Best Darn Minestrone Soup Around

This is a fabulous, fabulous recipe!!! Ron's not kidding when he says to use a big pot and that it will feed an army--you need a BIG stockpot. It says 12 servings--but my ladle holds about a cup, and my bowls hold two ladles-ful. I think we can get about 18 bowls out of this recipe, estimating. I make it for dinner, then we have lunches out of it for several days, plus dinner the second night, and we have a family of 5 (and four of us are male). One important adjustment I made--I use half and half instead of the cream. It's perfect like that, IMHO--I've made it twice and have never used the cream. Even with the decreased fat, it's very rich and can cause some digestive issues, if you know what I mean, so I know I could never use the cream in it (plus, you'll save about $2 with the price difference between a quart of cream and a quart of half and half!). I also don't use 8 tablespoons of butter to saute the onions--3 is sufficient and takes a big bite out of the calorie and fat content. You won't miss it. Thank you, Ron!!!!

I LOVED this soup!! I only had beef stock on hand and used that instead, and halved the recipe, and it still filled up my large dutch oven pot!! I tried this before adding the cream,(half and half), and it was very tasty without it, as well! The flavours are NOT oustanding until the next day. Hubby said the first day it tasted like just cream, but the second day, WOW!! Added fresh basil at the end for a lovely flavor, and also a titch of sugar(oops). I just prefer my tomato base recipes to have a touch of sweetness. I also think when you use that much cream in this soup, the tomato paste needs to be bumped up a bit, as I found myself adding about 1/4 cup. So in light of my few minor changes, I can only give this 4 stars, as I tweaked a bit for my own personal preference. I HATE it when people change the whole thing and then still only give a 2 or 3 star rating, or tweak it so it is nowhere NEAR the original and then give it 5!!! As this recipe stands, it is truly a 4 star!! Thank you for a lovely soup!!

I am a Detroiter and LOVE Lelli's minestrone soup!!! We go to Lelli's in Auburn Hills every year for mother's day and for other special occassions. We used to go to the one in Detroit, but that one burned down (or something arsen related) many years ago. I have to agree that your soup is very very similar to Lelli's. I did not make it with the elbow pasta and so I only put in 1 cup of heavy cream!!! I do have to admit that I threw out the first batch I made because the Fat Free Half & Half I tried to substitute for the heavy cream was just horrible!!! The second batch I made with the heavy cream was perfect!!! Thanks for giving me a new recipe I will make over and over again! Hubby loved it too, he said he was looking forward all morning to coming home for lunch and eating more of this delicious soup!

Recipe was too much! IN EVERY WAY! Must also be "a Michigan thing". This recipe makes enough for an army and has enough calories for one too! It's a great compliment to a sedentary lifestyle...get healthy Michigan...check out Jamie's Minestrone-healthy and tasty!!!

Wonderful recipe! I was looking for a recipe to mimic Columbo Italia in Mt. Clemens, and this one does it - must be a MI thing :) Great flavor, and very easy to make. The recipe was asked for after the first bite. Definately will go as one of my family "staples".

This is a very good minestrone soup. It is a little unusual to add cream (I think) but it was very, very good. I made it up to the puree step the night before. It was very tasty after the puree and I had not added any seasonings yet! It does make a lot so I froze some.

i used this recipe as i needed alot of soup and something abit different for my sons granparents day lunch and this recipe fit all my needs and was loved by all and there was plenty for seconds and even thirds...

I always try new recipes on groups of friends! They loved it!!! I didn't blend the veggies, cause we like'em chunky!! It was a real Hit!! The flavor throughout and the heartyness was great.

THIS IS THE RECIPE THAT MADE ME JOIN THIS SITE......MY MOTHER IN LAW MADE IT FOR 50 FRIENDS & FAMILY MEMBERS, AND WE ALL LOVED IT! ~JOI

I thoroughly enjoyed this soup. Many in the home and offices did as well. I followed exact and get ready because it does make a lot!

this recipe is excellent! the only changes i made was 1/2 the amount of butter, added more salt, and only 3/4 cup of heavy cream. i cannot imagine why you would need 4 cups of heavy cream, its not necessary , i swear! it is still very rich and satisfying. it is so delicious!!! definitely will be making this again and again.

Being from Detroit I LOVE lellis soup and was online looking for a knock off. Ron, you did fantastic. Whenever I make this for people they ask for the recipe. My son LOVES it. (Although I have to puree the entire thing to hide the beans..and omit chickpeas) Just a tip for people.... If you puree the whole thing...boil the noodles separately and throw them in at the end. I use ditalini ( small) pasta, and I use whole milk instead of cream. Ive tried half and half too, but once you puree it you don't lose the creaminess factor. I leave it in my bug soup pot and use my immersion blender , I used to use the blender.. no more. Whole milk works wonderfully. Thanks Ron. I miss being in the D.

I made this soup at work for 120 people, the talked about it for weeks after the event, i have ahd MANY people since ask me to remake this soup again It's a winner

This is a great base-recipe for a really satisfying soup, and it results in the kind of food you want to eat again and again. I used fresh grilled veggies instead of canned, and added some cayenne to give it some punch. Half-and-half instead of cream seemed to work pretty well, too. Basically, if you're into cutting calories, it's easy to do that with this recipe and still yield VERY nice results!

i only replaced white beans for kidney and tossed in the ham bone from last night. everything else is as directed. it is colorful, fragrant, and tastes great. I did sub 1/2 n 1/2 for the cream. just wonderful.

I have made this several times now, and love it each time I make it. I slim it down with fat free half and half instead of cream.

This was super delicious! Perfect for those meatless Fridays! I am honestly not much of a vegetable soup person but this was THE exception! For the mixed vegetables I used a frozen 14oz bag mix that had: brocoli, lima beans, carrots, and squash and half a 16oz bag of a frozen pea/carrot mix, and a full package of frozen chop spinach. I halfved the recipe and used 3T of Smart Balance spread instead of butter and used whole milk because that's what I had. Even with these mods there was no lack of flavor! Yum! Yum! Oh, and I was short on time so only simmered for about 30-45 mins for the first step and 30 mins for the last step and it was still fantastic.

I too hate it when people change the ingredients and then say they "loved this recipe", but I was missing a couple things that this recipe called for and so didn't use them. I wanted to make a minestrone soup really bad, but even with the slight changes i made, MY WHOLE FAMILY LOVES THIS SOUP!!! First, I cut the recipe to 6 servings (still makes a lot). I did not have spinach or canned mixed veges, so i used frozen mixed veges and no spinach. I also did not have garbanzo beans so used 2 cans of kidney beans instead. Lastly, I used diced tomatoes instead of whole ones. I think even if i had not made those changes, it STILL WOULD BE AWESOME! YUMM! MAKE THIS! Oh, I wanted to add that this is the recipe that made me join this site even though I've been visiting it for a couple years now!!

This definitely lives up to it's name. I made this a couple of weeks ago and am shopping for the ingredients today to make more - loved it!

I made the recipe exactly as shown, only I used half and half instead of cream. I admit the amount of garlic powder scared me, but it was just right. Also only made half of the entire recipe. Filled up my dutch oven. Very tasty, thanks for sharing!

I was impressed, even with only *half* the cream added. I used the entire 6 oz. of tomato paste, and later doubled the basil. FROZEN mixed veggies ("for soup") were perfect, and I used two 32 oz. boxes of chicken broth. Later, for kicks I added imitation lobster to the leftovers, and that was good too! Great recipe for a group, like our family, or guests.

Every year at my family's pre Christmas gathering we all make a soup and bread to share. This has be come the absolute favorite of all 50-60 of us! I love that it's easy and feeds a crowd. I sometimes add the whole little can of tomato paste and more garlic. But it is amazing just the way it is!

I don't even like Minestrone Soup and I gobble this up everytime my boss brings it into the office!!!!

I am familiar with Lelli's restaurant - and their minnestrone is VERY good. This recipe was great & very similar - my relatives thought it was even better! I added 3 cloves of garlic to the sauteed onions and added white northern beans instead of garbonzos. Also used frozen mixed veggies instead of canned. Used only 2 cups of cream - that seemed to be plenty. This recipe does make a LOT; however, I froze half and will get two meals from the batch. Blending the veggies is key. Very, very delicious!!

This sounded intersting for a small supper party I'm planning for the holidays, so I thought I'd try it before making for guests. Both my husband and I really enjoyed it. I did as several others suggested -- 3 Tbsp. butter, half and half, frozen veggies. Also I used fresh spinach. Will make again for guests this weekend.

I am going to start my review by saying that I did not follow the recipe. I tried to get rid of all the canned stuff to cut down on the sodium, and the soup didn't taste good at all. My guess is that the attraction here is to all that salt.

This was absolutely delicious! Alot of ingredients, but well worth the trouble. My family loved it.

Really Delicious amazing soup! I halved the recipe since I'm only feeding three, & only used 1 cup of cream & 1 TBSP butter to cut down the fat. Still came out plenty creamy and full of flavor.(Also threw in a handful of chopped kale). Yummy!....will be making this again soon! Thanks for sharing!

