Making soup has never been easier than in a slow cooker. This Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup is filled with a rich tomato flavour and studded with loads of vegetables. Serve topped with fresh parmesan and some crusty bread on the side. A great winter meal!
Yes, I know the Christmas season is upon us and you’re probably all wondering where all the new holiday recipes are right? They are coming, I promise. I just had to share this soup before anything else hit the blog. It’s a fantastic dinner and one that will happily be welcomed on any busy day in December. Soups like this one and my Slow Cooker Tomato Soup with Fresh Tomatoes are always a hit!
Vegetable soups are my absolute favourite and I love a good Minestrone Soup. Packed full of fantastic fresh flavours yet hearty as well.
If you’ve never had Minestrone Soup and are wondering what it is, well it’s delicious…haha! Here’s what Wikipedia says, “Minestrone is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice, sometimes both. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes“. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
And this slow cooker version is just as flavorful as the stove top method. So take a look below and see how you can make it too!
Ingredients To Make The Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
With basic ingredients comes huge flavour! This soup is insanely good and you can see below we’re using an abundance of beautiful fresh flavours. Don’t skip on the herbs as they add so much to this dish, and that parmesan rind you see? That’s going in too!
Remember the full list of ingredients and full method will be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Let’s Get Cooking
First up, get everything chopped, diced and minced. It’s true, cooking really is all the prep work. Sure there’s execution, but the prep work is where the time goes. So get it all ready.
Next up, we’re going to add most of the ingredients to the slow cooker. We’re adding everything except the green beans, zucchini, fresh basil and pasta. We’ll add those ingredients later.
Remember that parmesan rind I was talking about? We’re adding it for flavour and then you throw it away at the end. If you don’t have one, don’t worry. The soup is still delicious without it, but it does add a special touch so add it if you have one.
COOKING TIP: Don’t throw away the parmesan rinds. Save them and add them to soups, stews and sauces. They add so much flavour.
Once you add all your ingredients, give it a really good stir, cover and set to low for 8 hours.
Now let the magical slow cooker do it’s thing.
NOTE: You can use whole can tomatoes or diced tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes, break them up with a wooden spoon.
After 6 hours has passed, add the zucchini and the green beans. Cover and continue cooking for two more hours.
Note: If using frozen green beans, we’ll add those with the pasta.
WHEN To Add The pasta
You have two options:
- Add it 30 minutes before the soup is finished.
- Cook it separately and add it about 10 minutes before the soup is finished.
Why cook it separately? Well, all pasta cooks differently and you might find 30 minutes is too long in your slow cooker and it goes too soggy. If you cook it separately and add it just before you soup is done, you will avoid this issue.
Delicious Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup Ready To Enjoy
There’s no question, this is a great soup. And what makes it even better is the slow cooker. Easy to make and then you can enjoy it and the end of a long day.
Remember, all slow cookers cook at slightly different temperatures. Mine cooked at 8 hours but yours could take longer. Just keep that in mind when cooking this soup. You can also choose to cook it on high for a shorter period of time. Remember if doing this, you pretty much half the cooking time.
Enjoy the soup and why not put some bread on the side. It goes great with Parmesan & Chive Biscuits, Fluffy White Dinner Rolls, Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls, or Herb Dinner Rolls. There are so many bread options to serve with this Minestrone Soup. So don’t skip on the bread!
Here’s A few Other Dishes You Might Enjoy
- Stove Top Minestrone Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
- Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken
- Split Pea & Carrot Soup
- Carrot & Coriander Soup
- Split Pea & Carrot Soup
- Warming Vegetable Soup
Well friends, I hope you get a chance to enjoy and love the soup as much as we did. And I promise Christmas recipes are coming this week! Happy cooking and see you all really soon!
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Get The Recipe!
Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 14 oz can tomatoes
- 6 Cups vegetable stock
- 3 carrots peeled and cut length ways and cut into small pieces
- 2 Celery ribs cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 Zucchini cut half length ways and then cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 6 OZ green beans ends trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 3 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 Teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 Teaspoon dried basil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 parmesan rind
- Small bunch of fresh chopped basil
- 3/4 Cup pasta i used small pasta shells
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese grated for serving
Instructions
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, dried oregano, dried basil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, parmesan rind, bay leaves, can tomatoes and vegetable stock to the slow cooker. Give a good stir, cover and cook on low for 8 – 10 hours (time varies depending on your slow cooker). Mine cooked in 8 hours.
- At the 6 hour mark, add the zucchini and green beans. Give a good stir, cover and leave to cook for a further 2 hours.
- At the 7 1/2 hour mark, add the pasta and the fresh basil. Stir, cover and leave for the next 30 minutes.
- At the 8 hour mark the soup will be ready to serve. Serve topped with fresh grated parmesan.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Notes
- If using frozen green beans, add 1/2 hour before the soup finishes.
- You can cook the pasta separately and and add it about 10 minutes before the soup is finished. OR, you can add it 1/2 hour before the soup is finished.
- If you don’t have a parmesan rind, don’t worry. It adds extra flavour but is still delicious without it. You can choose to add about 1/4 cup/60 grams of fresh parmesan to the soup at the end if you are not using a parmesan rind.
- You can use either whole can tomatoes or chopped can tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes, break them up with a wooden spoon.
Thanks For Stopping by & Hope To See You Soon!
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