Homemade Minestrone Soup {Slow Cooker}
An easy to make, Minestrone soup recipe that tastes 1000 times better than the Olive Garden’s version! My minestrone soup is loaded with good for you veggies, like spinach and zucchini. It’s also protein packed with red kidney beans and great northern beans. You’ll be full for hours from this healthy, nutritious soup!
How about I throw a bunch of ingredients (say, veggies, beans, and pasta) into a crockpot and call it dinner? This slower cooker minestrone soup is probably going to be the easiest thing you’re ever going to cook. And the best part? You didn’t even need to turn on the stove!
I wonder if it’s even legal for me to call this a minestrone soup recipe? It’s ingredients that get tossed into the slow cooker and a few hours later, they come out in the form of a soup. Don’t you just love lunches and dinners like that? This gal right here is a big fan of those kinda meals.
Minestrone Soup Recipe Video:
So guys, I have news. I ♥ vegetables. And you already knew that. And now you know it even more.
My hope for you with this soup → that you make this on a really chilly and busy October night. It’s absolutely perfect for those days/nights when you have only 3,018,857 things to get done, and the fact that the crockpot is adulting for you and taking on the dinner responsibilities for the evening means you have the 30 minutes you would’ve spent making dinner to do what. ever. you. like.
Real excitement right there. Ideally, that would happen in a big, comfy chair with a good book and a warm blanket. These oh so rare, picture-perfect moments are brought to you by my slow cooker minestrone soup recipe.
Why this is the best minestrone soup recipe:
Shall I dare say my minestrone soup recipe is better than the Olive Garden’s version? Yes, I think I will. Don’t get me wrong; I first fell in love with Minestrone soup at the Olive Garden. It actually set the expectation of what a minestrone should be for me. The canned stuff was absolutely no good at all. And after researching the interweb until there weren’t any more recipes left to research, I decided to develop my own recipe.
So what makes my recipe unique and so much better? Well, I’ve got a secret ingredient. Any guesses? Okay, I’ll give you a hint. It’s in the picture above. And it’s a red blob. No, not the diced tomatoes, the other red blob.
*Shhh* I’m only sharing this with you because we’re friends. Ready for it?
Homemade Sun-dried tomato pesto!
That super concentrated flavor of tomato pesto is exactly what minestrone soup needs. Plus, the basil, parmesan, and pine nuts in the pesto add such a great, full-bodied flavor to the soup.
Also, since we’re sharing secret ingredients and all, toss in a few parmesan rinds into the minestrone soup. For herbs, I used dried oregano, fresh rosemary (because I had fresh on hand, dried is fine too), and a few bay leaves.
TIP: I should mention that this does make quite a batch of soup. So if you’re planning on making this for weekly lunches, I suggest cooking and keeping the pasta separately. Then you can add some to each serving before reheating.
This slower cooker minestrone soup is exactly what you need to warm up on a chilly evening. I served it with a few slices of baguette, toasted and rubbed down with a garlic clove.
We dipped, we dunked, and sipped, slurped soup (say that 3x fast) like it was our job. Garlic bread pairs beautifully with minestrone soup! It was a good evening. 🙂
Homemade Minestrone Soup (Slow Cooker)
An easy to make, a minestrone soup recipe that tastes 1000 times better than the Olive Garden's version! My minestrone soup is loaded with good for you veggies, like spinach and zucchini. It's also protein packed with red kidney beans and great northern beans. You'll be full for hours from this healthy, nutritious soup!
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato pesto (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 parmesan rind
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 1/4 cup celery, diced
- 1 1/2 cup white onion, diced
- 4 - 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 sprig rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini, diced
- 1 1/2 cups tubular (ditalini) pasta
- 1 cup frozen green beans, thawed
- 2 1/2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- Finely shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving (or Romano)
Instructions
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato pesto, parmesan rind, vegetable stock, water, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves to a slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.
- Add in red kidney beans, great northern beans, zucchini, and pasta and cook on high heat for an additional 20- 25 minutes until pasta is tender. Stir in the spinach and green beans and cook for an additional 5 minutes until heated through. Serve warm topped with parmesan cheese and garlic toasts.
*Please note: the nutritional facts calculated are an estimate based on the ingredients i’ve used. If you’d like a more accurate count, please calculate them using the ingredients/brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe. The nutritional info for this minestrone soup is calculated based on 8 servings.*
Absolutely beautiful flavour even kids smashed it
All time favourite recipe for a hearty, healthy, tasty meal. Love how it makes a big batch and I get several meals for freezing out of it as well. Have made ten or so times now and it never disappoints.
Can I use regular pesto in this recipe?
Looks amazing! Would it work if I added beef chuck to it?
This was OK but not as good as I thought it would be from the smell. I think it needs to have a few more spices of some kind. It felt like it was missing something I only made half a recipe I will not make again.
delicious, best ever – so full of flavour and packed with beautiful wholesome veg ( I also added sweet potato)
Can you freeze this?
Absolutely my favorite Minestrone and a delight to make! One thing I improved upon, and it has nothing to do with the recipe. When I made this the first (last month), I could see that my only slow cooker would not be able to hold all the ingredients, so I left out portions of them. Recipe never mentioned the size of crockpot needed. So now instead of the 3-quart pot, I have a new 6-quart and well, everything fits!
I love this soup but haven’t made it in awhile. Just curious, how many cups of soup would there be in this recipe. I’m doing a soup exchange and need at least 15 cups.
Did I see pine nuts in recipe somewhere?
Great for family meals or having people over. I add a couple Italian Field Roast sausages (vegan), chopped and browned, along with the zucchini and noodles. #LITTLESPICEJAR
Making this soup today. Cool and rainy outside, perfect day for soup. I can’t wait to try it. What do you recommend for storing leftovers?
Can we freeze this soup? This soup is incredible and may make for post partum if you have any more recipes for pregnancy let me know protein and veg and carbs
How many servings do you think this will serve and can I add beef to it?
Really flavorful and easy recipe!! I have made it many times and we really love it!
Delicious and filling!
Can I freeze this?
This is DELICIOUS but I have a caution: do not use chickpea pasta, thinking you’ll get more protein/nutrition. If you follow the directions with this substitution, the “pasta” disintegrates!
This is such a wonderful soup! I’m making it for a second time today. I couldn’t find the sundried tomato pesto so I just used sliced sundried tomatoes and it worked great. This time I also added 5 small potatoes. Such a hearty soup! Thank you for the recipe!
Amazing minestrone! The whole rainbow in one bowl ❤️
This soup has everything I love: healthy ingredients, tons of flavor, lots of veggies…and I can throw everything in the crockpot first thing in the morning and enjoy the scent as it cooks all day. The tomato pesto is a wonderful addition. I have made this recipe twice in a month’s time, and it’s even better the day after it cooks. Love, love! Thank you for this recipe–it’s on my Pinterest board under “Favorites”!
Love this recipe, the pesto makes it! I always add about 2 tablespoons of fish sauce to my minestrone! Another game changer!