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! Â 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? Â Ours has been absolutely crazy, with snow storms hitting us several times within the last two weeks. Â Now this week it’s cold and rainy. Â BLAH!! Â The good news is, it’s still soup weather!
Honestly though, I still make soup year round… it’s just great comfort food. Â 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!! Â Normally vegetable soups always leave me feeling hungry about an hour after. Â 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. Â 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! Â It’s low in fat and calories and loaded with healthy vegetables. Â 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. Â I’ve never actually had the minestrone soup from Olive Garden, so I can’t say with certainty how close the flavors are. Â 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. Â I love that the lid latches down.
- Vegetable base – Â this is what I mean when I say vegetable base, it adds SUCH flavor to soups and stews. Â 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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Mamapace says
I’ve made this several times now. Fam loves it
Terry says
Can I substitute black beans or great northern beans for the kidney beans?
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain how those would work. I think they’d be just fine, although I’d make sure you rinse the black beans very well, otherwise they can color your chili a bit. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
theresa says
made this with a few variation(s); it was hearty, filling, and absolutely delicious!
Abby says
Very good! My partner & I enjoyed this soup-it’s so hard to find a flavorful vegetarian soup recipe! We’ll definitely be making this in the future. The recipe is obviously a lot for 2 people, so we ate if for a couple days & froze the rest.
Sybil says
Can this be cooked on the stove instead of a slow cooker?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, you’d want to saute the carrots, celery and onion in a little bit of butter for about 5 minutes or so to soften them. Then add the rest of the ingredients up through the cannelini beans, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Increase the heat a little so the soup comes to a low boil, then add pasta and zucchini. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, then stir in green beans and spinach and cook another 3-5 minutes.
Dorothy Burbank says
Hi Amanda. If using fresh green beans should I just add those in when I put in the zucchini? The first 15 ingredients are in our slow cooker now. Can’t wait….hopefully I can add the fresh green beans with the diced zucchini?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Dorothy, yes that should work just fine 🙂
Sue says
Can this soup be frozen ?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tried it personally, but a few other readers have successfully frozen it 🙂
Brandy says
Can this be made with dry beans? Thank you
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written, so I can’t say for certain. They’d definitely need to be soaked first.