Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

I can’t think of a better way to make your weeknight dinner easier than this Crock Pot Minestrone Soup! This slow cooker meal is delicious and easy to make.

Plus, this delicious soup is the perfect way to make sure your family is getting all those nutrients from delicious vegetables. Scroll down for the recipe and make it tonight!

This is a recipe I’ve been making for years. It’s so good and so easy. And I love that I can make it from ingredients in my pantry. I included it in my Cupboard Cooking Cookbook back in 2010. I’ve updated it with new photos, and update to the recipe itself, and new information.

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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

What’s the difference between minestrone and vegetable soup?

Both minestrone and vegetable soup are broth-based soups with lots of good for you veggies. Minestrone kicks it up another notch by adding beans and pasta to make a hearty vegetable soup.

This soup, with all those vegetables, beans, and pasta, will help keep you full for hours!

And with this crock pot or slow cooker version, you don’t even need to turn on the stove.

Does minestrone traditionally contain meat?

Minestrone is literally just a rich thick vegetable soup with beans and pasta.  

That being said, everyone is going to have their favorite version that they make or that they like to eat.

It’s often made with whatever vegetables are on hand, in kind of a way to use up leftover veggies. It can be vegan, vegetarian, or contain meat if it’s made with chicken stock or beef stock.

And, as always, feel free to use your favorite broth in this soup recipe. Use the one that tastes best to you for the most pleasing end dish.

I prefer vegetable broth. Here’s my homemade vegetarian broth recipe. I also love {affiliate link} Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base.

How to make

Need an easy dinner recipe? Try my Crock Pot Minestrone Soup! All you need is a slow cooker and a few simple ingredients for delicious soup with minimal effort. Just set it and forget it!

The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can find important tips and tricks in the post.

In 3-to-4-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except pasta, frozen vegetables, and pesto.

If your store only carries 8-ounce jars of tomato sauce, use 2 of those for a total of 16 ounces. The additional 2 ounces will be just fine.

Cover, and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 hours.

Stir in pasta and frozen vegetables. Cover; cook on high 15 to 20 minutes or until pasta is tender and soup is hot.

For the pasta, use any small shaped pasta you like. Macaroni is pretty traditional, but mini penne, shells, or even fideo will be great.

And for the vegetables, feel free to use any kind you like. I look for a bag of mixed frozen veggies, preferably and Italian blend. Or a bag with lots of variety.

Top each serving with a spoonful of pesto.

You can use already prepared pesto from the store, or make homemade pesto. You’ll want about 1 cup of homemade pesto for topping the soup.

Use traditional basil pesto or go wild with sun dried tomato pesto, or mushroom walnut pesto.

The pesto is optional, but it makes a nice presentation and makes the soup even tastier.

Can I change up the recipe?

I love soup because you can change it every time you serve it.

It’s easily vegan if your pesto doesn’t have cheese in it.

Make it gluten free by using gluten free pasta.

Try making it according to the recipe and then serve up the leftovers with different fresh or frozen veggies or proteins.

Mix up the beans using white beans or even lentils.

Add in sausage, chicken, potatoes, spinach leaves, cubed sweet potatoes. Heck, any leftover vegetables from the fridge will be great in it!

Toss a few Parmesan rinds into the minestrone soup for a boost in flavor and a way to use up leftovers. Grate some fresh Parmesan over the top before you serve it.

Serving suggestions

This soup is a fantastic meal with a few sides. Serve it with:

• Breads: No Knead Bread that you see in some of the pictures, Biscuit Bread, dinner rolls, Skillet biscuits, Bread Machine Garlic Herb Bread or Buttermilk biscuits
• French Onion Bruschetta
• Twice baked potatoes
• Pesto avocado grilled cheese sandwich or Tuna Cake sandwiches
• Pizza

Storage and leftovers

This recipe makes a nice big batch of soup. And leftovers are awesome.

Place leftover minestrone soup in airtight containers, and it will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

You may have to add additional broth to the soup, as it will soak up the broth as it sits.

To further extend the life of cooked minestrone soup, you can freeze it. Allow to cool completely, then place it in covered airtight containers. Once frozen, the blocks can be placed in freezer bags.

Have you heard of Souper Cubes yet? They’re a great way to store leftovers!

Souper Cubes

Note: this section contains affiliate links.

I was recently given these Souper Cubes to try out.

And I’m simply in love with them. They stack nicely in the fridge or freezer, and they have airtight lids so leftovers are a breeze to store.

Souper Cubes trays are made from 100% food-grade silicone. This means that they are BPA free, dishwasher safe, and even oven-safe up to 415° F (the lids are not oven-safe). 

They have all kinds of sizes of these trays, from 2-cup to 2 tablespoon. Check out the variety pack with various sizes. They even have cookie dough trays.

And when you’re ready to eat it, pop the frozen soup out. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove (in a pot).

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