Warm up your Crock-Pot (and your belly) with this sip-able slow cooker minestrone. The soup features a hearty mix of carrots, beans, celery, onion and noodles. It’s great for those days when you want to keep lunch simple with soup and crackers. You can also make a batch in advance, and freeze it.
Easy Slow Cooker Minestrone
Ingredients
- 4 cups (950ml) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 cups (700ml) water
- 1 (28-ounce or 720g) can diced tomatoes
- 2 (15-ounce or 385g each) can kidney beans (use white ones)
- 2 medium (120g) carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium (80g) celery stalks, chopped
- 1 small (70g) white or yellow onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup (50g) uncooked pasta
- 1 medium (200g) zucchini, chopped
- 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen spinach, defrosted
- Garnish: Parmesan cheese and basil (optional)
Directions
In a slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, Italian seasoning, bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover, and cook on low for 6–8 hours or on high for 3–4 hours.
One hour before the soup is done cooking, add pasta, zucchini and spinach. Cover, and continue to cook for an additional hour. Remove bay leaves, and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Garnish with basil, if desired.
Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 3 1/4 cups
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 339; Total Fat: 2g; Saturated Fat: 0g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 945mg; Carbohydrate: 56g; Dietary Fiber: 21g; Sugar: 14g; Protein: 22g
Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 1067mg; Iron: 55%; Vitamin A: 151%; Vitamin C: 73%; Calcium: 38%
