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La jota triestina is a traditional soup originating from Trieste. Although there are various versions, the dish is usually made with a combination of beans, olive oil, potatoes, sauerkraut, flour, pancetta, garlic, cumin, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
The garlic, pancetta, and potatoes are fried in olive oil and mixed with the beans. The mixture is covered with water, covered, and simmered until the beans are tender. A mixture of sauerkraut, cumin, and bay leaves is boiled until the liquid has almost evaporated.
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.
MOST ICONIC Pasta e ceci
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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.
MOST ICONIC Ribollita
View moreStracciatella is an Italian soup made with meat stock and a mixture of semolina flour, Parmigiano Reggiano, and an egg. The egg mixture is slowly poured in the stock in order to make straccetti (little rags) in the liquid. The soup is usually served with more grated cheese on the side.
Traditionally, it is prepared for Easter, when it is served as the first course. Stracciatella soup should not be confused with the eponymous ice cream flavor that was invented in 1962.
MOST ICONIC Stracciatella alla Romana
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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.
MOST ICONIC Pappa al pomodoro
View morePassatelli in brodo is a specialty dish of the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, consisting of a meat broth filled with dumplings made from cheese, bread, and eggs. This hearty soup belongs to the cucina povera (cuisine of the poor), when people used to invent new dishes with what little ingredients they had at the time.
It is recommended to pair the soup with a simple red wine such as Sangiovese.
MOST ICONIC Passatelli in brodo
View morePasta 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.
MOST ICONIC Pasta e fagioli
View moreMinestra 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.
MOST ICONIC Minestra di ceci
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This Italian specialty is the Neapolitan version of the classic peasant dish called pasta e fagioli or pasta with beans. It is the addition of mussels (cozze in Italian), the liquid in which they’ve been cooking, and the simple combination of pasta and beans that sets this variation apart from a plethora of regional variations on the dish.
Pasta e fagioli con cozze typically consists of mixed pasta or ditalini pasta, white cannellini beans (also borlotti or cranberry beans), mussels and their cooking liquid, garlic, white wine, olive oil, peperoncino or chili flakes, tomatoes, herbs, and seasonings.
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.
MOST ICONIC Minestrone
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TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 78 Italian Soups” list until April 15, 2025, 1,011 ratings were recorded, of which 784 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.