How to Make Italian Soffritto
Updated Feb 28, 2025, Published Oct 11, 2022
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Every good Italian dish needs lots of flavor, and for many dishes, that starts with Italian soffritto. This simple mix of onions, carrots, and celery cooked in olive oil is a time-honored staple in the Italian kitchen (cucina). It’s not fancy, but it brings depth to everything from sauces and soups to stews. In this post, I’ll show you how to make Italian soffritto the traditional way like I learned from my nonna!
Want to use this Italian soffritto in a tasty dinner recipe? You’ll love this Tuscan white bean soup or this easy lemon chicken orzo soup!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I have watched my nonna make soffritto since I was old enough to stand in the kitchen and watch her cook. It’s one of those humble techniques of Italian cooking that brings so much depth to a dish. It’s just onions, carrots, and celery cooked in olive oil, but together, these vegetables create a flavorful base for so many classic Italian recipes. In fact, we call it the “holy trinity” of Italian cuisine!
Soffritto isn’t something you eat on its own, but it’s how you start making dishes like ragu meat sauce, Italian-style chili, and Lasagna Bolognese. Once you learn how to build flavor with soffritto, you’ll start every dish with confidence, and bring a touch of Italy to each meal!
Made With Amoré,
Ingredients for Italian Soffritto
The main ingredients are simple and few. I like to use as fresh veggies as possible to give my soffritto recipe the best quality and taste!
Generally, soffritto contains onion, carrot, and celery with a ratio of 2:1:1 (this refers to 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery). You can adjust to taste or for a particular recipe.
- Olive Oil: Use high-quality, extra virgin olive oil even when cooking. See my recommendations in the section below. Some good quality brands are DeLallo, Colavita, Bertolli, California Olive Ranch, HemisFares, and Spectrum.
- Onions: I prefer yellow onion for the milder taste, but you can also use white onion. For a non-traditional but delicious variation, try using red onion or leek instead.
- Celery: I like to get the large celery stalks and dice them up.
- Carrots: I find those whole organic carrots deliver the best taste, as they are sweet and don’t have a bitter taste found in smaller mini carrot varieties. Of course, you can use those if that is all you have!
- Optional Aromatics: If you’re feeling fancy, add bay leaves and either fresh or dried rosemary, thyme, or oregano. For a non-traditional flavor profile, add different herbs such as sage, fresh basil, or mint. Or add a touch of garlic and shallot for extra depth of flavor.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
Although these variations are not traditional, you can try them the next time to mix things up a bit.
- Bell Peppers: Add the same amount as the carrot and celery.
- Diced Meat: Try adding pancetta, guanciale, or bacon to the soffritto at the beginning of cooking to add flavor, such as in my Italian Pasta e Fagioli Recipe. Reduce the overall amount of oil or butter, as the meat will render fat as it cooks.
- Wine: Adding 1/2 cup of red wine or white wine adds a great flavor undertone to any dish. Add this at the end of cooking time to deglaze the pan.
- Tomato Paste: This is common in some recipes such as Italian Beef Short Rib Ragu. Add towards the end of cooking and mix well with vegetables.
How to Make Italian Soffritto
Every Italian nonna has their own recipe, and will likely tell you theirs is better! Follow these step-by-step photos for the best results. Find the full steps and ingredients in the recipe card below.
- Wash, peel, and prepare the vegetables.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the onion, carrot, and celery into small, even pieces. Use the method you prefer to cut the vegetables; perfection is not required!
- Add extra virgin olive oil to the pan or pot and set over medium heat. When the oil starts shimmering, add the diced vegetables and cook, stirring often. (If you’re adding meat, add it now.)
- Turn it down to low heat as needed, and continue to sauté until golden. This will take at least 5-7 minutes or up to 20 minutes. This depends on how much they need to cook for the specific recipe you are using.
- When the soffritto is 2-3 minutes from being done, add the garlic, herbs, spices, or wine if desired. Stir and keep cooking for 1-2 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients for the recipe you’re cooking. Enjoy this soffritto in your favorite Italian recipe!
