Kid-Friendly Minestrone Soup: A Nutritious and Delicious Family Meal for 11 months baby & up

Minestrone soup is a hearty, vegetable-packed dish that’s perfect for kids and families. Traditionally an Italian soup made with seasonal vegetables, beans, pasta, and a flavorful broth, this kid-friendly version is both nutritious and delicious. It’s a great way to introduce children to different vegetables in a fun and comforting way. It’s a wonderful kid-friendly vegetarian idea for lunch or dinner, that the whole family to enjoy together, especially on those colder winter months. Plus, it’s very easy to make, all in under 30 minutes and you get a warm, comforting, nourishing, healthy soup.

This one-pot meal is loaded with vitamins, fiber, and protein, making it a well-balanced, immune-boosting meal for growing kids. Plus, it’s easily customizable, you can swap out veggies based on what your child loves, add their favorite pasta shape, and even blend the soup for picky eaters.

Why Kids Will Love This Minestrone Soup:

Mild, Savory Flavor – The broth is flavorful but not too strong, making it kid-approved and perfect for a healthy, vegetarian lunch or dinner.
Fun Pasta Shapes – Adding small pasta like stars, alphabet letters, or mini shells makes it exciting to eat.
Soft, Easy-to-Eat Veggies – Cooking the vegetables until tender ensures they are easy to chew and digest.
Packed with Nutrients – Full of fiber, protein, and vitamins for growing bodies.
Customizable for Picky Eaters – Easily swap ingredients based on preferences. You can really use any veggies you and kids prefer. I used garlic, carrot, celery and zucchini.

Nutritional Benefits of Minestrone Soup:

Vegetables – Full of vitamins and fiber for strong immunity and digestion.
White Beans – Provide protein and iron for growth.
Pasta – Offers energy-boosting carbohydrates for active kids.
Olive Oil – A source of healthy fats for brain development.

Serving Suggestions:

For Babies (11+ Months) – Blend into a smooth puree or serve without pasta.
For Toddlers – Use soft, small pasta shapes and dice veggies finely.
For Older Kids & Adults – Serve with grated parmesan and whole-grain bread.

Substitutions:

Veggies- I used garlic, carrots, celery and zucchini in this recipe. I don’t recommend swapping the garlic, carrots and celery, but you can replace or add whichever veggies you like. For example butternut squash, leafy greens, sweet potato, onion.

Cannellini Beans- These beans go really well in this recipe or you can use another white bean, like butter beans.

Broth- I used veggie broth in this recipe, you can use chicken or keep it vegetarian with vegetable broth.

Pasta- Use a kid-friendly pasta shape, like small shells, elbows, small stars or alphabet letters. I used semolina pasta, but you can replace with a gluten-free option, like chickpea pasta, brown rice pasta, etc.

What you need:

Large Pot

If you are looking for more kid-friendly vegetarian ideas, check these out:

One Pot Carrot Pea Pasta

Olive Oil Broccoli Pasta

Mexican Quinoa Bowl

Butternut Squash Red Lentil Soup