How to Make Soffritto

Mar 23, 2021, Updated Oct 24, 2021

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How to make Italian Soffritto with carrot, celery and onion. Learn how to make this to add a real depth of flavour to your Italian soups, stews and sauces.

Finely chopped carrot, celery and onion on a chopping board

Soffritto comes from the verb Soffrigere which means to slowly fry or saute in Italian. It’s a mix of finely chopped carrot, celery, and onion also known as the “holy trinity” in Italian cooking.

Why the holy trinity? because they are used to build a real depth of flavour in so many Italian dishes from Bolognese sauce, soups like Pasta e Fagioli and stews like Chicken Cacciatore.

In Italy, supermarkets sell all the ingredients for soffritto in packages called ‘gli odori’ which literally means ‘smells’.

If you add fresh parsley, garlic and lard it becomes Battuto which is used in Roman cooking.

If you’re a lover of Italian cuisine or are just simply trying to learn new skills in the kitchen this is something you should learn to do and it’s super easy and truly adds incredible flavour to dishes.

Ingredients – what you need

All you need is carrot, celery, onion and olive oil. Make sure to peel the carrot and onion and wash the celery before using. See the photo below that shows you everything you need.

An overhead shot showing all of the ingredients you need to make Italian soffritto

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Step by step photos and recipe instructions

Finely chop the vegetables to roughly the same size. You should have equal amounts of each vegetable (photos 1 & 2).

Step by step photos showing how to make Italian soffritto

Add a good glug of olive oil to a pot (about 2-3 tbsp) and add the vegetables. Sauté on a medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft but not browned. Add more olive oil if needed (photo 3).

Don’t turn up the heat, keep sautéing the vegetables slowly to release all the flavours. This can take up to 10-15 minutes (photo 4).

A close up of finely chopped soffritto on a board

Recipe tips and FAQs

Do not brown the vegetables – you need to cook the soffritto slowly until soft so all the flavours are released but without browning, caramelizing or burning the vegetables which will totally change or add unwanted flavour.
Don’t turn up the heat – if you turn up the heat to saute the vegetables more quickly they won’t release the same amount of flavour and are more likely to burn.
What knife to use – you’ll need to use a sharp knife to cut the vegetables as finely as you can, a chef’s knife is great for this, or a Mezzaluna which is a curved, double handled Italian knife. You can cut vegetables and herbs easily with this but using a rocking motion.
Use equal amounts – there is no rule on how much or little you use it all depends on what you are cooking. What is important however is to have roughly equal amounts of each vegetable once chopped. You don’t want one vegetable to overpower the rest.
Build more flavour- if you fancy being experimental with cooking you can build on the flavour by adding fresh herbs, garlic or even pancetta or lard. Italian food is very regional and sometimes additional flavours are added to the base. Choose your favourites and get cooking!

How much soffritto do I need per recipe

All of our recipes will tell you the amount of each vegetable you need. I tend to use 1 medium sized carrot, celery and onion when cooking something that serves 4-6.

What’s the difference between Soffritto and Mirepoix?

Mirepoix is the French equivalent to soffritto. The main difference being that the French tend to sauté their vegetables in butter instead of olive oil.

Can I prepare this in advance?

Absolutely, to save time you can finely chop more vegetables than you need and freeze them in bags (raw). Use can use the soffritto straight from frozen no need to defrost first.

Recipes that use it

Now that you know how to make it you can use it to make the most delicious Italian dishes. Check out some of our recipes below.

If you’ve tried this Italian Soffritto or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

Step By Step Photos Above

Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!

Soffritto

5 from 1 vote

By Emily

Prep: 10

Cook: 10

Total: 20

Servings: batch

A close up of finely chopped carrot, celery and onion on a cutting board

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How to make Italian Soffritto with carrot, celery and onion. Learn how to make this to add a real depth of flavour to your Italian soups, stews and sauces.

Ingredients

▢ 1 carrot
▢ 1 celery stalk
▢ 1 onion
▢ Olive oil, to saute

Instructions

Finely chop the vegetables to roughly the same size. You should have equal amounts of each vegetable.
Add a good glug of olive oil to a pot (about 2-3 tbsp) and add the vegetables. Sauté on a medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft but not browned. Add more olive oil if needed.
Don't turn up the heat, keep sautéing the vegetables slowly to release all the flavours. This can take up to 10-15 minutes.

Video

Notes

Do not brown the vegetables – you need to cook the soffritto slowly until soft so all the flavours are released but without browning, caramelizing or burning the vegetables which will totally change or add unwanted flavour.
Don’t turn up the heat – if you turn up the heat to saute the vegetables more quickly they won’t release the same amount of flavour and are more likely to burn.
What knife to use – you’ll need to use a sharp knife to cut the vegetables as finely as you can, a chef’s knife is great for this, or a Mezzaluna which is a curved, double handled Italian knife. You can cut vegetables and herbs easily with this but using a rocking motion.
Use equal amounts – there is no rule on how much or little you use it all depends on what you are cooking. What is important however is to have roughly equal amounts of each vegetable once chopped. You don’t want one vegetable to overpower the rest.
Build more flavour- if you fancy being experimental with cooking you can build on the flavour by adding fresh herbs, garlic or even pancetta or lard. Italian food is very regional and sometimes additional flavours are added to the base. Choose your favourites and get cooking!
Storage – the uncooked soffritto can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days or can be frozen for up to 3 months. You can use it straight from frozen.

Helpful Info for All Recipes

I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.