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Soup weather! Who can pass up a hot bowl of minestrone soup to take the chill off? This one is sure to do just that and it makes a ton of soup. In fact, we usually have this meal two days in a row with enough left to freeze for lunch with a grilled cheese sandwich another day. It has a variety of vegetables and is really low sodium and low fat. Yes, it’s healthy! Best part (I think) is that you can make this in the crockpot. Fill it, turn on and leave it be until it’s time to chow down.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 large onion chopped (or you can use two cups of frozen pearl onions)
- 2 cups diced celery
- 4 carrots sliced or small diced
- 4 cups chicken stock not broth
- 1/2 cups water
- 1 can 14.5 - 15oz fire roasted, diced tomatoes
- 1 can 14.5 - 15oz  tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup red wine optional but it adds wonderful flavor
- 1 can 15.5 oz kidney beans, drainedÂ
- 1 can 15.5 oz white kidney beans, drained
- 1 1/2 cups frozen green beans feel free to use canned or fresh
- 2 zucchinis quartered and sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 tsp dried
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup seashell pasta or any small pasta, I used ditatelli
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese  for topping
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.If you use Pearl Onion, omit sauteing them and just place in crockpot.
- In crockpot, add chicken stock, water and tomato sauce, tomatoes, red wine beans, green beans, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper (to taste).
- Add the sauted vegetables and let cook on low for about 5 hours.
- The vegetables will be tender-crisp. I like them this way and not mushy or overcooked as some soups can be. If you prefer a softer bite to the vegetables, add 30 more minutes to cooking time.
- Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender. Drain water and set aside. My recommendation would be to NOT add the pasta to the soup as it does tend to "soak" up the liquid.
- Once pasta is cooked and soup is done, place 2 tablespoons cooked pasta into individual serving bowls.
- Ladle soup on top of pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy.
Enjoy!
How large of a can of tomato sauce do you use?
Sorry for the lack of size for the canned ingredients. I make this so often that it’s second nature to me so I forget about amounts sometimes. I have updated the recipe to reflect the size of the cans, including the tomato sauce. Thanks for posting and hope you enjoy the soup!
Thanks for responding! I’m preping it tonight for our dinner tomorrow. Perfect timing too cause it’s going to be COLD! Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you for entering this recipe in my linky party, I chose this one as a featured recipe, and pinned it to my recipe sharing pinterest page! I would love it if you submited another recipe! 🙂 http://themagicalslowcooker.com/2013/04/05/recipe-sharing-number-1/
Just got all the ingredients into the crockpot, including home grown beans (yellow, green, and Italian red runner beans). It smells divine already. I had gotten away from making minestrone….thanks for the reminder!! Now to get some crusty bread……
You’re welcome! 🙂 Hope it turned out as great as it does for me. I can’t wait till it cools off a bit more here to make it.
this is the best soup I have ever tasted or ever made it is really good
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for visiting the site and letting me know!