It was GREAT! My Notes: -I did 8 servings not 12. But it saves really well so you can do as much as you want. -I subbed the cans of mixed veggies for 1 cup of chopped carrots and a 1 cup of chopped celery. (with this soup you dont have to be exact with measurements) -I split the kidney beans... white and red. -I used fresh tomatoes... not canned (4 of them) -I used fresh garlic instead of powder. (same measurements) -I used Fresh Basil and Parsley not dried. (same measurements) -And instead of Fatty Heavy Cream I just added more Chicken broth. I was even better the next day!

This was a fun easy dinner to make. The substitutions I made were 1 c. half/half, rest of cream substituted with 2% milk. I used fresh veggies, not canned, and only 2 tbs butter. Was fabulous- and not a load of calories. I also did it in the crock pot instead of stove. The only thing, this recipe is so big it could have filled 3 large pots! Will make this again :)

awesome!

This soup is AWESOME. I was a little nervous about a "creamy" Minestrone soup, but I am so glad I tried it! The family went crazy for it!

My dad used to take us to Lelis resturant in Detroit and I remember this soup well. I made it today and it brought back wonderful memories. I would not change a thing int he recipe. Thanks for posting it!

This really is the most amazing minestrone soup I have ever had.

Made this soup today, a nice rainey day for it, and it was WONDERFUL!! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.

I made this soup for our Italian themed Christmas office party. Everyone loved it. This recipe was enough for about 30 guests to each have a cup of the soup. I added red pepper flakes because we like things spicy in South Texas.

the soup tasted really good. My only complaint is about the macaroni. It gets really soggy and gross. I ruined the whole batch of soup because I added the pasta in then cooked like the directions say. the problem was the left over soup... I ended up throwing it out due to the mushy past. Next time I would just add the pasta per serving.

Perfect creamy minestrone soup! Even my picky ten year old will eat it - it's that good! Serve it with a little grated parmigiano-reggiano and some crusty bread and you have the perfect fall meal! Thank you for this recipe!

This soup is fabulous!! I followed the recipe exactly as written and it's one of the best I've ever made. Next time though, I'll use diced tomatoes instead of the whole ones

This exceeded our entire family's expectations! VERY hearty soup with amazing flavor! I followed the recipe exactly and had more success than I have ever had with a soup! Making it again tonight!

Excellent, thick and makes a lot.

This was good - made a bit too much, more than only me and my husband could eat....took for lunches and ate for dinner, but got a bit tired of it after a couple of days.

Easy to make and so, so good!

Delicious! I cut it in half because I just didn't need that much. I subbed frozen vegetables instead of canned but you need a little more salt than called for. I also used stock instead of broth.

I made this with one change,I used 4 16 oz. pkg. of mixed vegetables instead of canned. This is a 5 star recipe and I will be making it over and over. Be advised this will make a lot of soup.

Really good recipe. Didn't puree any of the veg. A nice change of pace from traditional minestrone soups.

excellent!!!! everyone who tries this soup absolutely loves it... even the ones who don't like veggies! highly recommended.

My girls (ages 5-18) love minestrone soup. Well, they love my Mom’s minestrone soup. I didn’t have her recipe on hand so I put this one together instead. It didn’t go over well. And my kids aren’t picky. I liked it which is why I didn’t give it one star. But even I had to admit I didn’t like the hard chickpeas. I’m curious why those get added for only 30 minutes at the end. They were very hard. No one likes that.

I use half and half and only put in about half of that! no need for all those calories, it's soooo good.

Absolutely Amazing!!! I used fresh veggies instead of canned and used escarole I didn't have spinach. This was the best soup I have ever had.WOW

my family loved !! I used half and half in stead of heavy cream.

All of the rave reviews for this recipe are true!! I increased the tomato paste from 2 T to 6ozs (one small can), used half and half instead of the heavy cream and I added already cooked frozen shrimp which was the "icing on the cake"! Superb!

Best soup recipe ever!!!!

Makes a nice amount to eat when ready and some to store in the freezer for a later date. Yummy x 5

the best

I made this the exact way shown. very good, lots going in the freezer for a later date.

Delicious. Made a half recipe and it was good for two adults for two meals. Had to adapt half recipe to French ingredient packaging; 1 package 600g mixed vegetables. 1 can 400g garbanzo beans (pois chiches), cancel kidney beans, 33cl heavy cream (crème épaisse), added extra elbow macaroni.

