Top 28 Italian Vegetable Soups

Pasta e ceci is a thick Italian soup featuring pasta and chickpeas as the main ingredients. Any kind of pasta can be used in the soup, from maltagliati to cannolicchi. The dish is usually prepared with a soffrito of onions and celery that is simmered in a chickpea broth, while the pasta is added later. This classic, comforting dish is traditionally served on Friday throughout Italy.Expand

Every Tuscan family has a recipe for this soup that has been refined and passed down through generations. The name means reboiled, referring to the fact that it is commonly consumed on the day after its preparation, when it is reheated with a dash of olive oil. The key ingredients in ribollita are leftover bread, cannellini beans, and seasonal vegetables such as kale, onions, carrots, and cabbage. It is a typical winter dish, and one of its main ingredients, Tuscan kale, is available exclusively in winter. This soup was originally a peasant dish, and it was first prepared in medieval times when servants and peasants were given leftover bread, which they boiled into a soup along with vegetables and herbs from their fields. As they would make large quantities of the soup, it would get reheated over and over again, and the flavor would improve each time that it was reboiled. Cheap, nutritious, and flavorful, this traditional soup remains a staple of Tuscan cuisine.Expand

Pappa al pomodoro is a thick Tuscan soup consisting of fresh tomatoes, bread, olive oil, basil, and garlic. The soup can be served warm or chilled. For the authentic version, only costoluto fiorentino tomatoes and pane toscano bread should be used in the dish. Although it has ancient origins, pappa al pomodoro was first popularized in 1911 by the publication of Il Giornalino di Gian Burrasca.Expand

Pasta e fagioli is a traditional dish for which there are recipes throughout all Italian regions, and although there is no official recipe, there are numerous regional variations of the dish. Most often, the dish is made with beans and small varieties of pasta, cooked in a base of olive oil, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and stewed tomatoes, or a broth which can be vegetarian or meat-based. Pasta e fagioli can have a soupy texture, but sometimes it is much thicker, depending on the regional variations. The dish started as a meal of the poor people and as a replacement for the expensive meat. In the past, it was mostly consumed as a winter soup because it is healthy, inexpensive, and filling. Today, it is consumed throughout the country, and in Veneto, pasta e fagioli is often enriched with pork and potatoes, while in Naples, it is very popular to eat it reheated the next day, because it is believed to taste even better.Expand

Vellutata di zucca is a classic Italian pumpkin soup. It's usually made with a combination of chopped and peeled pumpkin, potatoes, vegetable stock, and olive oil. The ingredients are cooked until tender, then blended until the soup becomes velvety smooth. It can be enriched with a bit of cream, and it's usually seasoned only with a pinch of salt and pepper. When served, it is sometimes accompanied by pieces of toasted bread. The soup is especially popular in the fall.Expand

One of the very bases of traditional Italian cuisine, minestrone is a thick, chunky soup made with whichever vegetables are in season. Historically, being a poor man's food dating as far back as the year 30 CE, this peasant-style soup was made with a mashed bean or spelt base and leftovers from various contorni (side dishes) and other meals. Today, even though there's not a set recipe for this dish and every region has its own version, the most common ingredients include stock, onions, tomatoes, celery, carrots, and legumes. The vegetables are cut-up and simmered for quite a long time, but they must not turn mushy. Lastly, pasta or rice can be added to round-up this inexpensive, yet filling dish. Depending on the method of cooking, these flavorful soups are divided into two main categories: minestrone a crudo and minestrone col soffritto. While the first version uses raw vegetables and often garlic-flavored olive oil added towards the end of cooking, minestrone col soffritto is made with vegetables which are first sautéed in butter, oil, pork fat or lard, together with pancetta (bacon) and pork rind. The perfect comfort food to warm a cold day, minestrone is even better when made in advance and served reheated, as it takes some time for the flavors to fuse and deepen.Expand

Minestra or zuppa di ceci is a comforting Italian dish that uses chickpeas as the key ingredient. Chickpeas are combined with different ingredients that greatly vary depending on the region, season, and tradition, but commonly include meat, fish, and various vegetables. The defining characteristics of the dish are its dense texture and strong flavors concentrated in the broth, achieved with the addition of garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. The soup is often elevated with the addition of pasta such as pappardelle and tagliolini, or crispy bread croutons.Expand

Zuppa di patate is a traditional potato soup. It's made with a combination of potatoes, onions, bread slices, broth, olive oil, thyme, seasonings, grated cheese, butter, and nutmeg. The potatoes are cut into strips and seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and thyme. The onions are browned in olive oil and combined with the potatoes. Boiling broth is poured over the combination, and the soup is simmered for about 15 minutes. It's recommended to serve the soup with crostini consisting of buttered bread slices that are topped with grated cheese and baked in the oven. Zuppa di patate is especially popular in winter.Expand

Zuppa di broccoli e patate is a traditional vegetable soup. The soup is usually made with a combination of broccoli, potatoes, onions, butter, garlic, meat or vegetable stock, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The onions are cooked in olive oil and butter until soft and mixed with the sliced garlic, broccoli florets, and salt. The mixture is cooked until tender, and the potatoes, stock, and water are then added to the pot. The soup is simmered until it becomes slightly thick and creamy. It’s seasoned with salt and pepper, and the basil is stirred in along with grated cheese and a knob of butter. Zuppa di broccoli e patate is always served warm.Expand

Fagiolata is a true feast for bean lovers: a thick soup made with many different types of beans, each contributing to the final flavor and texture of the dish. Red beans, black beans, borlotti, cannellini, or any other varieties are slowly simmered and flavored with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Nowadays, fagiolata is served with toasted bread, but originally it was a great way to use the old, hardened bread which was placed on the plate before pouring the hot soup in it. The soup would soak the bread, thus making it delicious and soft once again. A drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil before serving additionally enhances the flavors of this hearty dish.Expand