Recipe FAQs
Mirepoix (French) and soffritto (Italian) generally contain 2 parts onion 1 part carrot and 1 part celery with some additions and variations. The difference is that in the French mirepoix, vegetables are cooked slowly in butter, rather than in olive oil like in soffritto, and is often removed from the final dish before the end of the cooking process. Mirepoix is cooked low and slow, while soffritto browns the vegetables and cooks them a bit more.
They may sound similar, but sofrito and soffritto come from different parts of the world and have their own beautiful traditions. Soffritto is the Italian version I grew up with; just onions, carrots, and celery sautéed in olive oil. It’s the base of so many Italian dishes!
Sofrito, on the other hand, is used in Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean cooking. It often includes peppers, garlic, herbs, and sometimes tomatoes that are sautéed together. It also can be called sofritou in some areas, or as recaitou in Puerto Rico, where they don’t typically use tomatoes.
Soffritto comes from the verb Soffrigere in Italian. The Italian word soffritto means “slightly-fried”. This refers to the process of cooking the fresh vegetables slowly until they release their flavor. They shouldn’t be too brown, or dark in color. You want that slightly golden brown color and the delicious smell of the beginning of something wonderful stewing.
It all starts with cutting the vegetables with a sharp knife to create fairly similar-sized cubes (don’t worry; you can still do a quick chop, and that will do). It’s not about perfection in this soffritto mix. If you want to speed this up, you can use the pulse mode of a food processor to finely chop the vegetables.
It’s a great idea to chop up the soffritto in advance! I like to make a big batch of soffritto and freeze it in small containers or even an ice cube tray; then it will be ready to cook whenever I’d like. Making a soffritto is also the perfect way to use up the odds and ends of the celery, carrots, and onions that are about to go bad in your fridge or counter!
Serving Suggestions
Italian soffritto isn’t served on its own, but it’s used as a base for many classic Italian recipes. You’ll definitely want to try using this easy soffritto in soups like Italian sausage lentil soup, Italian sausage soup recipe, and Italian New Year’s lentils. Or try it in hearty main courses like osso buco (Italian braised veal) and Italian stuffed bell peppers.
Want to make soffritto ahead? Simply chop up the veggies and freeze them in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container (or even in ice cube trays!) for up to 8-12 months. Then, you’ll be ready to cook up a batch of soffritto anytime.
My Pro Tips
Expert Tips
- If you want to speed up the process, you can use the pulse mode of a food processor to finely chop the vegetables.
- Use fresh vegetables and good quality extra virgin olive oil for the very best flavor and texture.
- Chop up the raw veggies in advance and freeze them in ice cubes, a freezer bag, or an airtight container for up to 8-12 months.
Italian Recipes Made with Soffritto
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How to Make Italian Soffritto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 rib celery , diced (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and prepare the vegetables.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the onion, carrot, and celery close to the same size. You can mince, chop, dice, finely dice, or use the method you prefer to cut the vegetables into small pieces. Perfection is not required!
- Add extra virgin olive oil to the pan, or pot on medium heat. When the oil starts shimmering add the diced vegetables, and cook, stirring often. If adding meat add now.
- Adjust to medium-low heat, and continue to sauté until golden, it will take from a minimum of 5-7 minutes to 20 minutes.
- See variations in notes for optional add-ins. When the soffritto is 2-3 minutes from being done you can add garlic, herbs, spices, or wine if desired. Give a good stir, keep cooking for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Then, add the rest of the ingredients according to the recipe you are cooking.
Notes
- If you want to speed up the process, you can use the pulse mode of a food processor to finely chop the vegetables.
- Use fresh vegetables and good quality extra virgin olive oil for the very best flavor and texture.
- Chop up the raw veggies in advance and freeze them in ice cubes, a freezer bag, or an airtight container for up to 8-12 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The best start to any soup or sauce is the soffritto. This recipe is the Italian way to do it and super delicious!