Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

Introduction

There’s a reason classic minestrone soup is internationally loved: its abundance of veggies, beans, and pasta transforms into a hearty bowl of comfort. Making Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup not only infuses all the flavors through gentle, long simmering, but also saves you precious time on busy days. Toss the ingredients in before work, and come home to a soul-warming, crowd-pleasing meal ready to serve.

Why Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup is a Standout

This minestrone recipe is wonderfully flexible, allowing you to use up whatever vegetables you have on hand. Its combination of beans and pasta makes it both satisfying and nutritious. The slow cooker brings out deep, complex flavors while keeping the prep simple, making this soup a favorite for families and anyone who loves a hands-off approach to delicious, homemade meals.

Building Layers of Flavor the Easy Way

The key to excellent minestrone is letting the vegetables, beans, and seasonings meld over hours. The slow cooker makes this effortless. Start with a rich base of tomatoes and broth, then add vegetables, dried Italian herbs, and aromatics like garlic and onion. Pasta is added near the end to maintain its perfect texture, resulting in a multi-layered, homestyle soup that tastes like it simmered all day—because it did!

Satisfying and Flexible Serving Options

Enjoy this Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup on its own, or serve it with crusty bread, a sprinkle of parmesan, or a drizzle of olive oil for extra richness. For added protein, top with cooked chicken or stir in chopped spinach or kale during the last 15 minutes of cooking. This dish is also fantastic for make-ahead lunches and freezes beautifully in individual portions.

Nutritional Information & Serving Size

This recipe yields about 6 hearty bowls (servings) of soup. Each serving offers an abundance of fiber, protein from the beans, vitamins from the veggies, and is generally under 250-300 calories—making it a smart choice for those looking for a nourishing, balanced meal.

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup (Recap)

Packed with vegetables, beans, and tender pasta, this slow cooker minestrone soup is as healthy as it is flavorful. Its ease of preparation and adaptable ingredients list ensure it will become a go-to in your meal planning rotation.

💡Meal Planning Tip: Save this recipe to instantly generate an organized shopping list with all your ingredients categorized by store section—making meal planning and grocery shopping truly effortless.

Instructions

1. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, red bell pepper, vegetable broth, diced tomatoes (with juices), kidney beans, cannellini beans, green beans, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper to your slow cooker. Stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–8 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have melded.
3. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the dry pasta and chopped spinach or kale (if using). Replace the lid and cook on HIGH until pasta is al dente.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings. For extra richness, drizzle with olive oil just before serving.
5. Ladle into bowls and top with grated parmesan and fresh basil, if desired. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Weekly Meal Planning

This Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup is an ideal addition to your weekly meal plan. Not only does it make for delicious leftovers, but it also freezes wonderfully for future meals. Save and schedule this recipe to plan the best day to prepare it, and use CookifyAI to build smart grocery lists that merge all ingredients for your planned recipes into a single, shareable list.

Planning Benefits:

• Automatically calculates the total amount of each ingredient needed across all selected recipes
• Sorts your shopping list by grocery section for maximum efficiency
• Reduces food waste by minimizing duplicate purchases
• Streamlines your entire meal prep process

Pro tip: When planning a week’s meals, schedule your recipes together—so if this minestrone and another meal both use canned beans or fresh greens, your list totals exactly what you need for all meals, making shopping easy and waste-free.

Cook and Prep Times

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6–8 hours (LOW) or 3–4 hours (HIGH)
Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes – 8 hours 15 minutes

Enjoy the flavor-packed simplicity of Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup—and let your slow cooker do all the work while you focus on what matters most!