Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
Full of hearty vegetables, this crock pot minestrone soup recipe will have you feeling warm just by looking at it. Just imagine how cozy you’ll feel when you’re eating it!
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UPDATED: 11/4/2024
There are few things more comforting to me when it’s cold outside than a bowl of soup. I love sitting down with a steaming bowl of soup and a roll and I especially love when there are leftovers!
It might be an understatement to say that my family loves this soup. If we’re lucky enough to have leftovers, it quickly gets eaten the next day.
This hearty and delicious crock pot minestrone soup can be cooked on high for 3-4 hours if you’re short on time, but I prefer to cook it on low for 6-8 hours. Either way, you’ll end up with some darn good soup!
Most of the ingredients go into the crock pot all together with just a few being added about 30-40 minutes before serving. This worked out well for me when I recently made this crock pot minestrone soup because I needed to run to the grocery store for the zucchini and spinach.
Why You’ll Love This Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
- A great no-meat alternative.
- Easy to make!
- Healthy and filling.
- Doesn’t heat up the house in the warmer months.
- Uses common ingredients that you likely have at home or are easy to find at the grocery store.
- Double the recipe for large groups or for leftovers.
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities, full instructions and tips for success.
Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
- Onion – I avoid chopping onions when I can so I usually use dehydrated onions for this recipe. However, you can also chop raw onions for this recipe if that’s your preference.
- Carrots – I like to use baby carrots since that’s what I usually have one hand. It’s easy to cut them down into 1/4″ pieces.
- Celery – This recipe calls for diced celery. Because celery is so fibrous, it can take longer to soften so smaller pieces are better.
- Great Northern Beans – You can also find these labeled as “white beans” or “navy beans”.
- Diced tomatoes – I like smaller pieces of tomato so I use petite diced tomatoes but you can also use regular diced tomatoes.
- Garlic – I’ve used both diced garlic and garlic powder for this recipe.
- Chicken Broth – Canned broth or broth made from bouillon both work.
- Rosemary – If you have fresh rosemary, you can use it. I use dried.
- Bay Leaf – I use whole dried bay leaves because it is easier to remove. I don’t recommend crushed bay leaves because they don’t break down and would be hard to remove.
- Basil – Fresh basil works fine, but I use dried basil.
- Parsley – If using fresh parsley, be sure to chop it before adding. Like with the other herbs, I use dried parsley for convenience.
- Zucchini – A medium zucchini is all you need for this recipe. Feel free to leave it out if you don’t like zucchini or don’t have any.
- Spinach – Fresh spinach is preferable but I have used frozen spinach. If you use frozen, make sure to let it thaw completely and then squeeze out the moisture before adding to the soup.
- Small Pasta – I recommend ditalini or small elbow pasta.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese – Optional. We add it to the top as a garnish.
Recommended Kitchen Tools
How to Make Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
First, you’ll need to cut the carrots and celery (and onion if using raw). Then combine the broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into the crock pot.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
About 30-40 minutes before it’s done cooking, add the zucchini and spinach. Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente, strain and rinse.
Add cooked pasta and let it cook 10 minutes more.
If you used fresh rosemary and/or bay leaves, this is where you would want to take them out. I generally use dried herbs for my soups, so I just leave them in since they have become soft and part of the soup.
Ladle into bowls and sprinkle on some shredded Parmesan cheese, then salt and pepper to taste.
Tips for Success
- Double the recipe. Unless you are making this soup for 4-6 people, I highly recommend doubling it. Even then, it’s so good that you are likely to go back for seconds. On top of that, it reheats so well and makes amazing leftovers. I promise you will thank me.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. This recipe calls for the pasta to be cooked al dente, which means if you bite into it, the pasta will still be firm. The pasta will cook the rest of the way when you add it into the soup at the end.
Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
By Shani OgdenIngredients
- 1/2 onion, chopped or 1 Tbsp onion powder, or 4 Tbsp dehydrated onions
- 1 c. carrots, cut into 1/4" pieces about 3 large carrots, or 12 baby carrots
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 14.5-oz can petite-diced tomatoes
- 1 15-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed also known as Great Northern beans
- 3 c. chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary or 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil or 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 3/4 tsp dried parsley leaves 1/4 c. fresh parsley leaves, chopped (or 3/4 tsp dried)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 2 c. fresh spinach
- 1-2 cups small pasta, cooked al dente such as ditalini or elbows
- Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- First, you’ll need to cut the carrots and celery (and onion if using raw).
- Then combine the broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into the crock pot. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
- About 30-40 minutes before it’s done cooking, add the zucchini and spinach and cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente, strain and rinse.
- Add cooked pasta, then cook 10 minutes more.
- Remove bay leaves and rosemary sprig. Ladle soup into bowls and top with shredded Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
- To store: Place in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
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Hi! I’m Shani,
A stay-at-home mom of 4 and wife. I love sharing easy to follow craft tutorials, kid activities, family-friendly recipes, organization, travel and motherhood. I hope you’ll feel uplifted and empowered by each post, regardless of what kind it is. Join me as I raise my little munchkins and share the sunshine in this beautiful, crazy thing called life! Read more...
