A nice, hearty soup is the perfect meal for a cool day. This slow-cooker minestrone soup recipe is packed with nutrition, plus it practically makes itself while you spend your time doing other things (or even nothing). How’s that for an excellent dish?
Ingredients for Slow-Cooker Minestrone
- Vegetable or chicken stock: The stock provides some of the flavor to this crockpot minestrone recipe. Stick with veggie stock to keep this dish vegetarian.
- V8 or tomato juice: Both V8 and tomato juice bring lots of tomatoey flavor to the minestrone.
- Potatoes: Potatoes make the soup a bit heartier.
- Celery: Celery adds color, texture, nutrients and subtle flavor.
- Carrots: Colorful carrots bring vitamins and texture to this dish.
- Canned tomatoes: Tomatoes add more color, texture and flavor.
- Onion: Onion helps flavor the broth even more.
- Garlic: Garlic adds umami and deliciousness to the soup.
- Bay leaves: Bay leaves add a subtle background flavor note to the soup.
- Italian seasoning: Italian seasoning brings loads of classic herbs and lots of fragrance to the soup.
- Kidney beans: Canned kidney beans provide texture and make the soup heartier.
- Cannellini beans: Canned cannellini beans are a great source of folate, iron, magnesium and protein.
- Canned green beans: Green beans provide texture, color and some flavor to the minestrone.
- Zucchini: Zucchini gives this soup a fresh touch.
- Ditalini or other small pasta: Ditalini pasta is the perfect small size to pair with all the veggies in this scrumptious soup.
- Parmesan cheese (optional): The cheese adds a pungent, tangy aroma and flavor to each bowlful. Yum!
Directions
Step 1: Slow-cook the minestrone
Add all the ingredients except the green beans, zucchini, pasta and cheese to a 5- or 5-quart slow cooker. Cook them on low, covered, for six to eight hours or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the green beans, zucchini and pasta and cook, covered, for 30 more minutes or until the pasta is tender. Discard the bay leaves before serving and top each bowl of minestrone soup with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Recipe Variations
- Use fresh veggies: Have loads of tomatoes from the garden or the farmer’s market? Use them in this crockpot minestrone soup in place of the canned tomatoes. Fresh green beans are another great way to get more fresh veggies into your diet (or the diet of that one family member who just won’t eat them any other way).
- Lower the sodium: Choose a low-sodium stock, as well as low-sodium V8 or tomato juice, and thoroughly rinse all canned ingredients to remove excess sodium. Don’t add more salt to the dish, as it’s most likely salty and savory already, thanks to the stock and the V8 or tomato juice.
How to Store Slow-Cooker Minestrone
Store slow-cooker minestrone for three to five days in the refrigerator in an airtight food-storage container, or portion-sized containers for easier management.
Can you freeze slow-cooker minestrone?
Yes; freeze the cooled soup in airtight containers or in freezer storage bags with the excess air pressed out. Freeze individual portions and use them within three months, thawing them in the refrigerator overnight before you wish to reheat them.
Can you make a slow-cooker minestrone ahead of time?
Slow-cooker minestrone is an excellent make-ahead dish. Store the soup, covered, in the refrigerator for a day or two and let the flavors blend together even more.
Slow-Cooker Minestrone Tips
Can I add spinach to the minestrone?
Yes, spinach is an excellent addition to this slow-cooker minestrone soup! It’s packed with nutrients such as as vitamins A and C, as well as iron, folate and potassium.
What pasta can I use besides minestrone?
Small kinds of pasta are the most soup-worthy. Try mini elbow macaroni, farfalle bow ties or any small variety that looks like it would fit easily on a spoon with other minestrone elements.
Can I use different beans?
Absolutely; minestrone is practically meant for using up whatever veggies and legumes you have on hand. White beans, pinto beans or any other canned, relatively small beans will work.
