Best Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe - How to Make Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
• 3 medium carrots, scrubbed and diced (about 1½ cups)
• Kosher salt
• 1 large zucchini or 2 medium zucchini (about 1 lb total), diced (about 3 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 8 c. low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can kidney beans, drained but not rinsed
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained but not rinsed
• 1 c. small shells pasta
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving