Dinner doesn’t get any easier than this slow cooker minestrone soup. It’s one of the easiest soups to make as it consists of adding your favorite minestrone ingredients to your crockpot and letting them simmer to perfection!
I love easy dinner ideas that I can whip up in a matter of just a few minutes like my Instant Pot chicken noodle soup. It’s even better when I can fix them first thing in the morning and let them cook all day.
Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup is one of my favorite recipes because of how simple it is to make, but yet tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen.
This recipe is such a versatile minestrone soup and can easily be changed by swapping the vegetables that you add as well as different types of beans, or even adding meat to it to fit your mood.
This slow cooker minestrone soup can also be considered a vegan minestrone soup. You would just want to double check that the noodles you add are vegan noodles, which most noodles are.
This makes it perfect to serve to just about anybody.
Vegan Minestrone Soup
This vegan minestrone soup will soon be a staple in your home with how easy it is to make. The vegetables and the beans go together so well and the noodles add a little bit of carbs to help it be a little more filling.
This recipe uses simple ingredients which most people have on hand in their fridge and pantry, making this is an easy go to meal most nights of the week.
Classic Minestrone Recipe Slow Cooker Ingredients
- Onion – Adding onion to soup gives a recipe depth and flavor. Choose a small onion for this soup. I love to use sweet onions when making minestrone soup because it is not as strong and the kids seem to like it better.
- Garlic – Garlic is a great addition to the soup and it is good for your body too because it is packed with lots of nutritional benefits and can help reduce blood pressure.
- Carrot – Carrots give this Minestrone the perfect addition of color, texture and flavor.
- Celery – When chopping your celery be sure you keep the pieces a consistent size so they cook evenly in the slow cooker.
- Dried Basil – Dried Basil brings some of the Italian flavor to this Vegan Minestrone soup.
- Dried Oregano – Just like basil, oregano adds flavors to the soup that make this soup an Italian Classic.
- Dried Thyme – Not only does dried thyme bring flavor to this slow cooker minestrone soup, but it also is good for you heart! So don’t forget to add it in.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes – When picking up your canned diced tomatoes from the store, be sure you get ones that are not flavored since you are adding a variety of other seasonings to the soup.
- Tomato Paste –Tomato paste not only adds more tomato flavor to the soup, but also gives it that red color that minestrone soup has. I always like to add this and the Vegetable broth first and mix it together to make sure the paste is mixed throughout the soup base.
- Bay Leaves – Bay leaves transform minestrone soup and help all the flavors come together perfectly. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves prior to serving.
- Low Sodium Vegetable Broth – Be sure to get a low sodium vegetable broth at the store because for this slow cooker minestrone recipe you don’t need that added sodium that regular broths contain.
- Red Kidney Beans – Red kidney beans make this minestrone soup, classic minestrone. I like to drain my beans and rinse them prior to adding them to the soup.
- Cannellini Beans – Cannellini beans are another classic minestrone addition.
- Small Shell Pasta Noodles – Small shell pasta noodles are the perfect noodle for slow cooker minestrone. They are not overpowering, but add a little bit more substance to the soup so it leaves you full longer.
How to Make this Slow Cooker Minestrone Recipe
- First, you will want to combine the vegetable broth and tomato paste, and mix in your slow cooker.
- Once mixed, add in all your other ingredients, except for your small shell pasta noodles.
- Cook this in your slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or 3-4 on high.
- 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add pasta.
- Cook your pasta for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked.
- After it is fully cooked, drain your pasta and add them to your minestrone soup.
- Set your slow cooker to keep warm, and serve hot.
Tips and Notes
- The dried spices help add so much Italian flavor to this minestrone soup, so be sure that you use how much the recipe calls for.
- Add your tomato paste and vegetable broth first and mix. This helps your tomato paste break down quicker in the soup for a more consistent base.
- If you want to make your minestrone soup even more hearty, add meat to it. Sausage is a great addition to this minestrone recipe. Just be sure to cook it prior to adding it to the crockpot.
- Drain and rinse the beans. Draining and rinsing the beans help reduce the “tin can” flavor that you might taste if you add them straight the soup. I highly recommend draining and rinsing until the water runs clear.
What is the difference between vegetable soup and minestrone soup?
Minestrone and vegetable soups are really quite similar. Vegetable soup is packed full of vegetables, where as Minestrone has many of the same vegetables, but also has beans and pasta to make it a heartier version of vegetable soup.
What Can I add to Minestrone Soup?
There are a variety of things you can add to Minestrone Soup. You can add:
- Different vegetables such as green beans and potatoes.
- Meat. Sausage is always a great choice.
What Should I Serve With This Soup?
Since you add the beans and the pasta to minestrone soup it is a hearty meal on its own, but it also tastes great with:
- Breadsticks
- Small Salad
- Saltine Crackers
Other Great Soup Recipes
- Hamburger Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Crack Chicken Soup
- Loaded Potato Soup
Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
Equipment
- Crock pot
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 large celery stalk chopped
- 1 zucchini cubed
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 32 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 can of red kidney beans
- 1 can of cannellini beans
- 1 1/2 cups dried small shell pasta
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In your slow cooker, combine all of the ingredients except for the pasta.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours or high for 3 – 4 hours.
- 10 minutes before serving, bring a large pot of water to boil and add pasta. Cook the pasta for 8 – 10 minutes, until cooked through.
- Drain the pasta and stir it into the slow cooker. Serve.
Nutrition
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