Hearty Autumn Butternut Squash Minestrone (Printer Version)

Hearty autumn soup with butternut squash, kale, white beans, pancetta, and ditalini pasta in savory Italian broth.

# What You'll Need:

→ Meats

01 - 4 oz pancetta, diced

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
03 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
04 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
07 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
08 - 2 cups kale, stems removed and chopped
09 - 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes with juice

→ Beans & Pasta

10 - 1 can (14 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
11 - 1 cup ditalini pasta

→ Broth & Seasonings

12 - 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
13 - 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
16 - Salt to taste
17 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
18 - Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

# How to Make It:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced pancetta and cook until crisp, approximately 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving the fat in the pot.
02 - Add diced onion, carrots, and celery to the pot. Sauté until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
03 - Stir in butternut squash and minced garlic. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
04 - Add diced tomatoes with juice, white beans, broth, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
05 - Cover and cook for 20 minutes until butternut squash is tender.
06 - Stir in kale and pasta. Simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes until pasta reaches al dente and kale wilts.
07 - Remove bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls. Top with reserved pancetta, fresh parsley, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in an hour but tastes like you've been simmering it all day, which feels like a small magic trick in your own kitchen.
  • The pancetta adds just enough richness without making this feel heavy, and the kale keeps things honest and vegetable-forward.
  • You can stretch it across multiple meals or feed a crowd without much fuss, and it actually tastes better the next day.
02 -
  • If you add the pasta too early, it turns to mush and absorbs all the broth, leaving you with something closer to porridge than soup—adding it in the last eight to ten minutes is the difference between good and great.
  • Don't skip rinsing the canned beans; that cloudy liquid is starch, and washing it away keeps your soup from getting gluey.
  • Taste as you go near the end because different broths and squash varieties will need different salt adjustments, and you want to hit that sweet spot yourself.
03 -
  • Save the pasta cooking water before draining—a splash of it stirred back into the finished soup loosens everything up if it's gotten too thick after sitting.
  • Don't be afraid to taste the soup multiple times as you cook it; seasoning isn't something you do once at the end, it's something you adjust throughout.
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