Fall Minestrone with Butternut Squash (Printable format)

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

# What You 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, 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 fresh parsley, chopped
18 - Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

# How-To Steps:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until crisp, approximately 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving the rendered fat in the pot.
02 - Add diced onion, carrots, and celery to the pot with rendered pancetta fat. Sauté over medium heat 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 mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat.
05 - Cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes until the butternut squash is tender.
06 - Stir in kale and ditalini pasta. Simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes until pasta reaches al dente texture and kale wilts completely.
07 - Remove bay leaf. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with reserved pancetta, fresh parsley, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • The pancetta crisps up and gives you these little salty bursts throughout each spoonful, making the whole thing feel more restaurant-worthy than it has any right to.
  • Butternut squash melts into the broth and makes it naturally sweet without any fussing, balancing the savory kale beautifully.
  • It comes together in under an hour and fills your kitchen with the kind of smell that makes people ask what's for dinner before they even sit down.
02 -
  • If you add the pasta too early, it'll turn mushy and absorb all the broth, leaving you with something that feels more like porridge than soup—stir it in right at the end.
  • Draining and rinsing your canned beans isn't just fussy; it actually prevents the soup from becoming starchy and cloudy, which makes a real difference in how it tastes.
03 -
  • Cut your vegetables roughly the same size so they cook evenly and the soup feels cohesive rather than chaotic.
  • Don't skip the step of rendering the pancetta first; that's where ninety percent of the flavor comes from, and it's worth those five minutes.
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