Incredibly flavorful and rich, this minestrone soup is every bit as hearty as it is beautiful. Made easily in the slow cooker, this soup is perfect for a busy weeknight!
Made with minimal effort, this minestrone soup is one of the most flavorful soups I’ve ever made! Full of protein and fiber rich beans, nutritious vegetables and filling pasta, it’s a complete meal in a bowl!
How’s your Spring going so far? Ours has been absolutely crazy, with snow storms hitting us several times within the last two weeks. Now this week it’s cold and rainy. BLAH!! The good news is, it’s still soup weather!
Honestly though, I still make soup year round… it’s just great comfort food. Especially this minestrone soup.
I’ve made a lot of soups over the years… some of our favorites are tomato basil, zuppa toscana, and beef barley… but this one, it might just be my absolute FAVORITE!! Normally vegetable soups always leave me feeling hungry about an hour after. But this one doesn’t do that to me; it’s hearty, rich, and FULL of flavor.
WHAT IS IN A MINESTRONE SOUP
Minestrone is typically a vegetable soup, usually with beans, and pasta. Traditionally ditalini (the small little tubes) is used, but mini shells, mini penne, or any other really short pasta will work.
IS MINESTRONE SOUP GOOD FOR YOU
In many ways yes! It’s low in fat and calories and loaded with healthy vegetables. If you’re following a low-carb way of eating, the beans and pasta will make this higher in carbohydrates.
HOW DO YOU MAKE MINESTRONE
This recipe is super easy to make… the slow cooker does the work for you! The only “work” involved is chopping the carrot, celery, onion and zucchini and most of that can be prepped ahead of time. Just add the ingredients in the crockpot, cover, and switch it on! There’s a trick to the timing of adding certain ingredients, but it’s all detailed in the recipe at the end of the post 😉
IS THIS AN OLIVE GARDEN COPYCAT RECIPE
Not technically, but from looking at other copycat recipes, it has extremely similar ingredients, so it will probably taste pretty close. I’ve never actually had the minestrone soup from Olive Garden, so I can’t say with certainty how close the flavors are. Try it and let me know!
Even though we may be heading into warmer weather, I hope you give this hearty and comforting minestrone soup recipe a try… I know you’ll love it!!
Try this soup with my no-knead artisan bread or semi-homemade garlic bread for a great treat!
HELPFUL TOOLS
- Large slow cooker – I have the 6 and 8 quart version of this slow cooker and it works amazingly well. I love that the lid latches down.
- Vegetable base – this is what I mean when I say vegetable base, it adds SUCH flavor to soups and stews. Your grocery store might have it in stock, but in case it doesn’t, this link is to the exact version I use.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 cup celery, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, diced
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- parmesan rind, or 1" chunk of parmesan
- 2-3 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/4 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 4 cups fat free vegetable stock or broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 Tbsp vegetable base
- 15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
ADD 20-25 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 1/2 cups dried ditalini or other small pasta
ADD 5 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING
- 1 cup frozen cut green beans
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add first 15 ingredients to 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Stir to combine, cover, and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- 30 minutes before you want to serve the soup, add zucchini and ditalini pasta, stir, cover and cook on HIGH for 20-25 minutes.
- 5 minutes before serving, add in frozen green beans and baby spinach, stir, cover and cook on HIGH for 5 minutes.
- When serving, if desired, grate parmesan cheese over the soup and enjoy!
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Chef Tips
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Kimberly T Redding says
Although it tasted good, the carrots were still crunchy. I used the slow cooker function on my instant pot to make this and it may have been the reason why. I transferred it to my dutch oven to cook it further. I also added a teaspoon of salt.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve noticed that the slow cooker function of my Instant Pot doesn’t heat the way that a regular slow cooker does, so I would recommend using a traditional slow cooker if you have one. Otherwise you’ll have to add some cooking time, or transfer it to another cooking vessel, like you did.
Kytlun says
This soup was fantastic!! Your recipe rocked and I will be looking at more of your stuff. Thank you so much and have a blessed day!
Amber Orum says
Love this. So quick and easy yet such a flavorful broth!
Regen says
I’ve had people who don’t care for Minestrone say they love it, and ask for the recipe! Best ever.
Haley says
This might be a dumb question, but do we cook the pasta before adding it or put it in hard and have it cook in the soup? My assumption is we put it in directly from the package…
The Chunky Chef says
As written, you add it dried and it cooks in the slow cooker. You could boil it separately if you’d like, then add some boiled pasta to your individual bowls before topping with some soup.
Cathy says
Quick question- if I’m using fresh green beans, would you add them with the zucchini?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it, but I think that would be a good time to add them 🙂
Cindy Machado says
This looks delicious!
Can I add ground turkey to this and if so when would i do that? And could I sub corn and peas for the zucchini?
The Chunky Chef says
I would brown the turkey and add it when you add the pasta. If subbing corn and peas for the zucchini, I would add those when you add the green beans, since they won’t need very long to warm through.
Olivia Medved says
I don’t have a slow cooker, but I made this in a big pot on stove and it was so so delicious. I have been traveling and eating out a lot so this was a lovely recipe to pack in some veggies.
Jackklyn Janis says
I just made this and it’s delicious! Does it freeze well?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, this soup freezes well 🙂
June says
Sorry but I didn’t like it. Much too heavy on the tomato and herb flavours, it’s all I could taste. I even used one can not two of the canned tomatoes. Oh well, each to their own!