Hearty Minestrone Soup is filling and DELICIOUS! This classic Italian soup, with meat, veggies, tomatoes, beans, and macaroni is sure to please.
The first time I had this hearty minestrone soup was when my Father-in-Law died over 40 years ago. A friend of the family was there for his memorial, and fixed a massive pot of this soup for the family at my in-laws home after the service.
The day of his memorial service was very cold and snowy (January), so this hot, delicious, filling meal was a God-send, as well as a sweet, thoughtful “gift” to our family! A long-time family friend named Veda Quatro made the soup, gave me her recipe, and we’ve enjoyed this hearty, flavor-packed soup ever since that day!
The recipe makes 12 servings, and is CRAZY DELICIOUS. It takes a bit of time and prep work to make, but honestly, the results are wonderful, and will be worth your time! If you will only be serving a few people, you will enjoy having the leftovers for lunches or a quick meal! YUM!
Four Steps To Making Hearty Minestrone Soup!
There are basically 4 steps to making this soup. Cook the stew meat in broth, cook ground beef, onions and spices, cook the veggies, and add the final batch of veggies and pasta to the soup 30 minutes before serving!
It’s really not that hard to make… honest! Here’s how to cook a large batch of this yummy soup:
Step #1 – Cooking The Stew Meat
Place 5 quarts of water into a HUGE soup pot. Add the beef bouillon cubes and the stew meat. NOTE: You can substitute 5 quarts beef broth for water and bouillon, if more convenient. Cook on high for about 20 minutes, or until the stew meat is cooked through. Once done, turn off heat, and transfer the stew meat with a slotted spoon to a plate to rest.
NOTE: Trust me… you will want to use a LARGE soup pot or divide the recipe between two standard sized soup pots for this recipe, because it makes a LOT of soup, once completed!
Step #2
Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the ground beef, drained stew meat, chopped onion, pepper, and chopped parsley. Cook this mixture until the ground beef is browned and fully cooked through.
As soon as the ground beef is fully cooked, add the minced garlic, and continue to cook, stirring often, for one minute.
Drain the grease from the skillet (discard) and then add the cooked beef and onion mixture into the broth and stir, to combine.
Step #3
On to the next step! Gather the sliced celery, carrots and shredded cabbage, and add them to the pot of hearty minestrone soup! Pour in the canned diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and then give everything a good stir, to combine. Add the salt, stir then taste the soup, and add additional salt, if desired, to suit your personal taste.
Continue to cook the hearty minestrone soup (uncovered) on medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until the veggies become tender. The soup liquid will reduce in volume slightly as the mixture cooks.
NOTE: If making soup ahead for serving later in the day… turn off the heat after this step, and let soup sit until 30 minutes before you want to serve, then go to Step #4.
Step #4 – The FINAL Step Before Serving
About 30 minutes BEFORE serving, add the uncooked macaroni noodles, frozen peas, kidney beans and zucchini slices to the pot of soup.
Cook the hearty minestrone soup on medium heat (still uncovered) for 30 minutes, and then it will be ready to serve! The broth will slightly reduce as it continues to cook, and the macaroni will fully cook in the soup!
Time To Serve Hearty Minestrone Soup!
After 30 minutes your huge pot of homemade, hearty minestrone soup is ready to serve! Give it a final taste, and add additional salt, if desired. Ladle the steaming soup into bowls, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and serve!
I really hope you will give this hearty minestrone soup a try! It is fabulous, and feeds a small village, or provides you with quite a few leftover bowls of delicious soup! YUM!!! Have a great day.
Looking For More SOUP Recipes?
You can find all of my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have many soup recipes on the blog, including:
- Grandma’s Southern-Style Chicken n’ Dumplings
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Albondigas Soup
- Garden Vegetable Chowder
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Recipe adapted from: Family friend Veda Quatro’s original recipe (1979)
Hearty Minestrone Soup is filling and DELICIOUS! This classic Italian soup, with meat, veggies, tomatoes, beans, and macaroni is sure to please.
- 5 quarts water
- 1½ pounds beef stew meat , cut into cubes
- 4 large beef bouillon cubes
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ pound ground beef
- 1 medium brown onion , chopped
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh parsley , finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 cup celery , sliced
- 2 cups green cabbage , shredded
- 1½ cups carrots , sliced or diced
- 43.5 ounces diced, canned tomatoes (=three 14.5 ounce cans)
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons salt , plus additional, to desired taste
- 1 cup zucchini , sliced thin, then cut slices in half
- 1 cup frozen peas , do not thaw
- 15.5 ounces kidney beans (canned) , rinsed and drained
- 2 cups elbow macaroni , uncooked
- grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
STEP #1: Place 5 quarts of water into a HUGE soup pot. Add the beef bouillon cubes and the stew meat. NOTE: Substitute 5 quarts beef broth for water and bouillon, if more convenient. Cook on high for 20 minutes, or until stew meat is cooked through. Once done, turn off heat, and transfer stew meat with a slotted spoon to a plate to rest.
STEP #2: Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add ground beef, drained stew meat, chopped onions, black pepper, and parsley. Cook until ground beef is browned and cooked through. Add minced garlic, and cook, stirring often, for one minute. Drain grease from skillet (discard) and then add this mixture to the broth and stir to combine.
STEP #3: Add celery, carrots and cabbage to the pot of soup. Pour in canned diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning; stir, to combine. Add salt, stir then taste the soup, and add additional salt, if desired. Continue to cook soup (uncovered) on medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the veggies become tender. The soup liquid will reduce in volume slightly as the mixture cooks. NOTE: If making soup ahead for serving later in the day -turn off heat after this step, and let soup sit until 30 minutes before you want to serve, then go to Step #4.
STEP #4: 30 minutes BEFORE serving, add the uncooked macaroni noodles, frozen peas, kidney beans and zucchini slices to the soup. Cook on medium high heat (still uncovered) for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then it's ready to serve! Give it a final taste; add additional salt, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and serve! Enjoy!
TIP: The original author of this recipe (Veda) told me this tip: If you need to stretch out any leftover soup, just add another can of diced tomatoes or kidney beans, to make it go further!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!