HOW TO MAKE GLUTEN FREE MINESTRONE SOUP

I’m so excited to share one of my favorite recipes with you today!

This Gluten Free Minestrone Soup recipe is one of my all time favorites. It’s an hearty meal in itself, but can also be served as an starter.

The recipe above shows how to make gluten free minestrone soup in the instant pot, but this recipe can also be prepared on the stove. Instant Pot minestrone soup cooks more quickly because of the pressure cooking cycle on your Instant Pot. This recipe does not use gluten free pasta. It uses potatoes in place of the pasta, but if you have heart set on a more traditional minestrone soup you can substitute gluten free pasta for the potatoes.

Instructions on how to make this delicious gluten free minestrone soup on the stove are shown below:

STOVE-TOP RECIPE FOR GLUTEN FREE MINESTRONE SOUP

Follow the recipe exactly as above, but add the ingredients to a soup pot on your stove instead of your instant pot. Instead of pressure cooking for 20 minutes, you will simmer on your stove on medium high heat for one hour to one hour and a half. You have to cook the soup on the stove longer to release all the flavors of the ingredients.

SLOW COOKER RECIPE FOR GLUTEN FREE MINESTRONE SOUP

To make this recipe in your slow cooker, you will again follow the recipe exactly as written above, except you will not sauté the meat and onions and garlic in step . You will just put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and then cook on low heat for 6 hours.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE MOST FLAVORFUL GLUTEN FREE MINESTRONE

My grandmother made minestrone every weekend. She never made it the same! That is the beauty of minestrone soup. You will find thousands of different recipes out there for it.

I had a really hard time picking which minestrone soup recipe to post because I make it different every time too. So, I decided I will post this one to get you all started, and I will post another of my variations of my minestrone soup recipes once a month. I hope if you make this recipes you will let me know in the comments how you liked it.

My grandmother and my mom always said that minestrone was “leftover soup”. They would go through the fridge and find all the veggies and meat that were on the verge of going bad and they would throw it all in the minestrone soup pot. My grandma would put salami and ham in it, sometimes capacolla or what ever deli meats she had that were on their last legs. She always added some kind of beans and she always added pasta to her soup.

I try to keep my gluten intake down so I usually substitute potatoes for the pasta to make this recipe gluten free, but this soup is delicious with pasta too. If you love pasta but try to avoid gluten, you can use a gluten free pasta in this soup instead of the potatoes.

During the summer months when I have all kinds of vegetables from the garden and our farm share, I will add all kinds of veggies to this gluten free minestrone soup base. I add zucchini, eggplant, peas, whole tomatoes instead of canned diced tomatoes, collard greens or Swiss chard, cut up green beans, you name it and you pop it in the pot!

I play around with the spices in this gluten free minestrone soup as well. I like to add fresh basil or dried basil, fresh thyme, fresh crushed black pepper, bay leaves, and fresh oregano.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN MINESTRONE SOUP BE MADE GLUTEN FREE?

Absolutely, it’s easy to make gluten free minestrone at home, but traditional minestrone soup has pasta in it, so many canned minestrone soups and restaurant minestrone soups are not gluten free. Look for gluten-free certifications when purchasing minestrone soup at a store. At home you can make your minestrone soup recipe with gluten free pasta to keep it gluten free.

My favorite gluten free pasta is from Aldi. It is from their Live G Free line. It’s made from brown rice and quinoa and it is the closest I’ve found to white pasta. The Barilla Gluten Free pasta is also a very good option for cooking in the instant pot. Both of those gluten free pastas don’t need to be rinsed after cooking so they work very nicely in electric pressure cooker dishes.

WHAT IS MINESTRONE BROTH MADE OF?

You can use any type of broth in minestrone soup, but classic minestrone soup is usually made with a meat base, so it’s commonly made with beef broth. Vegetarian versions will be made with vegetable broth. Common ingredients when making a minestrone are beef or pork or sausage, onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes, greens or spinach and spices.

CAN I FREEZE MINESTRONE SOUP?

Minestrone will freeze well. Just make sure to cool your soup completely before placing it in a freezer sage container. I like to use ziploc freezer bags for storing soups. Make sure to leave room for the soup to expand in what ever container you choose.

HOW LONG WILL MY MINESTRONE SOUP LAST IN THE REFRIGERATOR?

Left over minestrone soup will last 5-7 days in the fridge.

SHOULD I USE BEEF BROTH OR VEGETABLE BROTH FOR MY MINESTRONE SOUP?

Honestly, I don’t think it matters for a minestrone soup. Since this soup has meat in it, you won’t be missing any flavor if you use vegetable stock instead of beef broth. And since you will be filling up your pot with healthy flavorful veggies and pressure cooking, you will still have plenty of flavor if you prefer a vegetable stock over beef.

I have even made this with water or using chicken broth if I don’t have any beef broth on hand.

WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH MINESTRONE?

In my house we eat this absolutely delicious soup as our meal. It’s a very hearty soup, so everyone gets a big bowl and I serve it crusty French bread and a dinner salad.

If you prefer to have your soup as a starter or first course, then you could follow your soup with a pasta dish or chicken cutlets with arugula salad on the side.

IS MINESTRONE A HEALTHY MEAL?

YES, YES, YES! This minestrone soup recipe is so healthy, especially when made gluten free. It is full of superfoods and has at least a serving of fresh vegetables in each bowl. This recipe is also easily adaptable to vegetarian and/or vegan.

LETS RUN THROUGH THE SUPERFOODS IN THIS DISH:

GARLIC

Garlic has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties. It’s believed to fight off illness and to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.

BASIL

Basil contains antioxidants and anti-bacterial properties that help digestion, skin health and aid in detoxification in the body. Basil also contains Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Iron, Manganese and Calcium. Basil aids in digestion and can help with a tummy ache. It’s also believed to be a natural aid with depression and anxiety.

ONION

Onions are an overlooked superstar when it comes to immunity.

They contain calcium, potassium, vitamin C and folate.

Onions are believed to help eliminate toxins in our bodies and to help our bolides fight illness, infection and cancer.

TOMATOES

Tomatoes are full of healthy antioxidants.

They also contain lycopene, a plant compound that has been linked to improved heart health and the prevention of many cancers.

Tomatoes are also believed to protect our skin.

CELERY

Celery contains lots of antioxidants and phytonutrients that are believed to reduce inflammation in the body.

Celery also contains luteolin, a flavonoid antioxidant that anti-aging properties for our brains.

CARROTS

Carrots have lots of vitamins A, Vitamin C and carotenoids.

They are great for our skin and our eyes as well.

They also aid in digestive health.

POTATOES

Potatoes tend to have a bad reputation because they have carbs and some find carbs evil, but they are actually very nutritious.

They are great source of fiber, and they can keep you feeling full.

Potatoes do have carbs but they are high quality carbs that aren’t refined.

SPINACH

Spinach has so many great properties that I can’t even list them all here.

It is a great source of Zeaxanthin and carotenoids that can flush free radicals from our bodies and keep our eyes healthy.

It is very high in potassium which is believed to help regulate blood pressure. It is high in calcium and vitamin K which keeps our bones and teeth strong.

Spinach also has anti-inflammatory properties.

For a full overview of all the latest Instant Pot models and all the associated Instant Pot Sizes see our article titled “Instant Pot Sizes”

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