I thought this recipe was great! I actually only used a few tablespoons of cream, as I wasn't sure why the recipe even needed it. Next time I make it, I will probably leave it out all together. I also doubled the seasonings for more flavor. As mentioned by others, this recipe can feed an army so it is perfect for large groups.

Your recipe is wonderful. I did make a few changes as others, used less butter, added garlic to the onions and used frozen veggies (can't eat a vegetables from a can.) Really enjoyed NOT having to spend a half hour chopping veggies. Very good, thanks for sharing.

Excellent soup for a winters day. Made it exactly as the recipe denotes and the whole family loved it. Get your biggest soup pot out as this recipe makes plenty.

excellent

Made this for our church group. Everyone loved it. I used half & half at the end in place of the heavy cream 'cuz I was scared it would be too creamy. Turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!

My club had a soup luncheon as a fund-raiser and I took this soup. It was a huge hit and everyone asked for the recipe. Minestrone with a cream base sounds odd but it was absolutely delicious!

Terrific recipe! Based on what I had in the house I made the following changes. Instead of canned mixed vegetables I used golden beets, broccoli and baby carrots. I also used unsweetened coconut milk (the kind sold in 1/2 gallon containers meant for drinking) instead of the heavy cream which worked VERY well. For the pasta I used orzo. Thanks for posting this unique twist on a timeless classic!

The favorite soup in our house and very similar to Lelli's which is great because it's expensive there and I'm always left wanting more. I omit the butter and throw the onions in with the veggies. I use frozen veggies and half the amount of fat free !/2 &1/2. Pureeing the veggies is the key to this soup. No need to cook it so long - I do the whole thing in 30 min. Keeps well and always disappears within 3 days. A sure crowd pleaser.

Awesome soup, made a few small changes, use frozen veggies instead of canned, diced tomato, and only part of the heavy cream, used vegetable broth as well.I will definitely make this agin, but will use half and half as others have suggested.

I followed the basic recipe with modifications on quantity for our taste and preference. This is what I did: Frozen peas and corn, fresh carrots and beans, didn't have any spinach, only 2 Tbs. butter to cook onion in, diced tomatoes v/s whole, 3tsp garlic, 3tsp parsley, the whole can of garbanzo, and only 1 cup heavy cream (4cups seems like WAY to much). All other ingredient quantities the same and I did puree half the veggies. Very happy with the flavor, maybe I'd add more S&P. I cooked the noodles separate based on another review but in the end combined it and have yet to eat the leftovers to see if it is too mushy.

Your recipe is wonderful. I did make a few changes as others, used less butter, added garlic to the onions and used frozen veggies (can't eat a vegetables from a can.) Really enjoyed NOT having to spend a half hour chopping veggies. Very good, thanks for sharing.

True to the recipes name, it is the best darn minestrone soup around. There isn't one person that has tasted this soup that hasn't asked, no begged for this recipe. I am a native Detroiter and proud of it. I have had the original lellis minnesrone and I think this recipe is even better than theirs.

I used only 4 tablespoons of butter to sauté the onions. It doesn't need more than that. I also only used a half cup of cream--again--it doesn't need all that cream to make it rich. A cup could be added to make it creamier but it's not necessary. I also added a half teaspoon of oregano. You may have to add sea salt depending on the type of broth used. I've made it with chicken stock, and I've made a veggie stock version. I used the diced canned tomatoes as I like smaller tomato chunks, and I have used the seasoned ones. I served mine with homemade garlic Parmesan croutons.

Excellent!

Best Minestrone Soup in the world. Not for dieters but FABULOUS and a real crowd pleaser. Very similar to Lelli's Restaurant's famous house soup (Farmington Hills, MI). Highly recommended and YUMMY!!

Very Good! I changed a couple of things though. I cut the recipe in half and I used frozen mixed vegetables since I don't like the flavor of canned. I also used a orzo type pasta because macaroni swells up too much and I used half n half also. If you want meat in it you can slow cook some stew meat before making the soup then it turns out real tender or add precooked Italian sausage. I've also made the soup vegetarian with vegetable broth and it was still real good. Thanks for the recipe!

1/2 made a ton, yummy

WOW, one reviewer said this soup was better the next day, so I'm making it now for guests to have tomorrow. I halved the recipe, as another reviewer said it makes a tremendous amount. I am only up to simmering the soup at this point. If it tastes just half as good as it already smells....it will be a BIG hit!!! It's killing me, I'm dying to dunk a piece of bread in it, but it's not ready!! I will be back with a final review after my guests have eaten it! So far YAY!!