, like Cabernet or Merlot. I NEVER recommend using a wine labeled as cooking wine. They are often sweetened and weak in flavor. If you are not a wine drinker, just use additional vegetable or chicken stock. You will miss out on some of the flavors the wine adds to this soup, but I promise your minestrone will still be delicious.
Marinara Sauce: Instead of using diced tomatoes, I highly recommend using a store-bought marinara sauce or homemade spaghetti sauce. The sauce adds more depth to the soup than canned diced tomatoes and I prefer the texture of the sauce over the chunks of diced tomatoes--as do my picky kids!
Red Wine Vinegar: The splash of vinegar brightens and heightens all the flavors in this soup and makes it truly memorable. Trust me, you don't want to skip this step!
Vegetables: While I find that this soup benefits greatly from using a combination of carrots, celery, onions, and zucchini, feel free to adjust the vegetables used based on your family's preference.
Beans: Use kidney beans or white beans or a combination of both for this soup.
Noodles: For the noodles, elbow noodles are traditional, but orecchiette or small shells are a great substitute. Whole wheat or regular noodles work perfectly. For gluten-free noodles, I recommend Barilla Gluten Free, as they are the only noodles that cook up well in the soup without releasing too much starch.
Spinach: Use fresh spinach or baby kale. You can also add in frozen chopped spinach or kale before pressure cooking if desired.

4. Add Vinegar

A trick I learned years ago, is to finish the soup with an acid of some sort. I use lemon juice for Chicken Noodle Soup and balsamic vinegar for Lentil Soup. But for this Minestrone, red wine vinegar is best. The splash of vinegar brightens and heightens all the flavors in this soup and makes it truly memorable. Trust me, you don't want to skip this step!

How to Make Instant Pot Minestrone

Turn the Instant Pot to saute and add in a bit of oil and let the oil heat for a minute or two.
Once the oil is heated, add the carrots, celery, and onions to the inner pot and saute for a couple of minutes until the onions begin to soften.
Once the onions are just about softened, add in the minced garlic and oregano and allow the garlic and oregano to toast for just 1 minute. By lightly toasting the oregano, the flavor is enhanced.

Onions, celery, and carrots sauteed in inner pot of instant pot.

Add in the red wine (or a bit of stock if not using wine), and use a spatula to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot using a spatula. This will help prevent a burn notice.
Allow the alcohol to cook off for 1 minute and then turn the Instant Pot off from the saute function.

Red wine deglazing inner pot of instant pot.

Stir in the vegetable broth, marinara sauce, zucchini, beans, and noodles.

Set the cooking time for 1 minute on high pressure. This is much less time than I typically suggest for cooking pasta in the Instant Pot, but for this recipe, we need to let the pressure release for 10 minutes. In that time, the noodles will cook up to al dente perfection and the soup will develop incredible flavor.
Once the cooking time has elapsed and the pressure has released naturally for 10 minutes, do a quick release of any remaining pressure. Because our instant pot is full of thin liquid, be extra cautious when doing a quick release. Knock the vent knob from sealing to venting using the handle of a wooden spoon and stand away from the vent knob in case any liquid escapes from the knob. Remember to never release pressure directly under kitchen cabinets either. It is best to always use your pressure cooker in an open space.
Once the pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and stir in spinach and red wine vinegar. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and let sit for a couple of minutes, or until the spinach is wilted.

Spinach on top of cooked minestrone in instant pot.

Serve the minestrone with freshly grated parmesan if desired.

Bowl of Pressure Cooker Minestrone next to white checkered napkin.

Storage

Allow any leftover minestrone to cool slightly and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Alternatively, transfer the cooled Instant Pot Minestrone to a freezer-safe container, being sure to leave at least 1-inch of space for expansion and freeze for 3 months.

Defrost frozen soup in the microwave in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat as desired. Keep in mind that you may need to add a splash of water or vegetable broth prior to reheating the soup, as the noodles will absorb the broth as the soup sits.

More Instant Pot Vegetarian Soups

If you enjoyed this recipe for Instant Pot Minestrone, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.

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