Here are 23 of the best dishes to serve with minestrone soup! From fresh salads to delicious breads to savory meats, you’re sure to find a tasty pairing.
Wondering what to serve with minestrone soup?
We’re sharing 23 of the best dishes to go with this comforting Italian soup.
And you’ll also find an easy recipe for homemade minestrone in the Crock Pot.
Keep scrolling for our favorite pairings!
What is minestrone soup?
Most people are familiar with soup recipes like potato soup, tomato soup, or even clam chowder, but you might not have heard of minestrone (AKA “big soup“)!
This hearty soup is an Italian favorite that’s perfect for cold weather.
The traditional recipe is full of fresh vegetables like green beans, tomatoes, carrots, and kidney beans. And some recipes may call for seasonal vegetables like butternut squash.
But, you can always choose your favorite variety of vegetables when making your own.
Minestrone soup also typically includes a small pasta, like pasta e fagioli or macaroni, and a base of vegetable broth, chicken broth, or beef broth.
You’ll also enjoy fresh herbs like fresh parsley, bay leaves, fresh basil, and fresh rosemary.
Most minestrone soup is vegetarian, but you can always add in ground beef, Italian sausage, or ground turkey to amp it up.
And for added flavor, you can cook the soup with a parmesan rind or sprinkle parmesan cheese on top to finish it!
PRO TIP: If you plan to add a bay leaf to your soup, place it in an herb bag so it’s easier to fish out at the end of cooking.
What to Serve with Minestrone Soup
Soup is often served as a first course, but there’s no reason this delicious soup can’t serve as a main course, too!
All you need are some great side dishes or an accompanying protein to make it a meal!
Either way, we’re sharing the best food pairings to serve with minestrone as a side or main dish, below.
Fresh Salad and Vegetables
Soup and salad are a classic combo! And roasted vegetables go well with almost any dish.
Below, are some of the best fresh salad and vegetable recipes to serve with minestrone soup.
Kale Caesar salad
A fresh kale Caesar salad is a great side dish to serve with minestrone soup.
Or, if you want a little more substance, you can add a protein or pasta.
This chicken Caesar salad with pasta is a great recipe to try!
Arugula Salad
A simple arugula salad also pairs well with minestrone soup.
Dress the arugula with an olive oil and lemon or vinegar-based dressing, add your favorite toppings, and finish it with shaved parmesan cheese!
Persimmon Salad
This cold-weather persimmon salad is the perfect sidekick for soups and stews.
It’s a sophisticated recipe featuring sliced persimmon fruit, oranges, goat cheese, and balsamic dressing.
And although it has a lot of different flavors and textures, it doesn’t compete too much with the soup.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples
These roasted sweet potatoes and apples will add a sweet note to the meal when paired with minestrone soup. Roasting these fruits brings out their natural sweetness, without adding any extra sugar.
Winter Green Salad
You can’t go wrong with this winter green salad, featuring pomegranate, pears, and pecans. And the homemade poppy seed dressing puts it over the top.
Spinach Salad
Spinach strawberry salad with almonds is another great pairing for minestrone soup.
The crunchy almonds, tangy feta, and sweet poppy seed dressing work so well together, and sweetly complement this hearty soup.
BLT Salad with Avocado
Finally, this BLT salad with avocado makes a great minestrone soup companion. It’s simple, yummy, and so easy to make.
Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
Adding a side of roasted seasonal vegetables will really put your daily serving of veggies over the top!
Roasting vegetables is really easy to do and you can use whatever is in season like carrots, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus.
Meat
If you’re missing meat in your meal, you can add one of the delicious proteins below as the main course.
Each of these meats complements the ingredients in minestrone soup.
Serve these dishes with one of the salads above and a bread option from below for a complete meal.
Grilled Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken
These grilled chicken breasts with bruschetta are the perfect main course to serve alongside minestrone soup.
They’re both classic Italian recipes so they naturally go well together.
The chicken gets grilled to perfection and then topped with fresh tomatoes, basil, and balsamic glaze.
Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast
This hearty Italian pot roast is another great main course for minestrone. The meat gets cooked until it’s fall-apart tender and smothered in a zesty mushroom and tomato sauce.
It’s a delicious twist on traditional roast beef and a great pairing for the flavors in the soup.
Sausage Links
You can also serve grilled or baked sausage links with your minestrone soup.
Italian sausage is always a safe bet, but any sausage would work well, too.
Lamb Chops
Lamb chops or lamb kebabs are a great cold weather protein and an ideal pairing for minestrone.
You can cook the lamb with similar fresh herbs and seasonings as the soup to create a seamless meal progression from the starter to the main course.
Ham
Ham is a great companion for soup because so many soups include ham!
You could go the traditonal American route and serve a honey baked ham, or opt for the Italian prosciutto.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches and soup are just as popular a duo as salads and soup.
Below, you’ll find some of the best sandwich recipes to go with minestrone.
Each of these sandwiches is especially great for lunch, but works well for dinner too!
11. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Who doesn’t love a good grilled cheese sandwich?
These toasty cheesy sandwiches are the perfect companion to any soup, and they pair incredibly well with minestrone.
Monte Cristo Sliders
Monte Cristo sliders are another great lunch pairing for minestrone soup.
It’s a unique sandwich with an interesting combination of ingredients like jam, turkey, swiss cheese, and Dijon mustard.
And, the result is surprisingly delicious.
Deli Turkey Sandwiches with Avocado
If you’re feeling less adventurous, you can always go with a traditional deli sandwich featuring turkey, avocado, and “special sauce”.
It’s a great side for minestrone soup and perfect for lunch.
Bread
Here are some easy and delicious bread recipes to complement minestrone soup.
From garlic bread to cheesy biscuits, you’re sure to find the perfect side for this comforting Italian soup!
Garlic Bread/Bread Sticks
Crusty bread and soup go hand in hand. And garlic bread is one of the easiest sides you can make for minestrone soup!
All you need is bread, a little butter, garlic, and maybe some fresh herbs.
And it’s the perfect vessel to sop any last spoonfuls of soup.
No-Knead Crescent Rolls
Crescent rolls are always a crowd-pleaser. And they’re easier to make than you might think.
Rolls of any kind are a great side dish for minestrone soup. So you can’t go wrong with this delicious, moon-shaped bread!
Bruschetta
Bruschetta is a traditonal Italian appetizer and pairs beautifully with minestrone soup!
If you’re looking for an easy recipe, try this bruschetta with garlic, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and basil.
Refrigerator Mashed Potato Rolls
If you have leftover mashed potatoes, don’t throw them out!
Make mashed potato rolls, instead!
They’re incredibly moist and delicious, and they pair perfectly with soups and stews.
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin dinner rolls are a great side dish for fall meals or Thanksgiving dinner. And they’re a great companion to minestrone soup.
This recipe features pumpkin puree and sugar, but they’re not too sweet!
Cheesy Drop Biscuits
You can also try these delicious and simple, cheesy drop biscuits.
They only take 20 minutes so they’re perfect for a quick lunch or dinner.
Pizza
You can never go wrong with pizza!
While pizza is traditionally served with salad or pasta, serving it with minestrone soup just makes sense!
The Italian flavors and herbs will blend perfectly together and create a rounded meal.
Crock Pot Minestrone Soup Recipe
And if you’re looking for a great minestrone soup recipe, here’s an easy one that you can make in your slow cooker or Crock Pot!
With a shorter ingredient list and the use of frozen vegetables, this will be the easiest minestrone soup you’ve ever made!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup frozen chopped onions, about 1 small onion
- 2 cups frozen zucchini slices, about 2 medium zucchini
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 30 ounces canned kidney beans, drained
- 28 ounces beef broth
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1½ cups uncooked elbow macaroni
Get the full directions for this Crock Pot Minestrone Soup here.
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Did we answer all your questions about what to serve with minestrone soup? Let us know if we missed anything in the comments!
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