Slow cooker minestrone soup is a delicious and flavorful dish that will warm your heart and soul. Filled with a rich tomato flavor and tons of beans and pasta, this hearty dish will quickly become a household favorite.
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There is something so soothing about coming home to a warm bowl of soup. Especially on a cold night! This easy crock pot recipe, filled with fresh vegetables, hearty beans, and pasta will be loved by the whole family.
📝Shopping List
To make this hearty soup recipe you will need:
- Vegetable broth or stock
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Green beans
- Baby spinach - or kale
- Red kidney beans - drained and rinsed
- Great northern beans - drained and rinsed
- Zucchini - diced
- Diced or crushed tomatoes - flavored with Italian seasonings
- Garlic cloves - minced
- Bay leaves
- Italian seasoning
- Parmesan rind
- Ditalini pasta
FOR SERVING
- Grated parm - to sprinkle on top
- Salt and pepper - to taste
This is a great recipe when you want a vegetable broth based soup that is filled with healthy ingredients. Dietary fiber and protein are also plentiful in this easy recipe. Not to mention the savory, wonderful Italian flavor!
The slow cooker version of this delicious soup is a complete meal in a bowl!
🔪How to make amazing minestrone
- 🍲As always, start by spraying your slow cooker with a non-stick spray of your choice. Although this is less necessary with soups than other types of recipes, I still feel it makes clean up a bit easier.
- 🍲Add all ingredients except bay leaf, spinach and pasta to your slow cooker. Place bay leaves on top of other ingredients, cover and cook on low heat.
- 🍲About 30 minutes prior to serving, remove the parmesan rind and the bay leaves. Add in your pasta and give it a good stir. Cover and continue to cook.
- 🍲Just before serving, stir in baby spinach leaves. They will wilt into the soup very quickly. Add salt and pepper to taste (or, allow your diners to add these to their individual servings).
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Top Tip
Parmesan Rind
This soup is cooked with parmesan rind. Parmesan rind is the naturally hardened outer layer of a wheel of parmesan cheese. It is fully edible, but has a very different texture than the inner part of the cheese.
Parmesan rind can usually be found in the fresh cheese section of your local deli or market. It add great flavor when cooked in many slow cooker recipes.
I buy it in bulk when I see it and freeze it until I am ready to use it. It is optional in this recipe, but adding it turns this Italian classic into a real star!
🍽Serving suggestions
- Garnish. Serve your amazing and nutritious soup in bowls topped with some fresh grated parmesan cheese.
- Enhancements. This easy soup recipe is really a full meal in a bowl. It is wonderful when accompanied by a fresh garden salad and a crusty roll.
- Accompaniments. Homemade turkey salad, tuna salad or egg salad are also great sidekicks. Crackers and breadsticks would be great with this combo as well.
If you love this recipe, please let me know in the comment section below!
🔃Substitutions
- This wonderful vegetarian soup can be made with any sort of white beans, such as cannellini beans. Additionally, any color of kidney beans will work.
- Minestrone soup can be made with any different combination of vegetables. Seasonal veggies such as summer squash, butternut squash, and fresh tomatoes make great additions/substitutions in this recipe.
- Any small pasta you may have on hand, such as macaroni noodles or shells, would make a perfect substitution for the ditalini.
- Chicken broth can be used in place of vegetable if you prefer.
- If you don't have Italian seasoning, you can substitute with 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme & 1 teaspoon rosemary
- Looking to spice things up a bit? Stir in some hot red pepper flakes.
Storing leftovers
Store leftovers of this easy soup recipe in an airtight, freezer-safe container or bag . It will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator and 3-4 months in the freezer.
Note: Pasta may get mushy and/or break apart when frozen. If you know in advance that you will be freezing some soup, you can opt to cook pasta separately. This way you can add it in to each individual bowl and leftovers can be frozen without the pasta.
😉Hints & hacks
- To make this recipe vegan, skip incorporating the parmesan rind and top with nutritional yeast instead.
- I always recommend the use of a slow cooker liner. Of course, this is an optional step. I like to purchase my liners in bulk for a less expensive per-piece price.
- In the market for a new slow cooker? I love mine!
📖 Recipe
Lazy Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
Equipment
- 6 quart slow cooker
- Mixing Spoon
- non-stick cooking spray of choice
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 cup green beans cut in thirds
- 15 oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can great northern beans drained and rinsed
- 1 medium zucchini diced
- 28 oz diced tomatoes you can use the kind with some Italian type seasonings, if you like
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2-3 pieces parmesan rind omit to keep vegan
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 cups ditalini pasta or other small pasta shape
- 2 cups baby spinach or kale
- 6 cups vegetable stock you can also use chicken if you aren't looking for a vegetarian or vegan dish
- parmesan cheese grated - optional
Instructions
- Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray of choice
- Add all beans. tomatoes, and vegetables other than spinach into crock pot1 small onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 cup green beans, 15 oz can kidney beans, 15 oz can great northern beans, 1 medium zucchini, 28 oz diced tomatoes
- Add parmesan rind and spices other than bay leaves and pour over it all with vegetable stock1 tablespoon garlic, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 6 cups vegetable stock, 2-3 pieces parmesan rind
- place bay leaves on top of mixture, cover and cook for 6-8 hours.2-3 bay leaves
- 30 minutes prior to serving remove bay leaves and add ditalini. Stir to combine2 cups ditalini pasta, 2-3 bay leaves
- Just before serving, stir in spinach leaves (they will wilt very quickly)2 cups baby spinach
- Top each individual serving with some freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired. To keep it vegan, substitute with nutritional yeastparmesan cheese
Notes
Nutrition
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Irene says
This is one of my favourite soups! It’s fantastic.